Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13.15

c13.15

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.