Learn Sanskrit In Selangor Malaysia.

Varna Chandas.

लघु(laghu) and गुरु(guru) are the terms used for syllables in prosody.

1)All short vowels and gunitaksharas having short vowels are termed लघु(laghu) and denoted with a U shape.

2)

a)All long vowels and gunitaksharas having long vowels are regarded as गुरु(guru) and denoted with a --- shape

b) Syllables followed by anusvara and visarga are considered guru too.

c)A syllable followed by consonant sans a vowel(with a virama) or a conjunct consonant is also considered a guru.

The pic attached shows how to write the laghu and guru.

Meaning of लघु(laghu) is light and गुरु(guru) is heavy.