Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13.163

c13.163

(i) The position that the Atri Anuṣṭubh hymns are amongst the earliest in the Rigveda is confirmed by the great frequency of hiatus in these hymns (see § 132). That the Vimada hymns of bk x, and the hymns in uneven lyric metres, nearly all of which are also found in bk x, should also be ranked with the earliest hymns of the Rigveda will run counter to the presumption usually entertained that the hymns in this book are later in date. But the ‘irregularity’ of these hymns, usually considered an evidence of their late date, is really an argument to the contrary : for the verse of the popular Rigveda, though irregular in some points, is exceedingly strict in others : and the rhythm of the uneven lyric hymns, as well as their vocabulary, is in general agreement with that of the Atri Anuṣṭubh hymns. Further, the rhythm of the trimeter verses in these hymns agrees with the earliest type of trimeter verse, as will be seen later. We seem therefore led to the view that the tenth Maṇḍala preserves for us many hymns which could not find a place in the ‘family books’ because they did not conform to a proper metrical standard.