Pada

A pada (pāda "foot") in Sanskrit poetic meter (chandas) is a quarter of a full verse (the foot of a quadruped being one out of four), e.g. a shloka of 24 syllables consists of four padas of 6 syllables. The term may also refer to the division of a text into four quarters; e.g. the eight chapters of the Astadhyayi are divided into four padas each.

In traditional Sanskit grammar (Vyakarana), pāda is the term for "word", in the Astadhyayi defined as suP-tiṄ-antam pādam " a string ending with either a nominal or a verbal desinence is called pāda (word)".

As a measure, it equals 12 angulas, see Hindu units of measurement.

A padapatha is a word-by-word variant of a Vedic text, and the name of the associated patha or mode of recitation.