Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13: Chapter VII. Dimeter Verse
Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13
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Chapter VII. Dimeter Verse
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182. THE Rigveda contains some 15,000 dimeter verses, which make up about one-third of its whole bulk. The general character of dimeter verse and its principal varieties have already been described in §§ 18–41 above: its distribution amongst the ‘homogeneous groups’ is shewn in § 114. The statements already made, which will form the basis of the discussion in the present chapter, may be shortly recapitulated as follows:
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(i) the general type of dimeter verse follows a metrical scheme of an iambic character, namely ◡ – ◡ – | ◡ ◡ – ◡, variations from this scheme being comparatively common in the opening of the verse and occasional in the cadence. Verses of this type are found (a) in the lyric metres which prevail in Group I and are fairly common in the other groups of the archaic and strophic periods, and in which trimeter and dimeter verses are combined in many different arrangements, (b) in Anuṣṭubh stanzas, chiefly in Group II (Atri and Vimada hymns), and less often in Groups III and V, and (c) in Gāyatrī stanzas in all parts of the Rigveda, but especially in Groups V, VI and VII;
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(ii) the ‘Trochaic Gāyatrī’ stanza substitutes a trochaic rhythm in the cadence, and is found most frequently in the Kaṇva hymns (Group V); and
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(iii) the ‘epic Anuṣṭubh’ stanza consists of two pairs of dimeter verses, in each of which the cadence of the first verse and the opening of the second approximate to the rhythm ◡ – – ◡.
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In order to appreciate fully the history of dimeter verse, it is necessary to replace these general statements by definite measurements. For this purpose six groups of hymns are selected for comparison in the table in § 185. These groups correspond generally to the ‘homogeneous groups’ defined in § 91, but are subject to the further restriction that each of them consists entirely of hymns in which dimeter verse appears in the form most characteristic of its group. Consequently Group I is represented exclusively by its hymns in lyric metres, Group II by its Anuṣṭubh hymns, Groups VI and VII by their Gāyatrī hymns: the popular Rigveda by the hymns and fragments in which Anuṣṭubh is used without the admixture of Paṅkti or Mahāpaṅkti. Trochaic Gāyatrī, however, is represented by all the hymns composed mainly in that metre, without regard to the previous grouping: the larger part of these hymns belong to Group V. For epic Anuṣṭubh the forms which appear in the odd and even verses are tabulated separately.
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The hymns tabulated in § 185 include rather less than half the dimeter verse of the Rigveda, but they are quite sufficient in number to illustrate the general character of the different kinds of verse; whilst there is an obvious advantage in adopting every precaution for the homogeneity of the groups. In Group I hymns in Bṛhatī-Satoṛbhatī are not included, because this metre is common to Groups I and IV: whilst Groups III, IV, VIII, and IX are altogether omitted for the present, because they contain comparatively little dimeter verse, and no distinctive metres.
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For Trochaic Gāyatrī it is necessary to disregard the grouping of § 91, on account of the small amount of verse composed in this metre. The list of hymns is given in § 197.
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In metres other than epic Anuṣṭubh the rhythm of the different verses in the stanza is approximately but not exactly the same: see below § 186 (last paragraph).
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183. The opening and cadence of dimeter verse appear to be independent, and may therefore be discussed separately. The quantity of the first and last syllables being indifferent, each part of the verse has eight possible forms. In the opening three of these forms are relatively common, and may be distinguished as the normal form (◡ - - -), the iambic form (◡ - ◡ -), and the syncopated form (◡ ◡ - -): in all of these forms the fourth syllable is long. The ‘normal’ opening, as appears from the table, is predominant in every form of dimeter verse, usually including rather more than one-third of the whole number of verses. The ‘iambic’ opening is almost equally common with it in the early Anuṣṭubh group, and again in the odd verses in epic Anuṣṭubh: but in the other groups it is distinctly less common, and in the ‘reopening’ (§ 41) of epic Anuṣṭubh it is only rarely found. The ‘syncopated’ opening is rare in the early Anuṣṭubh and in the opening of the odd verses in epic Anuṣṭubh, but in the Gāyatrī groups it is comparable in frequency with the iambic opening, and in the reopening of epic Anuṣṭubh it is more than three times as common.
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There are three corresponding forms with short fourth syllable: of these the forms ◡ — — , ◡ ◡ — , are each about one-third as common as the corresponding forms above, except in the reopening of epic Anuṣṭubh, in which they are relatively much more common: the remaining form ◡ — ◡ is only about one-sixth as common as the corresponding iambic form, with the exception (as usual) of the reopening in epic Anuṣṭubh.
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The forms of the opening which contain consecutive short syllables in the second and third places may be considered as irregular. They are not common in any part of the Rigveda, and least of all in the Gāyatrī and epic Anuṣṭubh groups.
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A division into feet of two syllables is not traceable in the Rigveda, and therefore the usual terms applied to the Greek and Latin classical metres are unsuitable. There is some practical convenience in speaking of an ictus which falls normally on the even syllables, but is transferred from the second to the third in the ‘syncopated’ form: and also in speaking of the ‘general iambic rhythm’ of the verse as a whole: but it must not be assumed that the ideas which these words connote were present to the Vedic poets.
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The division, however, into ‘members’ of four syllables each seems to be fully established. The complete change of cadence found in Trochaic Gāyatrī has no effect upon the opening, except slightly to increase the frequency of all the less regular forms: whilst the change of rhythm in the reopening of Anuṣṭubh verse is accompanied, on the contrary, by increased strictness in the cadence. Even the adjacent fourth and fifth syllables appear to be without effect one on the other: for in the comparatively few cases in which the fifth syllable is long, the fourth syllable is also long in the usual proportion of three-fourths or more of the instances.
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The opening of epic Anuṣṭubh corresponds almost exactly to the opening in the lyric metres, without the comparative preference for the syncopated form shewn by the Gāyatrī groups. In the reopening the distaste for the iambic and irregular forms is more marked than the preference for any special forms: but the three most common forms are those in which two out of the three distinctive syllables are long.
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Of the irregular forms ◡ ◡ — is ten times as common as ◡ ◡ ◡, and therefore the former form in the first three groups is not very markedly less common than either of the forms ◡ — ◡, ◡ ◡ —. More strictly therefore we should say that ◡ ◡ ◡ is irregular throughout the Rigveda, and ◡ ◡ ◡ - in the Gāyatrī and epic Anuṣṭubh groups.
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All investigators are agreed that the quantity of the first syllable is indifferent under all circumstances. According to my own calculations, a long syllable is more common in this position, in the proportion of 11 to 10: there is perhaps a slight natural excess of long syllables in the language.
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184. Except in Trochaic Gāyatrī and the ‘semi-cadence’ (§ 41) of epic Anuṣṭubh, there is only one regular form of cadence in dimeter verse, namely the iambic form ◡ - ◡ ◡. In the lyric and early Anuṣṭubh groups all the variations from this standard taken together hardly amount to one-tenth of the whole number of instances: in the Gāyatrī groups they are only one-thirtieth, and finally in the full cadence of epic Anuṣṭubh only one-hundredth part of the whole. In every one of the groups the variation which differs from the iambic form only by shewing a short sixth syllable is about as common as all the other variations taken together.
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In Trochaic Gāyatrī the most common forms of the cadence have trochaic rhythm, but the length of the seventh syllable is of more importance than that of the fifth. The iambic cadence is fairly common; the forms - - ◡ ◡ and ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ are rare.
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In the semi-cadence of epic Anuṣṭubh the iambic form is still the most common, whilst the trochaic form is among the rarest: the rhythm therefore has little or nothing in common with Trochaic Gāyatrī. But whilst every possible form is permitted, the most common after the iambic form is ◡ - - ◡, and next to it - - - ◡; that is, the two forms in which both the sixth and seventh syllables are long.
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Catalectic and heptasyllabic verses are much more common in Trochaic Gāyatrī and among the odd verses of epic Anuṣṭubh than elsewhere.
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It is generally agreed that the quantity of the final syllable is in all cases indifferent. No exact method of measurement is available, as position is indeterminate.
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The special cadence of Trochaic Gāyatrī can most easily be explained as borrowed from Triṣṭubh metre. This explanation would also account for the comparative frequency of catalectic verses in this metre. It is therefore convenient to treat ‘catalectic’ verses as shewing a variation of cadence, and the statistics indicate that ‘heptasyllabic’ verses should be treated in the same way.
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185. TABLE SHEWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE VARIATIONS IN DIMETER VERSE.
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| Groups | Lyric I | Anuṣṭ. II | Troch. Gāyatrī | Gāyatrī VI VII | Epic Anuṣṭubh Odd vv. Even vv. |
| Number of verses | 1275 | 1068 | 474 | 1578 1424 | 551 550 |
| The openings: | | | | | | |
| Normal opening, ◡ — — | 392 | 371 | 329 | 391 336 | 368 317 |
| Iambic ,, ◡ — ◡ | 287 | 337 | 272 | 282 256 | 307 50 |
| Syncopated ,, ◡ ◡ — | 114 | 111 | 144 | 155 184 | 111 189 |
| ◡ ◡ ◡ | 96 | 73 | 117 | 71 88 | 103 209 |
| ◡ ◡ ◡ | 39 | 34 | 46 | 33 54 | 33 114 |
| Syncopated, ◡ — ◡ | 42 | 39 | 46 | 46 61 | 49 103 |
| Irregular openings | 29 | 35 | 46 | 22 21 | 29 18 |
| The cadence: | | | | | | |
| Iambic cadence, ◡ — — ◡ | 920 | 892 | 153 | 974 962 | 403 991 |
| ,, (with long fifth) ◡ — ◡ | 6 | 12 | 15 | 6 4 | 82 5 |
| ,, (with short sixth) ◡ — ◡ | 42 | 56 | 25 | 11 20 | 62 4 |
| Irregular cadence: | | | | | | |
| Trochaic, ◡ — ◡ | 3 | 2 | 313 | 0 5 | 24 0 |
| Syncopated, ◡ ◡ ◡ | 4 | 4 | 213 | 1 3 | 44 0 |
| Other forms | 12 | 22 | 252 | 4 5 | 343 0 |
| Catalectic verses | 10 | 8 | 21 | 3 0 | 31 0 |
| Heptasyllabic verses | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 1 | 11 0 |
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NOTE. All the figures in the body of this table are proportional to a bulk of 1000 verses.
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186. The general rhythm which is found in lyric, early Anuṣṭubh, and Gāyatrī verse, and also as regards the opening in Trochaic Gāyatrī and in the odd verses of the epic Anuṣṭubh and as regards the cadence in the even verses of epic Anuṣṭubh, may be distinguished as the *normal dimeter rhythm* from the special forms found in the cadence of Trochaic Gāyatrī and of the odd verses of epic Anuṣṭubh, and in the opening of the even verses of epic Anuṣṭubh. In some particulars, as in the use of the openings ◡ — —, ◡ — ◡, ◡ ◡ —, the normal rhythm is almost exactly the same in every group; but in the remaining particulars there are differences which, if not striking, are at least too large to be the work of chance. These may be summarized in the two contrasts, that (i) in the openings of early Anuṣṭubh the iambic form is more than twice as common as the two syncopated forms together, whilst in the Gāyatrī of Group VII it is only equally common, and that (ii) in the early Anuṣṭubh hymns irregularities either of opening or cadence are found in 15 verses in each 100, whilst in the Gāyatrī of Group VI they are only found in 5 verses in each 100. In both points there is approximate agreement between the lyric and Anuṣṭubh groups on the one hand, and the two Gāyatrī groups on the other, and the change seems therefore due to time rather than to metre. We have therefore the presumption of two historical tendencies, which may be shortly called (i) the increase of syncopation, and (ii) the diminution of irregularities. We proceed to trace the progress of these tendencies by examining them in several small groups of hymns which together include nearly all the dimeter verse of the Rigveda.
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The groups chosen are 27 in number, and they are selected on the same principle as the larger groups in § 185, namely so as to be homogeneous both in period and metre. The groups contain on the average about 500 verses, but some of them are much smaller: in this way it is possible to bring almost all the dimeter verse in the Rigveda under review, though there are a few hymns in which the metres are so mixed as to elude classification. Of the 27 groups 20 use exclusively the normal dimeter rhythm, and 7 have one or other of the special rhythms.
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The groups are composed as follows:
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ARCHAIC PERIOD: (1) Uṣṇih, i 79 4-6, 84 7-9, 92 13-18, v 40 1-3, 51 5-10, 72 78 1-3, vi 43, 51 13-15, viii 12, 13, 15, 18, 23-26, 98 1-6, ix 102-106; (2) Atyaṣṭi and allied metres, i 127-139, v 87, ix 111; (3) Kakubh-Satoṛhatī, v 53, viii 19-22, 98 7-12, 103, ix 108; (4) Uneven lyric metres, i 88, 120 1-9, v 24, x 22, 93, 105, 132; (5) Anuṣṭubh of bk v, and also i 84 1-6, 158 6, 175 2-5, 176, ii 5, 41 16, 17, vi 2 1-10, 14, 42 1-3, 44 1-6, 59 7-10, viii 69 1-3, 7-16, 70 14, 74 13-15, 89 5-7, 95, ix 98-100, 101 4-16, x 21, 24 1-3, 25, 26, 143; (6) Bṛhatī-Satoṛhatī, i 84 19, 20, v 56, vi 46, 48, viii 17 14, 15, 27, 60, 61, 66 1-14, 69 17, 18, 70 1-12, 71 10-15, 77 10, 11, 78 11, 87-89 4, 90, 97 1-9, 99, 101; (7) Gāyatrī of Group I, viii 14, 17 1-13, 28, 31 1-14, 43-45, 102 1-18; (8) Gāyatrī of Group II, i 2 4-6, 3 1-3, 7-12, ii 41 1-9, viii 38, 92, 93, ix 101 1-3, and in bk v and viii 60-79; (9) Gāyatrī of Group III, in i 74-93 and vi; also i 172, viii 80 1-9, 82-85; (10) Trochaic Gāyatrī (see § 197 i); (11) Paṅkti and Mahāpaṅkti, i 80-82, 84 10-12, v 6, 75, 79, viii 31 15-18, 62 1-6, 10-12.
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STROPHIC PERIOD: (12) Bṛhatī-Satoṛhatī, in i 36-50, vii, viii 1-11, 33 1-15, 49-54, and ix 107; (13) Gāyatrī, i 14, 27 7-9, 30 1-6, viii 32, and in the sections just named; (14) Trochaic Gāyatrī (see § 197 ii).
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NORMAL AND CRETIC PERIODS: (15) to (20) Gāyatrī in six groups, as shewn in the table; (21) lyric hymns and verses in bks iii and iv (see § 94 i); (22) Anuṣṭubh etc. of the normal period, i 10, 11, iii 13, 21 2, 3, 22 4, 53 12, iv 7 2-6, 37 5-8, 47, 48, 57 1, viii 33 16-18, 42 4-6, 47 1-12, x 131 4, 133, 134; (23) Anuṣṭubh etc. of the cretic period, i 28 1-6, 29, 105 1-6, 9-18, 142, iii 8 1-9, x 62 5, 8, 9, 176.
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Popular Rigveda: (24) Scattered lyric verses (see § 94 i); (25) Gāyatrī, i 23 16-18, 93 9-11, 97, iii 28, 52 1-4, viii 33 16-18, 102 19-22, x 9 6, 7, 57, 60 1-5, 101 4, 6, 119, 153, 158, 175, 186, 189; (26) epic Anuṣṭubh hymns and fragments, see § 198 ii and iii; (27) hymns in mixed Anuṣṭubh, Paṅkti and Mahāpaṅkti, see § 198 i.
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In the Anuṣṭubh groups the variations in the odd and even verses are distinguished throughout: where Paṅkti and Mahāpaṅkti are mixed with Anuṣṭubh the additional verses added to the respective distichs are reckoned as even verses.
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For other metres this distinction is not made in the table. In all the lyric metres irregularities are twice as common in verses beginning a distich as in those concluding it: in Gāyatrī those in the first, second, and third verses are respectively in the ratios of 5, 3, and 2, in all parts of the Rigveda. As to verses of four syllables see § 192.
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187. With regard to the developement of syncopation it appears from the table in § 195 that in the archaic period the Uṣṇih, Kakubh-Sato-bṛhatī, and uneven lyric groups are substantially in agreement with the early Anuṣṭubh hymns: whilst the Atyaṣṭi and Bṛhatī-Sato-bṛhatī hymns, and the Gāyatrī hymns of Group III, do not widely differ from them. In the strophic period the Bṛhatī-Sato-bṛhatī and Gāyatrī hymns, and in the normal period the Gāyatrī hymns of ix 1-60, do not widely differ from the early Anuṣṭubh hymns. In all the groups named, then, the iambic forms preponderate largely over the syncopated forms.
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On the other hand the syncopated forms are relatively common in two of the Gāyatrī groups and in the Paṅkti-Mahāpaṅkti hymns of the archaic period, and in all the groups of the normal and later periods except in ix 1-60.
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Although the increase of syncopation is therefore not equally observable in every group of the normal and cretic period, yet it is very marked in the hymns of these periods considered as a whole. This increase appears to continue in the popular Rigveda, so far as can be judged from the small amount of verse in the lyric metres and in Gāyatrī: for in groups 24 and 25 the syncopated forms decidedly outnumber the iambic forms.
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The occurrences of the iambic and syncopated openings are far too numerous to be recorded separately: but more detailed information is given in the ‘Table of hymns’ at the end of the book.
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188. As regards irregularities in the opening the groups of the archaic period shew great uniformity, the irregularities being generally about 3 per cent. of the whole number of verses. In the strophic, normal and cretic periods the proportion is generally much smaller, but in the popular Rigveda it increases. In Anuṣṭubh irregular forms are generally more common in the odd than in the even verses. As the variation is in all cases between narrow limits, it is of little importance in comparing the groups.
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Irregularities in the cadence shew much greater variation. In the archaic period departures from the normal rhythm reach the proportion of 38 per cent. in the uneven lyric hymns, so that the cadence in this group must be considered as constituting a special type; it is discussed further in § 196. In the odd verses of early Anuṣṭubh, again, the variations reach 13 per cent.: the general average of the archaic period is 7 per cent., whilst the hymns in Gāyatrī, Paṅkti, and Mahāpaṅkti are much more regular. In the strophic period the average is only slightly less. Later we find that the two Soma groups ix 1–60 and 61–67 shew an extreme regularity, whilst the Kuśika groups i 1–30 and iii do not greatly differ from the standard of the earlier periods. In the Anuṣṭubh hymns of the cretic period irregularities in the opening of the odd verses are many times more common than in the even verses. In the lyric and Gāyatrī hymns of the popular Rigveda irregularities are again common.
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The irregularities of the opening (◡ ◡ ◡) are substantially of the same type as the chief irregularity of the cadence ◡ ◡ ◡◡: but the latter occurs the more commonly. If language appropriate to the classical metres may be permitted, we should say that in each case a short syllable bears the *ictus*. But in detail there is a remarkable difference. In the opening the short second syllable which bears the *ictus* is very often one which contains a final vowel: in the cadence the short sixth syllable is almost always an initial syllable.
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For the cadence of hymns in the uneven lyric metres see below, §§ 191, 196.
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For the ‘short syllables which bear the *ictus*’ a quantitative explanation has often been sought, but as it would seem, wrongly. The final vowels found in the second place have been thought, either for some specific reason or merely as final vowels, to have some special suitability for positions which call for a long syllable: but if this were so, we should find them used also in the third place to make up syncopated openings, and in the sixth place: whereas they are extremely rare in both positions. Again the initial syllables which occur in the sixth place have been supposed to have some special affinity to long vowels, and it has been noticed that the same initial syllables frequently recur in this position. But it has not been shewn that in any case any very large proportion of the occurrences is found in the sixth place: and as in the previous cases, it is noticeable that these syllables are very rarely indeed found in the second or third place of an irregular opening.
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It is of the essence of quantitative length that it determines the position in the verse, and is not determined by it: and by this test all the syllables in question are genuine short syllables. In the lists of occurrences, however, attention is called to the special forms and words which have suggested a quantitative explanation.
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If we consider that irregularities of both kinds are most common in the earliest parts of the Rigveda, it becomes probable that their later use was largely due to reminiscence, not indeed of the older practice as such, but of individual instances of it: and this may account for the apparently arbitrary difference between the two irregularities. At the same time a reciter would be tempted to give an artificial intonation to words so occurring, and this is probably represented in the text by the long vowel or form in -o for which in many cases we have seen reason to restore a final short vowel (§§ 167 iii, 171 iv, etc.).
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189. The irregularities in the opening are about 350 in number. In one-third of the instances the second syllable contains a short final vowel, or -a as representing final -aḥ or -e; but only in some 20 instances is the third syllable of this character. In several instances the text gives a long final vowel in the second place, or substitutes -o for final -a (§ 171 iv). In addition there are about 50 instances of uncertain or ‘protracted’ final vowels (§§ 162, 163) in the second place where the third syllable is short.
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The occurrences may be grouped as follows:
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(i) The second syllable contains the final vowel of a word or of the prior element of a compound, or -a representing final -aḥ or -e: i 4 3c¹, 10 4b² 4c³, 13 11a⁴, 22 2a 18a, 23 15a⁵ *24b, 28 2b⁶, 30 20a⁷, 37 13a, 74 6a⁸, 81 2a, 91 13c¹ 15b, *93 3c, 105 5c¹ 6a¹ 15b, 127 10d⁹ 11d, 129 3c¹⁰ 8e¹, 130 3g¹ 5c, 134 6d⁵, 142 11a⁴, 158 6a, 175 1a, 187 4a; ii 6 4b¹¹ 8b, 7 2a¹, 41 †10b¹²; iii 24 2a², 51 11a⁷; iv 9 4b⁵ 5a 6b, 30 8b, 31 †4a¹² 5b¹³, 32 11b, 52 1c¹ 3a¹⁴ 6c¹; v 6 9c⁵, 19 2b, 20 4c¹, 27 4a⁷, 35 3a⁷, 50 2b⁸, *51 14c, 52 5b¹ 8b, 61 3c 4c, 74 6a, 82 7c 9c⁸, 87 6d¹; vi 2 10a, 16 25b, 45 31a⁶, 47 23c¹⁵ 24a¹⁶, 48 12b¹, 56 6b⁷, 59 9c¹, 61 11b, *75 12c¹; vii 32 †24a¹²; viii 2 27a 36c¹, 4 11d⁸, 5 14a, 6 25b¹ 31c⁵ 47a, 7 10a, 12 27b 31b¹, 13 9a⁵ 12a 28c⁵, 16 4a, 21 9a¹ 15a⁷, 22 9a, 24 9a 14a¹⁷ 30c¹, 26 11b⁵, 27 15b⁷, 28 5c¹⁸, 30 1a¹⁹, 32 10b 17a¹ 19c, 33 13b *17c⁵, 34 1c = 2c = 3c¹, 46 19b 22e¹⁶ 27a⁷, 54 7a, 56 1b¹, 61 16b, 65 5a, 68 1d 10c, 69 13a, 72 4a 12a¹, 74 4d¹ 7b⁷ 7c, 78 1b, 79 1b 9d¹, 81 8a, 83 7a⁶, 88 5a, *91 3b⁶, 92 2c¹, 93 20a 34a¹, 98 5a², *102 19a¹⁹; ix 3 7a²⁰ 8a²⁰, 9 7c, 15 1a²⁰ 2a²⁰ 3a²⁰ 6a²⁰, 23 3b¹, 27 1a²⁰ 3a²⁰, 28 2a²⁰ 4a²⁰, 57 4b⁵, 61 3a¹⁰, 62 1a⁷ 11a²⁰, 63 4a⁷ 9b¹, 67 9c², 99 4c⁵, 100 1a¹², *114 3a; x 26 2a 5b, *58 7a⁷, *86 20a³, 93 13c, *97 3b *17a⁴, 102 1b¹, *119 6a¹⁹ *11a, 126 2a, 127 7c¹, 132 2d², *137 6b¹, 144 3b, 171 2b¹, *172 3a, *174 2c², *186 1b.
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¹ Final -a or -o for -aḥ. [^2]: abhí. [^3]: -a neut. sing. of stem in -an. [^4]: áva. [^5]: utá (text utó). [^6]: ádhi. [^7]: Final -e before vowel. [^8]: ca. [^9]: práti. [^10]: pári. [^11]: vásupati. [^12]: abhí (text abhí). [^13]: ha (text hā). [^14]: utá. [^15]: dāśa (text dāśo). [^16]: dāśa. [^17]: úpa (text úpo). [^18]: saptá (text saptó). [^19]: nahí. [^20]: eṣá.
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(ii) The third syllable contains a similar final vowel: i 8 9b¹, *23 16b¹, 26 5a 9b, 84 2b, 86 7b¹, 129 1c, 142 4a¹, 172 1c¹ 2b¹; *iv 57 5b; v 5 3a¹, 67 1c 2b †5b³, 71 1b 2b 3b; vi 44 1a, 45 26b; vii 66 3b 8b; viii 19 23c¹, 31 5b¹, 47 1b, 62 2a¹, 67 4b, 69 11c¹, 93 9b¹; x *90 2a¹, 126 2b, *146 6a, *158 1b¹.
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¹ Final -aḥ. [^2]: abhí. [^3]: reading váruṇa, § 166 i.
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(iii) Other instances: i 5 1b, 12 4a 7c, 16 4b, 25 5b, 37 2a, 38 9c, 42 3c, 46 12a, 84 4b, 105 6b, 127 7g, 128 1e, 130 4d, 137 2g, 150 2a; ii 8 5a; iii 62 10a; iv 32 24b, 37 5a 6a; v 7 2d 3a 7d 8b, 18 5e, 27 4c, 35 8b, 39 4c, 52 3c 10a, 65 4d, 66 1a 2b, 68 4a, 74 1c 4d, 82 1a, 86 2a, 87 8d; vi 16 19a, 45 17a, 48 5b 14b, 54 8b; vii 32 7b 15b 20a, *55 5d, 59 9a, 66 7c 12d, 96 1b; viii 2 3b 9a 26c, 4 14b, 5 35c, 6 46a, 8 23a, 11 2a, 13 2a, 18 7b, 19 5a 5c 14b, 22 7b, 23 4b, 24 6b, 25 14b 19b, 26 24b, 31 12a 16a, 33 6a 14b, 36 7c, 37 7c, 41 4a 4d, 45 31a 34b, 46 4b 8d, 62 4d, 66 8b, 69 5a, 71 2c 8b, 72 8a, 83 3b 3c, 84 2a, 89 5c, *91 1b, 92 1b 8c, 93 14a, 94 1a, 101 5b, 102 13b *19b, 103 3b; ix 7 1b, 12 9a, 13 2b, 14 6c, 17 4a 8c, 23 3a, 24 3a, 63 21b, 64 20b, 65 3a 14a 30a, 66 2b 20a, 67 14a, 98 2c, *112 3a, *113 6b; x *59 8d = *9e = *10e, *85 35a, 93 12c, *97 5d *15a *22a, *136 3a *6a, *141 5a, *145 6c.
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(iv) ‘Protracted’ or other vowels of doubtful quantity are found in the second place in dimeter verse as follows: i 22 4b, 25 8c 9c, 27 3c¹, 36 15a¹, 42 5c, 50 6a, 80 3a¹, 129 9b¹, *133 2c¹; iii 45 1b¹; iv 48 1d¹; v 35 5c, 61 13b 14b; vi 16 3a 14c 17a 17c *48c; vii *55 7c; viii 3 11a¹, 12 2a 2c, 17 10b, 19 16b 20b, 20 26b, 24 24a, 34 3a, 38 2b, 46 25b¹, 60 9a¹ 9b¹ 9d¹, 63 10c, 67 6c, 78 10d¹, 93 31b¹; ix 61 19b, 101 1a, 111 2e; x *72 7c, *97 7a, 126 2c, 176 1c².
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¹ Imperative in -dhi, -hi. [^2]: Neut. sing. in -a, § 175 i.
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The distinction between final short vowels and those which are specially ‘capable of protraction’ cannot be satisfactorily drawn: but it will be noticed that the number of the latter is not sufficiently large to affect the general conclusions drawn in this chapter with regard to the irregular openings.
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190. Quantitative variations in normal dimeter cadence are increasingly rare in proportion as they deviate from the standard form. Hence the most common variations are (i) the long fifth syllable - - ◡, and (ii) the short sixth syllable ◡ ◡ ◡. The long seventh syllable is, however, a rare variation.
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The trochaic variation - - ◡, and the syncopated variation ◡ ◡ ◡ are both rare; they may in some cases be due to the influence of Trochaic Gāyatrī, in which they are the most common forms.
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In the sixth place the initial syllables of words like ajára, aruṣá, ávase, gúhia, marútaḥ, váruṇa, sávase, hávia, occur with considerable frequency, but it is not clear that this frequency is disproportionate to their occurrences in other parts of the verse.
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The irregular forms of the cadence occur as follows:
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(i) Long fifth syllable: i 10 1a 2c, 12 5c, 24 4a¹, 25 16b, 28 8b, 29 7a, 36 15a, 37 1a 5b 11a, 42 10a, 43 8c, 48 3a, 90 2c, *97 4a, 175 4d; iv 30 21c 24c, 31 7a; v 6 1a 2d, 7 8a, 17 2b, 38 2c, 50 5b², *51 14b, 53 4a, 61 15b¹, 64 2b, 65 2b, 70 3a, 73 4a, 79 2a, 82 4b 7a, 86 6b; vi 46 5d, 54 7a; vii 81 5b, 94 12a 12b; viii 1 5a, 2 15a 38a, 4 13a, 8 20a 21c, 9 2a, 10 5d³, 12 20c 24a, 16 9a, 19 36c, 22 1d 18b, 25 16a¹, 28 3b¹, 32 25c, 39 6a, 46 27b, 47 12a 12c, 54 1d, 55 4a, 56 2a 4a, 60 3a 19a 20d, 62 9c, 67 7a 18a, 70 11d, 80 4c, 84 9a, *91 3b, 92 7a, 101 2b, 102 11c; ix 5 7c, 15 1a, 19 5a, 29 1a, 30 2a, 40 1c, 52 2c, 61 2a¹, 62 21c, 98 7c, 107 8a 26b, *113 6b; x *16 14d, 22 1b 1c 9b, 26 2c 5a 6a, 62 5c, 93 1c 1d 2c 9c, 105 3a, *119 1c = *2c = *3c, 126 3c 3d, 127 4a, 144 1c, *153 3c, *158 2a, *175 3c; and frequently in the semi-cadence of epic Anuṣṭubh and the allied metres.
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¹ itthá.
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² see on ráthas, § 151 iii.
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³ áthā (text átha).
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(ii) Short sixth syllable: i 1 2a, 3 6b, 6 1a, 7 4a, 8 6b, 9 9a, 10 7a, 15 7a 10a, 16 1a, 17 2a, 18 1a¹ 3a 9c, 22 3a 6a, 24 3a, 25 7b 9b, 27 9b 9c, 28 2a, 30 3b 4a 17a 21c, 36 5a 13b, 37 8a 13a, 38 3b 5a 10a 14b, 42 4c 9b, 43 7a, 44 1a, 46 4a 5b, 48 1a, 80 10a, 84 2b 7a 20b², 86 1b 8b 9a, *97 1a *1c = *2c = *3c, 105 4a 5c 8a 15a 17a, 127 3d 3g 4c 5d 5g 9g 11g, 129 1c 3e 10c 10d, 132 1d, 134 2d, 137 1e 3d, 150 2a 2b, 176 5b, 187 2b 7a; ii 41 4a³; iii 9 1a 7b, 11 3c, 13 2d 6a, 24 1a, 27 10c 13a, 37 1a, 40 7a, 41 8a, 45 1a, 51 11b, *52 2a, 59 8b, 62 14b; iv 1 2c, 15 7c, 30 9a, 32 4c, 37 6a 6c, 48 1b, 52 1c 2a; v 5 9c, 6 4b, 7 2a 2b 3c 4d 5d 7d, 9 3b 4d 5d 6c †7a⁴, 17 1d 4b 4c, 18 1b, 20 2b, 22 3c 4b, 25 1a 3b, 26 9b, 28 4a, 35 1a, 38 2b, 50 1a 1b 2b 2d 4a 4d 5a, 52 2a 5b 10a 10b, 53 12c 16b, 61 3c 7a 9d 11c, 64 4a⁵ 5d 6a 6b, 65 3a 4d 5a 6b, 66 5a, 67 2b, 74 5a, 78 2b, 82 4a 5a 6a 9c, 84 1b 1d, 86 1a 5b⁶ 6e 6f, 87 1e 4d 8e; vi 2 2c 4b 4d 7b 9b 9c, 14 1d 2b 3a 4c, 16 17c 18c 38a 42b 42c 45c, 44 3a, 45 23a 29c, 46 9a 11b⁷, 47 24c, 48 3a 8e, 53 8c, 61 4c; vii 16 1d 5a, 32 15d 24d, 59 1a 1b 11a, 66 1a 2b 4a 6a 7a 8b 9a 12b 12d 14d 19a⁸, 94 8a; viii 1 5b⁶ 21b 29a, 2 1b 35b, 3 1a, 6 35c 42c, 7 1a 2b 14b 34a 35b, 9 1b 20a, 11 2a 6a 9a, 12 14a 19a 26b, 13 12c 13a, 14 7a 13a, 15 9b, 16 2b 8a, 18 4a 5a 9c, 19 3a 9c 35d, 20 17c 18d 20d, 22 7b, 23 4b 11a 19a 26a, 24 7a 20a, 25 2a 3b 4a³ 4b¹¹ 10a 14a 18b, 26 25a, 27 5a 13a 18b 21a, 29 8b, 30 3a, 31 5a 12b, 32 10c, 33 14b, 34 1a, 39 1b, 40 9c, 41 5c, 44 21a, 45 7b †22a⁷ 37a †38a⁷, 46 1b⁸ 2b 9b 10b 24d⁸ 29b, 47 10a, 50 4d, 53 7a, 60 7a 10b, 61 8d 14b, 63 4a⁹ 4d 10b, 66 9a, 67 13b, 68 4b 11a 18b, 69 1a 12a 16d, 70 5b 6b 8d 10a, 71 14a, 72 2c 6c 7b 13c 17a³, 74 1a 7d, 77 5a, 78 7a 7b, 80 4a, 82 8b, 83 3c, 84 5a, 89 3a, 90 1a, 92 10a 14a, 93 33b, 94 1a 4b 5b, 98 7c, 99 7a, 101 3a³ 4b, 103 10b; ix 1 6b, 11 4a, 16 2a, 23 6a, 24 7b, 29 5a, 48 3a, 51 3c, 55 3c, 58 2b, 61 9b, 64 1c, 66 19a 21a, 67 25a 26a, 98 6a, 101 †3a⁴ 5a 11c 13d, 103 5b, 105 4b, 106 1b 6c, 107 10d; x 20 7a, 22 5b 7c 10d, 24 †2a¹², 25 1e, 33 2a, 62 5a 10a¹⁰, *90 2b, 93 3c 6d, *101 4a *6a, *102 1d *12a, 105 8b, 118 6c, 126 1a 1d 6c, 132 2c, 133 6d, 143 1a 3d, *153 3b, *155 5b, 156 4a, *166 5e, *173 3b, 176 1b, 185 3a; and frequently in the semi-cadence of epic Anuṣṭubh and the allied metres.
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¹ reading sómānāṁ su-áraṇam.
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² text canā.
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³ reading mitra varuṇa.
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⁴ text abhí.
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⁵ text avá.
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⁶ § 142 iii a.
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⁷ vṛṣabha (text vṛṣabhā).
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⁸ § 142 iii b.
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⁹ see § 166 vi a.
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¹⁰ see § 167 i.
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¹¹ § 174 i a.
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¹² see § 151 iii.
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⁴ see § 158 v.
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(iii) Trochaic ending (– ◡ – ◡): i 3 11a, 9 5a, 17 3a, 18 3b, 44 2b, 120 2c 6c 7a 7d, 134 5e, 142 7a, 158 6a, *191 10d *10f *11d *11f *12d *12f; iii 11 6b, 24 1c, 27 6b, *28 1b *6b, 59 8c; v 5 4a 5a; vii *55 2a *3a; viii 9 15a, 14 8a, 24 19a, 27 2d, 29 7b, 30 2c, 32 24a¹, 39 6b², 46 2c, 94 1b 9a; ix 101 12c, 105 1a, *113 4b; x 25 9e, 93 13d, 132 5c, 140 3d.
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¹ reading tú.
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² reading mártīānām and omitting apīcīam, § 152 i.
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(iv) Syncopated ending (◡ – ◡): i 3 8c, 10 6d, 28 1a, 37 11b, 46 3a, 91 15a, 134 5d, 142 2a, 187 11c 11d; ii 41 7a¹; iii 12 5b, 27 3c, 62 12a 15b; v 5 11a, 20 4d 4e, 51 9a, 61 18b 19a, 72 3a, 74 2b¹; vi 47 23a; viii 8 21a, 9 9a¹, 20 8d, 25 10b¹, 26 2b¹, 39 3c, 46 29a, 68 8a, 70 13b, 76 11b, 85 1a¹ 9a¹, 98 12a; ix 5 2a, 40 4a, 59 3a, 61 9c; x 126 4a.
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¹ reading náasatyā.
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(v) Irregular endings (– ◡ ◡ ◡, except where otherwise noted): i 4 8b, 6 10c, 43 3a, 74 8b, 75 5a, 80 10d 11d, 84 2a, 88 1c, 105 16a², 127 7c, 129 2d 2e, 150 1a¹, 175 3a, 187 1b 5a, 188 5a² 11a²; iii 24 5c, 27 11b, *28 2a *3a¹, 40 3b², 59 7c, 62 14a; iv 30 14a, 32 3a¹, 46 3a; v 5 7b 10b², 7 1a² 7c³ 10d¹, 9 1a¹ 4c, 25 2a², 50 3a, 51 8a² 10a, 52 8a¹, 53 12a¹ 12b, 61 1a, 64 7a, 65 4b, 72 2a¹, 74 5d 6a¹, 75 5a, 84 2c¹; vi 2 2a, 44 4a, 46 12d¹, 47 24a; vii 16 1a, 32 18b¹ 18d¹, 66 7b 18a, 74 5d¹; viii 1 30a²⁴, 3 19d¹ 24a¹, 10 3c, 12 6c⁵, 13 1a¹, 14 2a², 18 8a 17b 20a, 19 32a, 25 24a¹, 30 2b², 33 1a¹, 36 1d = 2d = 3d, 38 5a, 39 9a¹, 43 11a¹, 46 21d¹ 24a, 49 7a², 51 1a, 69 11a¹, 74 2a¹, 85 8a, 89 5b¹ 5c, 93 3b, 98 8b², 99 7b, 101 5a¹, *102 22a, 103 7b 12a 13c¹; ix 33 6a, 40 3a¹, 47 2c, 67 27a 28a², 98 7b¹, 101 6a 16a, *113 6d; x 21 7c⁵, 24 3c⁵, 25 5c⁵ 6e⁵ 8c⁵ 9c⁵, 26 7c¹, 93 13a¹, 105 6b, 118 8a¹, 126 2c¹, *158 1a¹ *3a *4c¹, *175 1a *1c, 187 5a.
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¹ ending – – – (epic cadence).
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² ending – – – ◡.
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³ § 151 iii.
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⁵ These verses, with the verses of four syllables which follow, make up trimeter verses with regular rhythm.
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The trochaic, syncopated, and irregular endings are also used in Trochaic Gāyatrī and epic Anuṣṭubh as shewn in § 199.
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191. Syllabic irregularity usually takes the form of the catalectic verse, with the cadence ◡ - ◡: this is fairly frequent in one or two hymns, and seems in these to mark an attempt at a new metre, in which the eighth syllable is replaced by a ‘rest,’ and the cadence is therefore the same as that of Triṣṭubh verse. Any such hymns belong to the archaic period. Outside these few hymns catalectic verses are not very common.
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Other verses of seven syllables (heptasyllabic verses) are comparatively rare, and it seems probable that in most cases some metrical restoration is required.
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Verses of nine syllables are very rare, and hardly seem to be intentional.
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Perhaps the only typical hymn in catalectic dimeter metre is x 26 (Anuṣṭubh). Here out of 36 verses 23 may be, and 11 must be, measured as catalectic or heptasyllabic: even the smaller figure is too large to be due to chance. In viii 68 14-19 (Gāyatrī) there are 3 catalectic verses out of 16, if we read a-arksé for ārksé in 16b (§ 151 i). The number of such hymns is, however, very large if the syllabic restorations discussed in Chapter V are not accepted.
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In uneven lyric verse the proportion of catalectic and heptasyllabic verses is very large, and this may be directly due to the influence of the Triṣṭubh verses in the same hymns. Hymns i 120 1-9, x 22, 105 are most noticeable in this respect.
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In Trochaic Gāyatrī and epic semi-cadence verses of seven syllables are not uncommon, but this seems to be due to the general irregularity of rhythm, as shewn in § 185.
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In normal dimeter verse the instances of syllabic irregularity are as follows:
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(i) Catalectic verses: i 29 3b, 127 10d 11e, 128 7g, 129 5g 8e, 132 6e, 134 3d, 172 1a, 175 1c, 176 5c, 187 7d, *191 9b *12b; iii 8 3c, 13 1b; iv 15 7a, 30 9b, 48 2a; v 7 8c 10e, 27 5c, 35 2a 2b, 38 3b, 52 16a, 86 5a; vi 14 2a, 45 29b, 47 23c; vii 66 2a; viii 4 7a, 10 4a, 17 11a, 18 15a, 25 13b 22b, 28 4a, 31 2a, 39 2d, 46 11b 22e, 61 16d, 68 17a, 70 7a, 72 2a 7a, 74 13a, 75 2a 8b, 103 2a 13b; ix 12 3b, 21 5c, 53 1a; x 140 †2a¹, 176 4c.
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¹ § 152 ii.
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(ii) Heptasyllabic verses: i 6 4a, 105 5a, 132 6d, 175 4c; iii 62 16a; v 7 10c, 50 2a, 86 6a; vi 16 2b, 60 4a; viii 24 30a, 25 23a, 26 5b, 31 10c, 46 32a, 50 9a, 64 1a, 69 8a, 71 10b, 74 4c 8a, 84 1a, 98 4b; ix 18 7b, 98 8a, *113 5b; *x 119 11a, *164 5c.
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(iii) Of hypersyllabic dimeter verses hardly 20 are to be found in the Rigveda: many of them may be removed by restorations already suggested, as *i 191 6a (pṛthví, § 151 iii), iv 48 1c = 2c = 3c (candrá § 84 A 1), v 61 16c (yajñyásaḥ, § 135), viii 19 37a (prayí-vayí-yoḥ § 152 ii), x 20 2a (omit agním § 152 i). The following instances are not so easily remedied, and seem rather to indicate careless composition:
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i *126 6a, 187 11a 11b, *191 16d; v 7 7d, *51 15a; viii 3 21d; ix 67 30b 30c; *x 85 46c, *158 2b *2c. These instances are not included in the tables.
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(iv) Defective verses containing only six syllables are found in i 187 1a, viii 102 7a, x 93 2b.
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192. The rhythm of verses of four syllables is closely associated with that of the cadence of dimeter verse. These verses are seldom recognized as such in the native tradition, but are considered as forming, with the dimeter verses to which they are attached, complete trimeter verses. The difference can as a rule be readily detected by the rhythm.
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Thus the native commentators do not distinguish the two forms of Uṣṇih metre, nor is it possible to do so confidently in all single instances. But if we compare verses such as
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yéna hā́msi ní atríṇam | tám īmahe viii 12 1cd
átūrtadakṣā || vṛṣaṇā vṛṣaṇvasū viii 26 1c
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we observe that the first has the rhythm which is regular in dimeter verse, the second that which is regular in trimeter verse: and if the former rhythm is regularly repeated throughout the hymn, and a break also regularly follows the eighth syllable, there can be no doubt that we have before us the combination of a verse of eight syllables with one of four.
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The great majority of verses of four syllables occur in this ‘Dimeter Uṣṇih’ metre, which may be regarded either as a shortening of the Anuṣṭubh stanza or an extension of the Gāyatrī stanza.
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Dimeter Uṣṇih is found in i 84 7–9, 91 17, iii 10, v 51 5–7, 8–10, vi 43, 51 13–15, viii 12, 13, 15 4–6, 18 1–9, 98 4–6, ix 102, 106 1–3. Verses of four syllables otherwise combined are found in *i 191 13, ii 22, *vii 55 2–4, viii 46 7, 18, 62 7–9, 97 11, 12, 98 10–12, ix 60 3, 109 22, x 21, 24 1–3, 25, 126 1–7, 172.
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Dimeter Uṣṇih hymns cannot be quite strictly separated from those in the corresponding lyric metre. Thus the hymns named above contain the following trimeter verses: iii 10 6c, viii 12 28c = 29c = 30c, 13 13c 15c; and other Uṣṇih hymns contain verses which are capable of being analyzed as above.
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There are about 150 verses of four syllables in the Rigveda. All of them have strict iambic rhythm (as tám īmahe above) with the following exceptions. In i 84 7–9 the refrain is índra aṅgá which (if it is metrical at all, and not a prose formula) has trochaic rhythm. In ii 22 (in which the division into verses is very uncertain) we find tuviśúṣmaḥ, sátya índuḥ; in vi 51 15d gopā́ amā́: there being altogether eight occurrences of these variations.
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The rhythm seems to leave no doubt that the four-syllable verse is derived from the latter half of dimeter verse. The occurrences are almost entirely restricted to the archaic period, except in the hymn *vii 55 2-4 in the popular Rigveda.
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Verses of three syllables appear to be attached to stanzas consisting of two dimeter verses in v 24 2, 3, 4.
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193. In Trochaic Gāyatrī syncopated forms are fairly frequent in the opening. As however all the less regular forms of the opening are rather more common in this metre than elsewhere (Table, § 185), this is no clear indication of date.
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In the hymns of the archaic period the iambic cadence is still found once in every five verses, but in the strophic period it is only half as common. The characteristic forms of the cadence are discussed in § 197.
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194. In the epic Anuṣṭubh of the popular Rigveda, whether pure or mixed, the opening of the odd verses is similar to that of the early Anuṣṭubh, the iambic opening being twice as common as the two syncopated forms together. This reversion to a rhythm which appears in the interval to have gone out of use is remarkable. It seems unlikely that there is any conscious imitation of older forms, for the whole growth of the epic Anuṣṭubh rhythms is so gradual that the idea of deliberate choice seems to be excluded. The renewed favour given to the iambic form in the opening must therefore be due to the instinctive reaction resulting from the growing tendency to exclude this form from the semi-cadence and the re-opening.
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The cadence in the even verses is extremely strict in the Anuṣṭubh of the cretic period and in pure epic Anuṣṭubh, the few variations that occur consisting exclusively of occurrences of the long fifth and short sixth syllables. In the mixed Anuṣṭubh of the popular Rigveda variations are rather more common.
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The forms of the semi-cadence and re-opening in epic Anuṣṭubh, and the stages of the transition from the ordinary to the special rhythm, are further discussed in §§ 198, 200.
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Of the irregularities in the full cadence of mixed Anuṣṭubh verse in the popular Rigveda a large proportion are found in the Mahāpaṅkti stanzas i 191 10-12. These verses, though rudely dimeter, are not in accordance with any known Vedic metre. Trochaic endings are common, both in semi-cadence and cadence, and the last verse of each stanza, as it stands in the text, begins with the unaccented word tuā. Further the stanza that follows (13) is so irregular that it cannot be brought under any scheme. If these stanzas are left out of account, we find much the same regularity in the cadence of mixed Anuṣṭubh and of pure Anuṣṭubh hymns.
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195. TABLE SHEWING THE METRICAL CHARACTER OF THE SMALL DIMETER GROUPS.
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| | Group | No. of verses | Opening | Cadence |
| | | | Iamb. Sync. Irr. | Irr. |
| | ARCHAIC PERIOD: all hymns | 5763 | 28 17 3 | 7 |
| 1 | Usṇih | 691 | 30 17 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Atyaṣṭi | 402 | 25 16 3·5 | 8 |
| 3 | Kakubh-Satoṛhatī | 315 | 26 12 3 | 7 |
| 4 | Uneven lyric | 121 | 32 10 3 | 38 |
| 5 | Anuṣṭubh: odd verses | 638 | 33 16 4 | 13 |
| | " " even verses | 661 | 33 15 2·5 | 8 |
| 6 | Bṛhatī-Satoṛhatī | 458 | 26 16 2 | 7 |
| 7 | Gāyatrī: Group I | 512 | 22· 18 1 | 4 |
| 8 | " " II | 915 | 24 21 3 | 6 |
| 9 | " " III | 551 | 26 18 3 | 5 |
| 10 | Trochaic Gāyatrī | 256 | 29 20 4 | 80 |
| 11 | Paṅkti and Mahāpaṅkti | 292 | 32 26 3 | 3 |
| | STROPHIC PERIOD: | | | |
| 12 | Bṛhatī-Satoṛhatī | 820 | 26 16 1·5 | 5 |
| 13 | Gāyatrī | 572 | 30 16 2·5 | 7 |
| 14 | Trochaic Gāyatrī | 219 | 25 19 4 | 90 |
| | NORMAL AND CRETIC PERIODS: all hymns | 3580 | 26 21 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Gāyatrī: Maṇḍalas ii, iv, v | 449 | 25 20 3 | 3 |
| 16 | " " ix 1-60 | 1065 | 31 21 2 | 2 |
| 17 | " " i 1-30 | 609 | 26 22 2·5 | 5 |
| 18 | " " iii | 241 | 27 26 1 | 9 |
| 19 | " " ix 61-67 | 576 | 24 27 2 | 1 |
| 20 | " cretic period | 516 | 24 21 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Lyric verses | 118 | 15 15 0 | 4 |
| 22 | Anuṣṭubh, etc. (normal period), odd verses | 250 | 27 21 2 | 6 |
| | " " even verses | 251 | 22 24 0 | 4 |
| 23 | " (cretic period), odd verses | 95 | 27 19 4 | 16 |
| | " " even verses | 101 | 19 23 3 | 1 |
| | POPULAR RIGVEDA: | | | |
| 24 | Lyric verses | 58 | 13 16 2 | 13 |
| 25 | Gāyatrī | 218 | 17 28 4 | 12 |
| 26 | Anuṣṭubh: odd verses | 551 | 31 16 3·5 | 60 |
| | " " even verses | 550 | 5 30 1 | 1 |
| 27 | An.-Paṅkti-Mah.: odd verses | 222 | 33 17 2 | 40 |
| | " " even verses | 220 | 18 27 2 | 6 |
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The figures are proportional to each 100 verses.
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196. The special forms of dimeter verse are those exclusively found in uneven lyric metre, in Trochaic Gāyatrī, and in epic Anuṣṭubh. The hymns in uneven lyric metre present at first sight the appearance of great irregularity, verses of 7, 8, 11 and 12 syllables being combined with very little system. The analysis of the rhythm of the dimeter verses (§ 199) gives another impression. In no part of the Rigveda is the opening more regular, threequarters of the verses being of the type ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡; syncopated openings are exceptionally rare. In the cadence of the verses of eight syllables the iambic form is again found in about three-fourths of the verses, the chief variations being the long fifth and the short sixth syllable: these variations do not agree with those found in the other special forms. If we may trust the general view we have obtained of the developement of the dimeter verse, the uneven lyric hymns represent its earliest Vedic type.
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The list of hymns has been given in § 186: i 150 and viii 35 might perhaps be added. The character of the rhythm is shewn in the table in § 199. The amount of matter is very small, and only one hymn of this type (v 24) forms part of any of the family collections.
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For the further discussion of these hymns see §§ 240–244.
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197. The special forms of the cadence in Trochaic Gāyatrī are shewn in § 199 for three groups: of these the first two are the Trochaic hymns of the archaic and strophic periods respectively, the openings of which were considered in § 193. The third group consists of single trochaic verses found in hymns chiefly composed in the ordinary Gāyatrī metre.
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In all the groups the forms with short sixth and long fifth syllable are rare, and the trochaic and syncopated forms are the most common; so that it is plain that the metre is substantially the same. In the strophic period the iambic cadence is only found in one-tenth of the verses and the syncopated form is as common as the trochaic: so that it would seem that the relative change is in the same direction as in the opening.
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The groups referred to consist of the following hymns:
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(i) hymns of the archaic period: i 3 4–6, 90 1–5; ii 6; v 68, 70, 82 7–9; vi 16 25–27, 61 10–12; viii 16, 71 1–9, 79, 81; x 20.
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(ii) hymns of the strophic period: i 27 1–6, 10–12, 30 13–15, 38 7–9, 41 7–9, 43 7–9; viii 2; ix 62 4–6, 66 16–18, 19–21; x 185.
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(iii) isolated trochaic verses: i 2 2, 7, 22 11, 30 10, 38 2; iii 11 5, 41 3, 8; iv 55 8; v 19 1, 2, 53 12; vi 47 24; vii 89 4; viii 3 21, 5 32, 35, 7 33, 11 4, 55 4, 68 16, 94 2; *x 175 1.
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Isolated verses are recognized by their having in two at least out of the three verses cadences other than the iambic and those with long fifth and short sixth syllables. The table shews that such verses, if collected together, exhibit the characteristics of Trochaic Gāyatrī.
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The difference between the Trochaic Gāyatrī of the archaic and strophic periods, as suggested above, rests upon a comparatively small collection of instances: it can only be regarded as a possibility.
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198. The Anuṣṭubh verse of the popular Rigveda appears in three shapes; (i) in hymns in which the number of verses in the stanza varies, that is, in which Anuṣṭubh is combined with Paṅkti or Mahāpaṅkti, (ii) in fragments, usually only of one or two stanzas, attached to older hymns or combined with other metres, such as Gāyatrī, Triṣṭubh, and Jagatī, (iii) in longer hymns, standing separately in the text. The forms found in the opening of the odd verses and in the cadence of the even verses generally resemble the normal dimeter verse, and have been already discussed: the forms found in the semi-cadence and re-opening are analyzed in the table in § 199.
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In the semi-cadence the iambic rhythm is still found in two-thirds of the verses in the first two groups, but only in one-third in the last group. In the first group the variations are fairly evenly spread over all the possible forms: in the second the epic form ◡ - - ◡ is the most common; and in the third this and its companion-form - - - ◡ are together as common as the iambic cadence. Single hymns can be found in which the new forms distinctly preponderate, and these are presumably the latest in the Rigveda. In all the groups the trochaic and syncopated cadences are relatively rare, and therefore there is no direct connexion between the semi-cadence of this metre and the cadence of Trochaic Gāyatrī.
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In the re-opening the steady decrease in the use of the iambic form is noticeable: it is found in 18, 10, and 2 per cent. of the instances respectively. After the normal opening ◡ - - - the syncopated form ◡ ◡ - - is most common in the second group, the epic form ◡ - - ◡ in the third.
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Here we have every indication of the gradual developement of new standard forms through a period of hesitation and experiment; and although the different stages of this developement all fall within the latest period of the poetry of the Rigveda, they illustrate tendencies which can also be clearly recognized in the developement of dimeter verse in the Rigveda proper.
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The groups analyzed are composed as follows:
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(i) epic Anuṣṭubh, combined with Paṅkti or Mahāpaṅkti verses: i 191 1-12, 14-16; vi 75; viii 47 13-18, 91; ix 112-114; x 58, 59 8-10, 60 7-12, 86, 145, 164, 166.
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In most of these hymns iambic re-openings are fairly frequent: but we only find one such form in each of the hymns vi 75, viii 47 13-18, ix 112, and *none* in ix 114, x 145, 164, 166. The cadence is of the type ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ in one third of the verses in ix 114, x 58, 164, 166. It is therefore probable that the hymns ix 114, x 164, 166 are of as late a date as the hymns generally in the third group. On the other hand i 191 10-12 and x 59 8-10 agree entirely with the early Anustubh rhythm.
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(ii) epic Anustubh fragments; i 23 20, 22-24, 50 10-13, 90 9, 93 1-3, 126 6, 7, 133 2-4, 164 51, 170 2-4; ii 8 6, 32 6-8: iii 29 1, 4, 10, 12, 33 13, 37 11, 53 20, 22; iv 24 10, 39 6, 57 4, 6, 7; v 40 5-9, 51 14, 15, 78 5-9, 83 9; vi 16 47, 48, 28 8, 48 22, 51 16; vii 55 5-8, 59 12, 103 1, 104 25; viii 33 19, 66 15, 100 7-9; ix 5 8-11, 67 31, 32; x 9 8, 9, 14 13, 14, 16, 16 11-14, 17 14, 18 14, 19 (exc. 6), 24 4-6, 87 22-25, 103 13, 109 6, 7, 142 7, 8, 161 5, 179 1, 191 1, 2, 4.
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This group is remarkably large, considering the small size of its separate members. It is of course difficult to define the rhythm of the single fragments, although their general character as constituting a transition to epic Anustubh is clear. The only fragments in which the iambic opening occurs more than once are i 133 2-4, 170 2-4, vi 51 16, x 19, 87 22-25. Many of the single verses are free from irregularities of cadence, but this is not remarkable, seeing that in the whole group the iambic cadence is still shewn in two-thirds of the verses. Fragments containing more than one stanza, and always shewing regular cadence, are i 93 1-3¹, vi 16 47, 48, x 87 22-25. The last fragment therefore agrees with the early Anustubh rhythm in both points.
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¹ In i 93 1-3 we may obtain epic semi-cadence by reading *sū* in 1a, and *adyā* in 2a. But these readings are uncertain (see §§ 160 v, 161 i above): and otherwise the semi-cadence in this fragment is iambic.
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(iii) epic Anustubh hymns. These are found exclusively in the tenth Mandala, being hymns 72, 90, 97, 135, 136, 137, 141, 146, 151, 152, 154, 155, 159, 162, 163, 173, 174, 184, 190; with which may be grouped the wedding hymn x 85, which contains long sections entirely composed in Anustubh.
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Amongst these hymns there is only one which contains the iambic re-opening more than once, and at least once in every ten verses, namely x 152; this hymn and x 141 agree generally in cadence with the earlier hymns.
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The hymns in which the new rhythm is most pronounced are x 72, 85, 90, 135-137, 159, 173, 174.
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The following are the examples of iambic re-opening in the popular Rigveda: (i) in the mixed Anustubh hymns, vi 75 13d; viii 47 13b; ix 112 2d, 113 4b 8b, x 59 8b 9b 10c, and commonly in i 191, viii 91, x 58, 60 7-12, 86: (ii) in the Anustubh fragments, i 23 20d, 93 2b, 133 2d 4d, 170 3d 4b; v 51 14b, 78 8b; vi 51 16b 16d; vii 104 25b; ix 5 10b; x 16 14d, 19 1b 7b, 87 22b 25b, 179 1b, 191 1d 2b: (iii) in the epic Anustubh hymns, x 85 12b 33b, 136 1b, 137 3b, 152 1b 1d, 173 3b, 190 1d. If the first syllable of *áriṣṭa* is not reckoned long, as suggested above (§ 167), additional examples are found as follows: (i) x 60 8e 9e 10d; (iii) x 97 7d, 137 4b.
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199. TABLE SHEWING THE SPECIAL RHYTHMS OF UNEVEN LYRIC, TROCHAIC GĀYATRĪ, AND EPIC ANUṢṬUBH VERSE.
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| | Uneven lyric | Trochaic Gāyatrī 1 2 3 | Epic Anuṣṭubh 1 2 3 |
| No. of verses | 121 | 247 218 70 | 222¹ 212¹ 335¹ |
| | | | Re-opening |
| Normal opening, ⏑ — — | 40² | 33 32 24 | 32 27 32 |
| Iambic " , ⏑ — ⏑ | 32 | 29 25 28 | 18 10 2 |
| Syncopated " , ⏑ — ⏑ — | 7 | 14 15 25 | 17 22 19 |
| " , ⏑ — — — | 12 | 11 12 10 | 9 16 25 |
| " , ⏑ — ⏑ ⏑ | 3 | 3 7 1 | 13 13 10 |
| " , ⏑ — — ⏑ | 3 | 5 4 6 | 10 9 11 |
| Irregular openings | 3 | 5 5 6 | 1 3 1 |
| | | | Semi-cadence |
| Iambic cadence, ⏑ — ⏑ ⏑ | 62 | 20 13 12 | 60 58 30 |
| Trochaic " , ⏑ — — ⏑ | 5 | 33 28 28 | 4 1 3 |
| Syncopated " , ⏑ — ⏑ ⏑ | 0 | 16 28 18 | 3 4 5 |
| " , ⏑ — — ⏑ | 0 | 8 9 7 | 5 6 12 |
| Epic cadence, ⏑ — — ⏑ | 1 | 9 10 9 | 7 11 18 |
| " , ⏑ — ⏑ ⏑ | 2 | 7 5 13 | 5 7 10 |
| Short sixth, ⏑ — ⏑ — ⏑ | 7 | 2 3 3 | 4 5 7 |
| Long fifth, ⏑ — — — ⏑ | 7 | 2 1 2 | 8 6 10 |
| Catalectic verses | 13 | 2 2 6 | 2 1 4 |
| Heptasyllabic verses | 3 | 1 1 2 | 2 1 1 |
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- Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit