Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c10.2

c10.2

115. IN classical Greek and Latin verse a final vowel is usually *elided* or omitted from calculation if the next word begins with a vowel. According to the rules of classical Sanskrit a vowel in such a position is regularly *combined* with the vowel following, so that the two syllables coalesce in one. In the Rigveda the vowels are sometimes combined, as in classical Sanskrit: but at other times each retains the character of a separate syllable, in which case *hiatus* is said to occur. Although hiatus is rarely shewn in the Saṃhitā text, it can be restored with certainty in a great number of passages by the aid of the metre.