Shloka (meaning "song", from the root śru, "hear") is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh. It is the basis for Indian epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, far more frequently than any other meter in classical Sanskrit poetry. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, for example, are written almost exclusively in shlokas. The traditional view is that this form of verse occurred to Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, on seeing a hunter shoot down one of two birds in love. The shloka is treated as a couplet. Each hemistich (half-verse) of 16 syllables, composed of two Pādas of eight syllables, can take either a pathyā ("normal") form or one of several vipulā ("extended") forms. The form of the second foot of the first Pāda (II) limits the possible patterns the first foot (I) may assume, as in the scheme below.
The Pathyā and Vipulā half-verses are arranged in the table above in order of frequency of occurrence. Out of 2579 half-verses taken from Kalidasa, Magha, Bharavi, and Bilhana, each of the four admissible forms of shloka in the above order claims the following share: 2289, 116, 89, 85.
You really hurt me, you left me out in the rain
You left me nothing but a lot of memories and pain
I thought that you were happy
That we would be forever but I was wrong
I couldn't see the signs you gave
You never even let me know, no, no, no
How could you say you love me
If you really didn't mean it?
I gave you all the love I had to give
Baby, I trusted you with all my heart
You took my love, tore it apart
How could you say you love me
If you didn't mean it, if you didn't mean it?
No, no, didn't mean it
I never left your side, I was there through thick and thin
And baby when you would cry, your heart I would always mend
How could you throw love away? You left me flat right on my face
I'm so sad, my feelings all have run away
And I'm living in loneliness, so lonely, so lonely
How could you say you love me
If you really didn't mean it?
I gave you all the love I had to give
Baby, I trusted you with all my heart
You took my love, tore it apart
How could you say you love me
If you didn't mean it, if you didn't mean it?
How could you say you love me
If you really didn't mean it?
I gave you all the love I had to give
Baby, I trusted you with all my heart
You took my love, tore it apart
How could you say you love me
If you didn't mean it, if you didn't mean it?
Tore my love, tore my heart, baby
You hurt me so bad, now I'm standing here so sad
Oh, babe, oh, my, my baby
Don't know what to do
Don't know what to say
Don't know how to feel, hurt me so bad
If you didn't mean it