Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c13.93

c13.93

Perhaps the only typical hymn in catalectic dimeter metre is x 26 (Anuṣṭubh). Here out of 36 verses 23 may be, and 11 must be, measured as catalectic or heptasyllabic: even the smaller figure is too large to be due to chance. In viii 68 14-19 (Gāyatrī) there are 3 catalectic verses out of 16, if we read a-arksé for ārksé in 16b (§ 151 i). The number of such hymns is, however, very large if the syllabic restorations discussed in Chapter V are not accepted.