Chhand (Punjabi: ਛੰਦ, Urdu: چھند, Hindi: छंद) is a quatrain used in the poetic traditions of North India and Pakistan.
[1] In the culture of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, it is customary for chhands to be recited at ceremonial occasions such as weddings, where they are used by grooms to praise their in-laws.
[2] A typical Punjabi wedding chhand might extol the mother- and father-in-law, for instance this one, which says the groom holds them in the same esteem as his own parents - چهند پراگا آ ًیے جا ًیے چهند پراگا گهیوه سس نوں منّا ماتا/امّی جی تے سوهرے جی نوں پیوه छंद परागा आईए जाईए छंद परागा घ्योह सस नूँ मन्ना माता/अम्मी जी ते सोहरे जी नूँ प्योह chhand paraga aiyey-jaiyey chhand paraga g(h)yoh sass nun manna mata/ammi ji te sohre ji nun pyoh A Rajasthani language chhand, from the poem Haldighati by Kanhaiyalal Sethia, describes Maharana Pratap's determination to fight on against the Mughals at all costs - हूँ भूख मरूँ, हूँ प्यास मरूँ मेवाड़ धरा आज़ाद रहै हूँ घोर उजाड़ा में भटकूँ पण मन में माँ री याद रह्वै hoon bhookh maroon, hoon pyaas maroon mewar dhara azaad rahai hoon ghor ujara mein bhatkoon pan man mein ma ri yaad r'hvai Let me die of hunger, let me die of thirst Mewar must remain free Let me wander the bleakest wildernesses But the mother(land) must always be in my thoughts Jaap Sahib is the morning prayer of the Sikhs.
The language of Jaap, is close to classical with words and compounds drawn from Sanskrit, Brij Bhasha, Arabic and Urdu.
However, in North India and Pakistan, chhand has come to mean a specific poetic style associated with the modern languages native to the region, such as Punjabi, Hindko, Dogri, Hindustani, Gujarati and Rajasthani.