Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c11.85

c11.85

141. Restorations belonging to the second group are all open to some question, although in most cases the doubt is very slight. In a large number of instances the verses can be alternatively explained as consisting of fewer syllables than the normal number, and in particular as being of the decasyllabic or catalectic types (§§ 20, 21). It has been shewn in § 94 iii, vi above that decasyllabic variations are only common in about 50 hymns of the Rigveda, and catalectic verses in only six. If then we find that the opportunity for restoration occurs largely outside these limits, we must accept that as the simpler explanation. In other words, it is not credible that a license of metre should occur in a great number of hymns, and at the same time be restricted to three or four groups of words.