Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13.165

c13.165

(iii) The combination of Bṛhatī and Satobṛhatī metres is found in two distinct stages. In the archaic period these metres are variously combined, other metres being often found by their side : such hymns are v 56, vi 48, viii 66, 70 1–12, 87, 97 1–9, 101 : in other cases fragments in these metres are appended to hymns in a different metre, as in i 84, viii 17, 69, 77, 78 ; complete and regular hymns are rare. On the other hand in the Vasiṣṭha and Kaṇva collections the hymns are regularly composed in alternate Bṛhatī and Satobṛhatī stanzas, the variations being comparatively unimportant. The Bṛhatī metre is still occasionally used in the normal period, as in the third Maṇḍala : it is therefore the last survivor of the lyric metres.