Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13.44

c13.44

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.