Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c11.230

c11.230

Where the syllabic value of *y* and *v* is the more common, the presumption must be that this is the original form: and it would then appear that any tendency to contraction worked more slowly if a heavy syllable preceded. This is quite in accordance with the rules of Sandhi, where we find original -i -u retained before dissimilar vowels throughout the Rigveda proper, the exceptions being almost always in cases where a light syllable precedes. The differentiation thus depending upon the previous syllable might clearly lead to the resolution of original y v where they follow heavy syllables, and it may be that a few such cases are included in this section.