Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c12.2

c12.2

156. THE metrical laws of the Rigveda recognize only the distinction between long and short syllables, a long syllable being one that contains a long vowel or a short vowel followed by two consonants. Since the text distinguishes throughout the long vowels by special symbols, and also denotes each consonant by a distinct symbol or (in consonant-groups) by a distinct element in a symbol, it contains implicitly a complete commentary on the quantitative value of syllables: and any question that may be raised implies a doubt as to the correctness of the text, and can only be discussed by the help of a criterion not directly dependent upon the text.