Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13.90

c13.90

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.