vedic-example.tex

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{fontspec}

% Brill 2.06: http://www.brill.com/about/brill-fonts

\setmainfont{Brill}

\usepackage{longtable}

\makeatletter

% Murty Hindi 1.01: http://www.murtylibrary.com/mcli-fonts.php

\newfontfamily\@nagarifont[Script=Devanagari,Mapping=deva-san]{Murty Hindi}

\newcounter{stanza}

\def\@verse{%
    \rightskip\parfillskip
    \leftskip\parindent
    \parindent-\leftskip
    \let\\\par
}

\def\dev@verse{%
    \@verse
    \@nagarifont
    \advance\baselineskip\jot
}

\def\format@pada#1.#2.#3.#4\@nil{\@roman#1. #2, #3}

\newcommand{\stanza}[5][]{%
    \refstepcounter{stanza}%
    \begingroup
        \LTpre\medskipamount
        \LTpost\z@
        \LTleft\z@
        \LTright\z@
        \noindent
        \begingroup
        \begin{longtable}{@{}p{.45\textwidth}@{\extracolsep{\fill}}p{.52\textwidth}@{\extracolsep{\fill}}}%
            \if###2##\else
                \dev@verse\indent\llap{\thestanza\enskip}#2%
                & 
                \dev@verse\indent#3%\tabularnewline[\jot]%
            \fi
        \end{longtable}
        \endgroup
        % \markthird{\format@pada#1...\@nil}%
        \begin{longtable}{@{}p{.45\textwidth}@{\extracolsep{\fill}}p{.52\textwidth}@{\extracolsep{\fill}}}%
            \@verse
            \indent\llap{\thestanza\enskip}\bfseries#4%
            & \itshape#5%
        \end{longtable}%
    \endgroup
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\stanza[1.1.1]
{a̱gnimī̍ḷe pu̱rohi̍taṃ \\
ya̱jñasya̍ de̱vamṛ̱tvija̍m |\\
hotā̍raṃ ratna̱dhāta̍mam ||}
{a̱gnim | ī̱ḷe̱ | pu̱raḥ'hi̍tam |\\
ya̱jñasya̍ | de̱vam | ṛ̱tvija̍m |\\
hotā̍ram | ra̱tna̱'dhāta̍mam ||}
{Agním īḷe puróhitaṃ,\\
yajñásya devám ṛtvíjam,\\
hotāraṃ ratnadhā́tamam.}
{I magnify Agni the domestic priest,
the divine ministrant of the sacrifice,
the invoker, best bestower of treasure.}

\bigskip

Sample text from page 3 of
\begin{quote}
Arthur Anthony Macdonell.  \emph{A Vedic Reader for Students}.  Oxford
at the Clarendon Press, 1917.
\end{quote}

\end{document}