Kural (poetic form)

The Tamil conception of metrical structure includes elements that appear in no other major prosodic system.

[5] Veṇpā is a closely related family of very strict[6] Tamil verse forms.

[3] Metrically, the first six feet are all identical, conforming to this structure: This very flexible structure would generate 48 possible syllabic patterns, but two additional constraints apply: [8] ...leaving 30 possible syllabic patterns per foot, each realized with two to five syllables: The kural's final foot is essentially a much-shortened version.

The structure of the entire couplet is thus: In actual composition, syllabic patterns are limited further, because every realized foot places constraints upon the syllabic pattern of the following foot, thus:[9] One ornamental feature of Tamil versification is etukai, often translated "rhyme",[10][11] although it is distinct from typical Western rhyme.

An example (not in a kural, but in a four-line veṇpā) is: vaȚIyērka ṇīrmalka vāṉporuṭkuc ceṉṟār kaȚIyār kaṉaṅkuḻāy kāṇārkol kāṭṭuḷ iȚIyiṉ muḻakkañci yīrṅkavuḷ vēḻam piȚIyiṉ puṟattacaitta kai[13] Sometimes additional syllables, beyond the second, are also repeated.