Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14: Chapter VIII. Trimeter Verse
Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14
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Chapter VIII. Trimeter Verse
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203. ALMOST two-thirds of the Rigveda is composed in trimeter verse, the number of verses being nearly 24,000. The main features of the verse are the same throughout the Rigveda: differences of structure, though clearly marked, are concerned with points of secondary importance.
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For historical investigation trimeter verse offers a much richer field than dimeter verse. The greater amount of material, the variety of the internal structure, and the absence of sharply contrasted types, all combine to make it easy to trace the steady developement of the rhythm. To these advantages another is added, which is perhaps the most important of all, namely that the Saṃhitā text provides us with a series of collections, within each of which the rhythm is almost absolutely uniform. Nearly all the ‘homogeneous groups’ defined in § 91 contain sufficient trimeter verse to establish their respective rhythmical laws; and such groups as i 31–35, 74–93, 94–115, 165–190, and Maṇḍalas iii, iv, vi and vii can be used almost as they stand in the Rigveda as units of investigation.
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In this field, if anywhere, the test suggested in § 113 may be applied. The ‘homogeneous groups’ as finally defined in Ch. III are revised and ordered in accordance with certain striking metrical peculiarities, chiefly concerned with their external form. If it appears that there is a corresponding developement in a number of other metrical features which have not yet been taken into account, it can hardly be doubted that we are within sight of the true history of Vedic metre.
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Besides historical developement there are two other possible explanations of metrical variations; the individual taste of the poet, and chance.
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Between the historical developement of the metre and the individual taste of the poets no sharp line of distinction can be drawn: the history of the Vedic periods is in the last analysis the history of the hymn-writers who belong to each of them. But for practical purposes individual taste is characterized by comparatively abrupt variation. If particular features are found in one group of hymns for which we are not prepared by the groups which just precede it in time, and of which hardly any trace is left in groups that appear immediately to succeed it, it is a natural explanation that these variations represent the bias of a single poet, or perhaps of a small group of poets intimately associated in their work. This individuality has often been recognized in the subject-matter and general treatment of the seventh Maṇḍala, with the result that the family name Vasiṣṭha, alone amongst those of the ancient seers of Indian tradition, suggests to many Western critics also a striking personality. It will appear that the metre of this collection lends some support to this view.
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Variations on a small scale may be ascribed to chance, that is to say, to causes which are not directly connected with the sense of rhythm. In a large body of verse such chance variations will take place in every possible direction, and therefore they will have no perceptible effect upon the rhythm as expressed in averages. Chance, though it laughs at all other laws, is always subject to its own law, which compels it to neutralize or destroy its own creations: and this principle is just as clearly indicated in the rhythm of Vedic hymns as at the gaming tables of Monte Carlo. If a ball is thrown at hap-hazard on a table on which exactly half of the compartments are red and half are black, then in 1000 consecutive throws the ball must fall very nearly 500 times into a red compartment. If a Vedic poet is really indifferent to the quantity of a particular syllable, then in 1000 of his verses the syllable is sure to be short in just about 500. Conversely if there is a decided balance in favour of the long or the short quantity, there must be a metrical motive somewhere at work.
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As however the number of chances is decreased, this certainty is diminished. In a short Vedic hymn, for instance, containing some 20 verses it is not impossible that the initial syllable should be twice as often long as short. Such cases however will not often be found: and any theory that might be built upon them would soon be abandoned as the result of further enquiry. In the present chapter (as indeed in those that have preceded it) we shall find it from time to time necessary to deal with small quantities of matter, in which the variations that occur may quite possibly be due to chance. But the uncertainties of the particular case do not produce a like uncertainty in the general conclusions to which we are led. If the survey of the facts be on the whole sufficiently wide, the errors in detail must necessarily be relatively unimportant.
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The habit of ascribing the metrical variations of the Rigveda to chance is the necessary result of imperfect familiarity with the details. The critic of metre who has convinced himself that chance is a totally inadequate explanation of the facts presented to him will feel bound to look for some other cause or causes. And since the phonetic structure of the Vedic dialect is obviously pliable in the extreme to the hand of the poet, he will necessarily fall back upon the conclusion that the variations which occur are due to changes of metrical taste: and whether these changes are conscious or unconscious, the product of the time or of the individual, they belong in a broad sense to the region of historical investigation.
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204. The general structure of trimeter verse has already been explained in §§ 18-35, 42-56; its distribution amongst the ‘homogeneous groups’ is shewn in § 114. As with dimeter verse in § 183, so now we begin a more minute study of trimeter verse by a general sketch of its most important features, and by giving in figures a precise measurement of the part filled by each in a series of groups, corresponding generally to the ‘homogeneous groups’ of § 91, but so selected as to represent those parts of the Rigveda of which the homogeneous character is most assured.
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The questions to be investigated fall naturally under the following headings: (i) the caesura, (ii) the rhythm of the ‘opening,’ (iii) the ‘break,’ or rhythm of the fifth, sixth and seventh syllables, (iv) the cadence, and (v) variations in the number of syllables, so far as they are not included under the preceding headings.
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The groups investigated are the following: in the archaic period (i) the lyric hymns, and (ii) the Triṣṭubh hymns of Bharadvāja (Maṇḍala vi); in the strophic period (iii) the Triṣṭubh hymns of Vasiṣṭha (Maṇḍala vii); in the normal period (iv) the hymns of Vāmadeva (Maṇḍala iv), and (v) those of Kuśika (Maṇḍala iii), in each of which groups the Triṣṭubh metre prevails, but a few Jagatī hymns are also found; and in the cretic period the hymns, almost equally divided between Triṣṭubh and Jagatī metre, (vi) of Kutsa (i 94–115), and (vii) of the small groups of hymns extending from x 29 to x 80. In the eighth and last group are included all the hymns of the popular Rigveda.
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The statistical results for these eight groups are given in the Table in § 212, and are the basis of the discussion in the sections that now follow.
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(i) Although the general type of trimeter verse is on the whole the same throughout the Rigveda, it is necessary to exclude wholly or partly from consideration here certain hymns which have a very distinctive character.
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Many verses which are treated by the native authorities as of the trimeter type have already been analyzed as consisting of dimeter verses with verses of four (or three) syllables attached. This is particularly the case in the metre to which the name of ‘Dimeter Uṣṇih’ (§ 192) has been given in this book. Verses of this type are entirely excluded from consideration here.
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Hymns in the ‘uneven lyric metres’ (§ 27) form a special class so far as the number of syllables in the cadence is concerned. Other variations which they contain are included in this chapter.
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Hymns which contain ‘decasyllabic variations’ (§§ 49–53) in any large proportion fall into two classes, which it now becomes important to distinguish.
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The first class consists of hymns in which different decasyllabic variations are found, in proportions varying from one verse in ten to one verse in five. These we now name as a class *hymns in decasyllabic Triṣṭubh metre*, though in fact two or three of them are in Jagatī metre, and in these the verses which contain ‘rests’ are of eleven syllables. These hymns are treated separately so far as the decasyllabic variations are concerned: but other variations are included throughout the chapter. The list of these hymns is given in § 94 iii *a*.
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The second class consists of hymns in each of which some decasyllabic variation is predominant, although some of them contain many verses in Triṣṭubh or Jagatī. These we now name *hymns in decasyllabic metres*, with the same qualification as in the last section. Variations of all kinds occurring in these hymns are given in the lists in this chapter within square brackets or in special subsections, but are entirely excluded from the tables. The hymns here referred to are i 61, 65–70; ii 11; iv 10; vi 44 7–9; vii 34 1–21, 56 1–11; ix 109; x 1, 6, 46, 77 1–5, 78 1–6 (§ 94 iii *b c d*).
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The special features which occur in the uneven lyric hymns and in decasyllabic hymns of the two classes will therefore be discussed in this chapter primarily from the standpoint of their occurrence as occasional variations in other hymns. The hymns in decasyllabic Triṣṭubh will also be considered in this chapter as a special class: but the consideration of the hymns in uneven lyric metres and in decasyllabic metres, so far as their respective characteristic features are concerned, will be postponed to the next chapter.
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(ii) The complete investigation of trimeter rhythm involves the tabulation of the quantity of almost every syllable in the trimeter verses of the Rigveda, in connexion with the position of the caesura in each case. In the following points only it has seemed sufficient to take samples of the rhythm: (a) for the initial syllable; (b) for the ‘regular’ forms of the opening (§ 215); (c) for the occurrences of a natural pause after the eighth syllable. As in dimeter verse, we have no means of determining with completeness the quantity of final syllables, but feel justified in assuming that it is metrically indifferent.
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Where samples only have been taken of the quantity in any particular position, it has seemed desirable to examine not less than 500 verses in each case.
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205. The caesura is the dominant feature of trimeter verse, and its position decisively affects the rhythm both of the opening and of the break. The caesura is a natural pause, corresponding to the taking of the breath in recitation, and occurs regularly in all parts of the Rigveda either as an early caesura, that is, a pause after the fourth syllable, or as a late caesura, that is, a pause after the fifth syllable (§ 43). Verses of these two types are everywhere combined in the same stanza.
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The position of the caesura is in itself indifferent in all parts of the Rigveda: but indirectly one or the other position may be slightly favoured on account of some rhythm of the break which depends upon it. Thus in the Vasiṣṭha hymns the caesura is more often late, on account of the favour shewn to the break ◡ || ◡ ◡ in connexion with ‘secondary caesura’ (see below): and in the Viśvāmitra hymns and the later periods the caesura is more often early, on account of the favour shewn to the cretic break || ◡ ◡ ◡ (§ 207).
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In a few cases, chiefly in the archaic period or in the popular Rigveda, there is some difficulty in determining the position of the caesura. In ‘decasyllabic’ and ‘hybrid’ verses there is always a well-marked caesura, but it is not easy to say in each case whether it should be considered ‘early’ or ‘late’: these verses are further considered in §§ 225–230. Elsewhere we appear to find a weak caesura, namely either (i) a caesura dividing the two parts of a compound, or (ii) a caesura following the third syllable. Both forms of the weak caesura are characteristic of the archaic period, and are further considered in § 214.
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Chiefly in the Vasiṣṭha hymns we find a variation which we may term the *secondary caesura*, being an approximation of the first eight syllables of trimeter verse to the dimeter type.
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The existence of the ‘secondary caesura’ in the Vasiṣṭha hymns may be inferred from the following considerations:
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(i) In all other parts of the Rigveda a pause is found after the 8th syllable in about 35 per cent. of the verses, which is just the proportion that might be expected if no special rhythm were aimed at. But in the Vasiṣṭha hymns this pause occurs in no less than 57 per cent. of the verses.
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(ii) Certain other variations of rhythm, namely the caesura after the third place, and the breaks ◡ ◡ ◡, ◡ ‖ − ◡, and − ‖ − ◡ are found very much more frequently when there is a pause after the eighth syllable than elsewhere.
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The verses in the Vasiṣṭha group which combine one of the features last mentioned with a pause after the eighth syllable amount to about one-sixth of all the verses in these hymns, and roughly account for the higher proportion of each of the separate variations in these hymns. It therefore appears that it is the combination of the pause with some other feature which characterizes this collection, and in the Table in § 212 the instances in which the combination occurs are considered separately.
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(i) The caesura is usually a pause in the sense as well as in the sound. It is not however absolutely necessary that this should be so: and we find numerous examples in the Rigveda in which the caesura separates either (a) the two parts of a *dvandva* dual, or (b) an accented word from an enclitic which follows it, or (c) the negative particle or the augment *a-*, when combined by Sandhi with a word preceding, from the remainder of the word to which either of them belongs. As these occurrences seem to have no historical importance, it will be sufficient to give a few examples here: namely
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(a) *asmá indrā* ‖ *-varuṇā viśvávāram* vii 84 4a
(b) *hásteṣu khādíś* ‖ *ca kṛtíś ca sám dadhe* i 168 3d *ágne tokásya* ‖ *nas táne tanúnām* ii 9 2c *áśvinā pári* ‖ *vām íṣaḥ purūcíḥ* iii 58 8a
(c) *sám vatsénā* ‖ *-sṛjatā mátāram púnaḥ* i 110 8b *durvásasé* ‖ *-mataye má no asyaí* vii 1 19b Further examples of (c) are found in i 59 2c, 168 9c, 190 3d; ii 35 13a; iv 1 12d; v 11 3c; vii 61 3d; x 61 7c, 68 10b, 89 13d, 99 5d, *103 1c *2a.
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(ii) That the syllable before the caesura, like the final syllable of the verse, is indifferent in quantity (syllaba anceps) is a theory as old as the Saṃhitā text itself, and finds expression in the systematic neglect to record the long vowels of certain endings in the position 4A (see especially § 176 ii). Western critics have also often inclined to this view. There is however no foundation for it in the usage of the poets: indeed the quantity of the fourth syllable is more strictly regulated in trimeter verse when the caesura follows than in dimeter verse where there is no caesura: and the quantity of the fifth syllable where the caesura follows is better marked than that of the third in the same verses, as appears from the Table (§ 212).
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(iii) Of the forms of the secondary caesura by far the most common is that which employs the break ◡ || ◡, and it is illustrated by the following examples:
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sómaḥ śukró ná || vāyáva | ayāmi vii 64 5b
vásiṣṭha śukra || dídivaḥ | pávāka vii 1 8b,
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the first example having in addition a short eighth syllable.
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Verses of this type amount to one-tenth of the whole number occurring in the Vasiṣṭha group, and are more than twice as common there as in the Rigveda generally: they may therefore be appropriately termed Vāsiṣṭhī verses.
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The frequency of verses in this type in the Vasiṣṭha group sufficiently accounts for the preference shewn to a late caesura.
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(iv) The less important forms of the secondary caesura may be illustrated as follows:
(a) caesura after third syllable with pause after the eighth:
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á citra || cítriam bharā | rayím naḥ vii 20 7d
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(b) iambic break || ◡ ◡ with pause after the eighth syllable:
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prá dhénava || udaprúto | navanta vii 42 1c
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(c) iambic break — || ◡ ◡ with the same pause:
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átūtujim cit || tútujir | aśíśnat vii 28 3d.
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(v) ‘Verses with secondary caesura’ as now defined appear to be distinctly influenced by dimeter rhythm, yet they are by no means in entire agreement with it.
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Of our verses (Table, § 212) 5 per cent. have caesura after the third syllable, 23 per cent. after the fourth, and 72 per cent. after the fifth. Of 100 dimeter verses measured in the same way the proportions are 22, 32 and 39 respectively, whilst 8 verses have no break (except within a compound) in any of these positions.
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Of the verses which have one or other form of iambic break only 12 per cent. have a short eighth syllable. Although this proportion is very much higher than that usually found in trimeter verse, it is very much lower than that found in dimeter verse, in which the quantity of the eighth syllable is of course indifferent.
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Again in our instances the fifth syllable is long (as in the last example) in one-tenth of the verses, whereas in dimeter verse a long fifth syllable is seldom found more often than once in a hundred verses.
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We seem therefore to be precluded from using the convenient title ‘dimeter Triṣṭubh’ for these verses, although it is very suggestive of their general character. Neither are we in a position to assert definitely that this type is derived by contamination from dimeter verse: it is quite possible that its leading variety ◡ ‖ ◡ was directly derived from the more usual form ◡ ‖ ◡ ◡ (which is only equally common in these hymns) in an endeavour to introduce a more varied rhythm (see § 207 iv).
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In any case it does not seem probable that these verses represent a primitive type: for in that case we should expect to find them accompanied by the general freedom of metre which characterizes the archaic period: whereas in fact the Vasiṣṭha hymns are on the whole quite as regular as (say) those of Vāmadeva.
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206. In the opening a general iambic rhythm predominates under all circumstances, as in dimeter verse: but the developement of this rhythm is not only different from that found in dimeter verse, but also varies according to the position of the caesura.
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If the caesura is early, about two-thirds of the openings in every group fall within the formula ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡: if it is late, the proportion is always as high as three-fourths, and in the Viśvāmitra group it is much higher.
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Before an early caesura the quantity of the third syllable is usually indifferent: in the groups of the normal period a short vowel is preferred, in the Kutsa hymns a long vowel.
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If the caesura is late the four regular forms are used almost indifferently in the archaic and even in the strophic period: but later there is a marked preference for a short third and a long fifth syllable, giving a normal form ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡, which is identical with the usual form of the Pentad in Dvipadā Virāj verse, and may therefore be called the Pentad opening.
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The syncopated form ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ ‖ is fairly common in the lyric hymns of the archaic period, and still more in the cretic and popular periods: but it has no such developement as occurs in dimeter verse.
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The other variations of the opening are of very little historical importance: they are discussed in § 215.
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In the following stanza all the verses except the first have the ‘Pentad opening’:
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*índrā yuvám* || *varuṇā didyúm asmin*
*ójiṣṭham ugrā* || *ní vadhiṣṭam vájram*
*yó no durévo* || *vṛkátir dabhítiḥ*
*tásmin mimāthām* || *abhíbhūti ójaḥ* iv 41 4.
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As however the construction of stanzas in which all the verses have either early or late caesura is foreign to the metrical conceptions of the Rigveda, stanzas of this type are only found here and there as chance productions. See further § 207 ii.
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207. The rhythm of the break depends directly upon the caesura, and is much more varied when the caesura is early than otherwise: this, as has before been observed, is also the case with the opening.
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The *normal* forms are || ◡ ◡ – when the caesura is early, and – || ◡ ◡ when the caesura is late: each of them includes about 40 per cent. of the occurrences in the archaic period, and an increasing proportion in the later periods.
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The *subnormal* forms after an early caesura are || – ◡ –, || ◡ ◡ ◡, || – ◡ ◡; that is, the remaining possible forms with short sixth syllable. Of these the cretic break || – ◡ – is found in about one-seventh of the instances in the earlier groups: but in the hymns of Viśvāmitra and of the later periods it is about twice as common. Occurrences of forms with short seventh syllable are about one-third as frequent in every period as the corresponding forms in which that syllable is long. With a late caesura the only ‘subnormal’ form is ◡ || ◡ ◡: in the archaic period this is almost as common as the normal form, but in the later periods it is only half as common.
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The iambic forms || ◡ – ◡, ◡ || – ◡, – || – ◡ may all be considered as *occasional* forms, at least in the archaic period. The form ◡ || – ◡ becomes rather more common in the strophic period, and retains a certain importance in the later groups: but the two remaining forms decrease rapidly in frequency. The occurrence of these forms in connexion with ‘secondary caesura’ has already been discussed in § 205.
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The remaining forms may be considered as *irregular*. They are all relatively common in the archaic period, and rare afterwards.
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(i) The rule given in § 45, that the caesura should be followed by two short syllables, holds good for about two-thirds of all the trimeter verses in the Rigveda, but is largely qualified by the particulars now given. Thus after an early caesura the cretic form || - ◡ - is much more common than the form || ◡ ◡ ◡, and must be considered as a more regular form: and the form || - ◡ ◡ seems also to rank as regular in the cretic and popular periods. In other particulars also the classification of the forms does not apply with equal force to all periods; for instance, the iambic forms (except ◡ || - ◡) are really irregular after the strophic period.
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(ii) With a late caesura both the opening and the break are comparatively inelastic in rhythm: hence, as the examples quoted above (§ 206) shew, the trimeter rhythm tends towards an absolutely rigid scheme, viz. ◡ - ◡ - ◡ || ◡ ◡ - ◡ - ◡.
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The Indian theory of classical Sanskrit metre unnecessarily distinguishes two forms of this verse, according to the quantity of the initial syllable: and it fails to take adequate account of the caesura, which is the most important feature in the verse, at any rate as used in the Rigveda. Still the term *Indravajrā* will be convenient for the scheme just given, if we may modify the traditional meaning by regarding the quantity of the initial syllable as indifferent, and the late caesura as essential.
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Although the ‘*Indravajrā*’ verse (illustrated in § 206) never becomes established as the basis of an independent metre, it holds a position of such prominence amongst the various forms of Triṣṭubh verse that it may fairly be considered as the dominant type which has emerged from the competition of numerous Vedic rivals.
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(iii) The use of the iambic forms || ◡ - ◡, ◡ || - ◡, and that of the cretic form || - ◡ - present the most striking features of the metre of the Rigveda. At first sight the iambic forms appear to be characteristic of the earlier Vedic periods, and the cretic form seems to mark the later: and this general view was assumed as a starting-point in §§ 94 v, 95 ii. It is now seen to be subject to important qualifications. In particular the form ◡ || - ◡, when used with secondary caesura, assumes importance even in some of the later periods, and in the hymns of Viśvāmitra, and to a certain extent in the group x 29-80, is used side by side with the cretic form.
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(iv) Although the form ◡ || ◡ ◡ is a regular form in all periods, it is comparatively little used in the Vasiṣṭha hymns, where it is actually less common than the form ◡ || - ◡. There is therefore ground for thinking that the latter form was encouraged by some distaste for the three consecutive short syllables at the break. In the end both these forms gave way to the dominant type - || ◡ ◡. It has been necessary to consider the quantity of the fifth syllable in connexion on the opening also, as it has a bearing upon the quantity of the fourth: but it seems that even with a late caesura the quantity of the fifth syllable is primarily affected by the syllables that follow.
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(v) Irregular forms of the break are much commoner if the caesura is early than otherwise: the most common form is ‖ ◡ ◡ —, and next to it ‖ — — ◡. After a late caesura ◡ ‖ — is more common than ◡ ‖ — —. This gradation follows naturally from the rule in § 45: in both types of the verse the rarest forms of the break are those in which the caesura is followed by two long syllables.
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208. The regular rhythm of the cadence is — ◡ — ◡ in Triṣṭubh verses, and — ◡ — ◡ ◡ in Jagatī verses. This rhythm appears to be almost entirely independent of the caesura and the rhythm of the break.
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In the eighth place a short syllable is employed fairly often, not only in the archaic and strophic periods, but also in the hymns of Vāmadeva in the normal period: and some liberty in this direction is still retained even in the later periods.
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This liberty is, however, not extended equally to all syllables. Final syllables are found twice as often with this quantity as initial or medial syllables: and final vowels are found about twice as often as final consonants.
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The prevalence of short final syllables in this position in the Vasiṣṭha hymns is associated with the secondary caesura: as becomes clear when we observe that almost one-half of the verses with short eighth syllable in this group have one or other of the iambic breaks ‖ ◡ — ◡, ◡ ‖ — ◡, — ‖ — —. The preference given to final short vowels as compared with final syllables ending in consonants calls for some different explanation: the phenomenon is clearly analogous with the similar preference for final short vowels in the second place, and the two are discussed together in §§ 221, 222.
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The short tenth syllable is about half as common as the short eighth syllable, and is almost always an initial or medial syllable, as is also the short sixth syllable in dimeter verse. This fact shews that there is some arbitrary or conventional element associated with the opposite tendency shewn in the short eighth syllable.
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The short eighth and the short tenth syllable are associated in the same verse just as often as might be expected by the laws of chance, and are therefore tabulated quite independently: all other quantitative variations in the cadence are very rare, and are almost confined to the archaic period.
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209. There are some important syllabic variations which affect the cadence only. These are (i) the catalectic *Jagatī* verse, in which the *Triṣṭubh* cadence is found in a lyric or *Jagatī* stanza; (ii) the extended *Triṣṭubh* verse, in which the *Jagatī* cadence is found in a *Triṣṭubh* stanza; and (iii) the hypersyllabic verse, in which the *Triṣṭubh* or *Jagatī* cadence is extended by two syllables.
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The first two variations may be explained by ‘contamination’ (§§ 55, 56): ‘catalectic *Jagatī*’ is not uncommon in the archaic and cretic periods, and becomes frequent in the popular *Rigveda*; whilst ‘extended *Triṣṭubh*’ is very rare except in the popular *Rigveda*.
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‘Hypersyllabic verses’ constitute a special metrical development, as is clear from the great number of such verses found in a single hymn (viii 97 10-15). The occurrences are confined to the archaic period.
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These variations are further discussed in §§ 223, 224.
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210. The syllabic variations which affect the verse as a whole are those exhibited in ‘decasyllabic verses’ (§ 49) and ‘hybrid verses’ (§ 56). Of decasyllabic verses there are many varieties (§§ 226-228), several of which develope into the distinct metres found in the decasyllabic hymns. For the moment we put aside not only these verses, but also all those that occur in the hymns in decasyllabic *Triṣṭubh* metre (§ 204 i), and consider only those verses which occur sporadically: the Table shews that these are relatively common in the archaic period, and are occasionally found in all the groups except those of Viśvāmitra and Kutsa.
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The conclusion reached above (§ 149 i), that most of the verses in which some part of the word *indra* follows an early caesura are to be interpreted as decasyllabic, now finds support in considerations of rhythm. For in such verses the final syllable of the word is short in two instances out of every three, as is regularly the case in decasyllabic verses of the corresponding type (§ 226 i, ii) : whereas if the resolved value were correct we should expect to find the rhythm || - ◡ ◡ quite twice as often as || - ◡ ◡. These verses are therefore included with the decasyllabic verses in the Table.
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Hybrid verses are occasionally found both in the lyric hymns of the archaic period, and in the popular *Rigveda*.
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In Chapters IV and VI I have preferred to interpret verses either by hiatus or by syllabic resolution, rather than as decasyllabic verses, whenever the evidence appeared in any way adequate. In so doing I have followed a principle which commends itself by its simplicity both to Indian and to western critics of the Rigveda: but the present enquiry rather points to the conclusion that decasyllabic variations should be more freely recognized. The evidence of early date is very much the same, whichever be the explanation favoured in particular instances.
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211. In the general picture of the developement of trimeter rhythm which is shewn by the Table in the next section there appears a broad contrast between the groups of the archaic period and those that are subsequent to them. In the archaic period almost every variation is relatively common, so that it would seem that the trimeter rhythm was not at that time established in any very strict form. But in all the subsequent periods we find very general regularity, with special favour shewn to one or more forms, such as the ‘secondary caesura,’ the ‘pentad opening,’ and ‘the cretic break,’ which are nevertheless common in all periods. In the popular Rigveda the variations are all such as may be explained by the ‘contamination’ of verses or parts of verses of different types.
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The variations which characterize the archaic period are both numerous and distinctive: they are also generally similar to those which characterize the same period in dimeter verse. Hence we can readily detect the archaic rhythm, even in a small group or a single hymn. The characteristics of the strophic, normal, and cretic periods, on the other hand, can only be observed in large bodies of verse: in small groups and single hymns the favoured types of these periods may happen to predominate merely as the result of chance.
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The frequency of ‘contamination’ in the popular Rigveda has already been used as evidence of date in Chapter II: in other points the metre of that period is in close agreement with that of the cretic period. On the other hand the provisional theory of an ‘archaic period’ receives confirmation from the appearance of a great number of new features which are seen to characterize the groups assigned to this period: and the examination of these details promises to supply us with the means of defining with considerable accuracy the list of hymns which should be assigned to this period. For the intermediate periods we can only expect to trace the history in its broader outlines.
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212. TABLE SHEWING THE PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF TRIMETER RHYTHM.
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| Period | Archaic | Stroph. | Normal | Cretic | Popular |
| Group | Lyric I | Bhar. III | Vas. IV | Vāma. VI | Viśv. VII | Kutsa VIII | x 29-80 IX | X |
| No. of verses | 736 | 1524 | 1621 | 1598 | 1407 | 685 | 1155 | 3445 |
| THE CAESURA: | | | | | | | | |
| Caesura after 4th syllable | 448 | 468 | 440 | 496 | 537 | 582 | 519 | 519 |
| " " 5th " | 496 | 478 | 536 | 480 | 458 | 410 | 467 | 463 |
| " in compound " | 8 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| " after 3rd syllable¹ | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Secondary caesura: | | | | | | | | |
| with caes. after 3rd | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| with break, ‖ - - | 22 | 13 | 41 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| " ‖ - - ² | 40 | 42 | 107 | 24 | 61 | 15 | 34 | 17 |
| " - ‖ - | 5 | 15 | 18 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| THE OPENING: | | | | | | | | |
| (a) with early caesura: | | | | | | | | |
| Regular, ⏑ - - | 130 | 163 | 157 | 208 | 220 | 173 | 177 | 174 |
| " - - - | 151 | 143 | 154 | 161 | 152 | 235 | 176 | 172 |
| Syncopated, ⏑ - ⏑ | 58 | 40 | 37 | 35 | 42 | 68 | 58 | 63 |
| Other forms | 109 | 122 | 92 | 101 | 123 | 106 | 108 | 110 |
| (b) with late caesura: | | | | | | | | |
| Pentad, ⏑ - - - - | 115 | 91 | 131 | 182 | 169 | 139 | 150 | 132 |
| Regular, ⏑ - - - - | 113 | 98 | 128 | 77 | 105 | 84 | 69 | 82 |
| " - - - - | 91 | 94 | 85 | 85 | 81 | 58 | 86 | 98 |
| " ⏑ - - - | 78 | 79 | 106 | 75 | 74 | 48 | 61 | 61 |
| Other forms | 99 | 116 | 86 | 61 | 29 | 81 | 101 | 90 |
| THE BREAK: | | | | | | | | |
| (a) after early caesura: | | | | | | | | |
| Normal, ‖ ⏑ ⏑ - | 201 | 206 | 217 | 233 | 295 | 286 | 245 | 270 |
| Cretic, ‖ - ⏑ - | 67 | 72 | 67 | 77 | 142 | 170 | 136 | 119 |
| ‖ ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ | 60 | 94 | 65 | 78 | 57 | 50 | 80 | 80 |
| ‖ - ⏑ ⏑ | 19 | 32 | 34 | 19 | 20 | 62 | 46 | 37 |
| Iambic, ‖ - ⏑ ¹ | 33 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Irregular forms | 49 | 30 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 11 |
| (b) with late caesura: | | | | | | | | |
| Normal, - ‖ ⏑ ⏑ | 233 | 221 | 248 | 285 | 248 | 232 | 290 | 279 |
| - ‖ - ⏑ | 162 | 167 | 118 | 145 | 130 | 137 | 122 | 153 |
| Iambic, - ‖ - ¹ | 28 | 21 | 31 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| - ‖ - ¹ | 13 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Irregular, ⏑ ‖ ⏑ | 17 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| THE CADENCE: | | | | | | | | |
| Short eighth syllable: | | | | | | | | |
| with secondary caesura | 3 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| final vowel | 30 | 21 | 15 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| final consonant | 18 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| otherwise | 24 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 4 |
| Short tenth | 34 | 34 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Long ninth | 8 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Irregular | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Catalectic Jagatī | 23 | - | - | - | - | 43 | 44 | 70 |
| Extended Triṣṭubh | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 45 |
| Hypersyllabic verses | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| SYLLABIC VARIATIONS: | | | | | | | | |
| Decasyllabic verses³ | 21 | 25 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| Hybrid " | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
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All the figures in this Table are proportional to each 1000 verses.
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213. In order to apply these results to smaller bodies of verse, it will be necessary to record more precisely the occurrences of those variations which are of historic importance. Amongst these the ‘secondary caesura,’ which includes phenomena connected both with the ordinary caesura and with the break, is the first to claim consideration.
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Apart from the Vasiṣṭha hymns, these variations are most common in the archaic period, but are also occasionally used later. But the ‘Vāsiṣṭhī verse’ (§ 205 iii) is very common in some of the later collections also, for instance in the Viśvāmitra hymns and the collection x 29–80: whereas the form with caesura after the third syllable is hardly found later than the strophic period.
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(i) The Vāsiṣṭhī verse occurs so frequently that it will be sufficient to give the references to the hymns only, indicating by an index number the number of occurrences in each hymn; reference to the verse is only given in the case of composite hymns. The list then is: i *24² 33 36 39 44 51 54 55⁷ 56 57⁴ 58² 59² [61³] 63² 71 72 73 77² 79 83 85² 87² 88³ 89 (8b) 92⁴ *93² 100 102 103 104³ 110 111³ 112² 113 116⁸ 117²⁰ 118⁴ 119² 121³ 122² 125 127³ 128 131 *133 (1a 1b) 134 140 141² 144³ 149² 151² 152 153² 154² 155² 156³ *161 *163³ *164 165 167² 168² 169 171 173⁵ 175 *179 180³ 181³ 182 183² 184³ 185; ii 9 10 [11²] 12² 14 17 19² 21 23 24 27³ 28² 29 30 31² *32 (5b) 33⁵ 35² 36 38³ 40; iii 1⁵ 2² 4 5 6² 7³ 14⁶ 15 18 19² 20 21 22² 25 26 *28 *29⁴ 30⁵ 31⁷ 32² 35³ 36² 38⁷ 39² 45 48 50 51³ 53³ (9b 10b *17b) 54 55² 56² 57⁵ 58¹⁰ 59 61²; iv 2² 3² 4⁷ 5⁵ 6² [10²] 12 *18² 19² 20 22 24 27² 29² 34 37 38 39 42 43 44 45 50 51 *58; v 1³ 2 3 4 8² 12 28 (1b) 30² 31 32² 34 36 41² 42 43⁴ 45 47 48 49² 54 55 57 60³ 76 77⁴ 81 *83 87; vi 1 3 4⁵ 6 10 11² 12³ 15 (15b) 16 (46b) 21 22 23³ 26² 27² *28 30 31 33 37² 38 39 40² 41 44⁶ 48⁴ 49 50⁴ 51² 52 (14d) 60 62² 63³ 64² 65 66⁴ 67 68² 69 72; vii 1⁵ 2² 3⁷ 4⁸ 6 7⁴ 8⁵ 10² 13 14³ 17² 18³ 19³ 20⁵ 21 22⁴ 23⁵ 24² 25 26² 27² 30² 31 32² 34 36² 37² 38⁵ 39 40⁶ 42³ 43 45 56⁶ [and 11a] 57² 58⁸ 60⁷ 61² 62 64⁴ 65⁴ 67⁵ 68⁶ 69² 70⁶ 71 72³ 73³ 75² 77² 84² 85 86⁴ 87³ 88² 90 92⁴ 95 97⁷ 99 100 *103 *104²; viii *1 (34d) 4 15 18² 19 20⁴ 21 22 23³ 24 27 33 35⁷ 36³ 46² *48⁶ 49 53 57 60 66 86 87 88 89 96⁴ 98² 99 101; ix 68 70⁴ 71² 74 75 76³ 79⁴ 83 84 85³ 86³ 88³ 89² 91 93 95² 96 97 (11d 21c) 106 107 108 [109]; x [1] 3 4 *10³ *13 *14 *18 23³ *27 29 30 31 32² (1d 2d) 35³ 36² 38² 39² 40² 45 [46²] 48³ 49³ 50 55 *59 61¹⁰ 62³ 63 64⁴ 68⁵ 69² 70 73⁵ 74² 76² 77² (7b 8b) 78 (7b) 79³ *82 *83² 89 91 92² 93 *94³ *95⁴ 99³ 104 105 106 113 115⁷ 116 *117 *120³ 123⁴ 124 *125 132 140 147 *168 172² *179.
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² Vāsiṣṭhī verse (§ 213).
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³ Verses occurring in hymns in decasyllabic Triṣṭubh are not included here.
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[Notes to the Table opposite]
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¹ For occurrences combined with a pause after the eighth syllable see under ‘secondary caesura.’ The number of occurrences under the two headings must be added together to give the whole number in each 1000 verses.
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(ii) The following are instances of the combination of a caesura after the third with a pause after the eighth syllable: i 36 18a, 63 2c¹, 174 9d; ii 14 4d², 17 5d, 24 12c, 33 8c; iii 16 6c, 58 7a; iv 33 10a²; vi 15 12d, 48 17c³, 51 9b²⁴; vii 2 7c, 7 1b, 20 7d, 26 5b, 36 5c, 57 6b, 60 1a⁴, 67 5b, 68 3c, 88 3d, 97 3b 9a; viii 25 23c; ix 96 4b; x 106 7a² 7d, *120 9c, 132 2b, 172 2b.
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¹ caesura following the prior element of a compound. [^2]: only in these instances is dimeter rhythm wanting. [^3]: § 151 i. [^4]: with short eighth syllable.
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(iii) In the following instances the break || ◡ ◡ is combined with a pause after the eighth syllable: i *24 15b, 32 13a, 33 8a, 44 10a, 55 4a, 57 4b, 58 9d, 60 5d, 71 4c¹, 83 1d, 87 6b, 88 5d, 89 6d, *93 5d, 104 1d, 106 5b, 113 3c, 116 1d 7d, 117 6d 16b, 120 7c, 121 13d², 127 8a, 128 4a, 158 4b, *164 13d, 166 14b, 180 8c, 190 4a; ii 9 3c³, 15 5b, 23 8a, 27 16a; iii 1 17c, 14 6c 7a, 19 2a, 25 5a, 26 3c 6a, 34 8a, 43 3a, 47 1b, 53 11b, 55 18a, 58 7b, 59 2c, 61 2a; iv 12 6b, 20 3b, *24 9b, 26 5b, 37 3b, 50 3b 5a, 55 2c⁵; v 31 11d, 46 2d, 53 6a 7c 11b 14a, 87 1c 4c 8c; vi 2 11e, 15 10b 12a 15e, 17 1d 13c, 23 7d², 26 3c 6c, 29 2b 2c, 30 4b, 49 4d, 50 12a 14c, 51 9d, 63 2d 7c, 64 5a², 67 2d, 73 2a²; vii 1 3b 4c 5a 6b 11b 15a 19a 20d, 3 9c 10b, 7 4b 7d, 14 3b, 18 7a 7b, 19 1c 4d 8c, 20 4d 5d 7b 8a 9a, 21 8d, 22 2c, 23 3a, 25 †1d⁴, 27 1d, 29 3a, 36 4c 9b, 37 1b² 2b² 6c, 38 1d⁴ 6a⁷ 7b 7c, 39 2d·3c 7a, 40 1b² 3c, 42 1c, 56 14b 19c, 58 5c, 60 6c 7b 12a, 61 4c, 67 5d, 68 3a 6b 8c², 70 1b, 84 2b, 85 1a 1d, 86 4b² 6b² 6c², 87 1b 5d, 92 3c 4d², 95 2a 2b 4a 5b² 6a², 97 2a² 2d 5d⁵, 100 3b; viii 15 2c, 17 15c, 18 19c², 22 9b, 23 27c, 24 15c, 25 11c, 27 10a, 36 1b=2b=3b, 46 28c, 60 4a, 70 7c, 80 10d, 87 6a, 96 2c 17c, 98 1c, 99 8a, 101 8a; ix 74 4c, 79 3a 3b, 86 43a, 90 6d, 93 5d, 97 3d 6d 54d², 108 15b, 111 2a; x 4 1c 2b, *17 1d, *18 12c, 23 3a², 30 2b, 48 7b, 61 20b, 65 1b 15d, 66 1a¹, 73 5a, 74 6c, 75 5c, *87 21d, *95 7c, 96 5a, 99 1a² 6a, 105 4b, 116 5c, 122 8d, 123 5d, 126 8b, 140 6c, 160 5d⁶.
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¹ § 151 iii. [^2]: also short eighth syllable. [^3]: 2 sing. perf. in -thā (-tha) in eighth place. [^4]: § 166 iv. [^5]: § 170 ii c. [^6]: § 151 ii. [^7]: § 142 i.
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(iv) The break —||— ◡ ◡ is combined with a pause after the eighth syllable in the following verses: i 55 3d 6d, 56 3b, 57 4c 6b, 77 5c, 89 5c, 100 4c 10b 15a, 113 13c, 116 21a, 117 3b 4c 7d 13b, 118 6d, 121 11a, 122 3c 4b, 132 6a, 135 6a, 141 6c, 146 3c, 156 2b 3a 3c, 158 2c 5c, *164 29a *52a, 167 5b, 173 1c¹, 178 3c¹, 186 3b 5a 11a, 189 4a¹, 190 3d² 4b; ii 4 3d, [11 10b 12d 21c], 14 8d, 17 1b 6c, 20 4c¹, 23 7a, 32 3b, 33 5d 12c, 35 9b 15a, 36 6a; iii 4 4b, 5 2a, 7 10d, 15 1b¹, 19 2b, 21 1c 4b, 33 1c 8b 9a, 54 15b; iv 2 3a, 4 1d⁷, 6 3a, 12 6c, 16 5b, 22 3c, 26 6d, 29 3c, 37 1a¹; v 2 9d, 8 5b, 32 6a, 36 1b, 41 3a 13b, 46 7c, 54 11c, 87 9a; vi 1 3c, 2 11c, 10 3d, 13 4d, 16 46a³, 17 10d¹, 20 6c, 21 6d⁴ 7a, 23 9a, 26 1d¹, 29 5b, 40 2d, 49 14d, 50 7a 12c 12d 14a, 63 8b¹, 64 1d 3b, 65 1b, 66 1c 8d¹; vii 1 3a⁵ 9a¹ 13a¹ 14c, 3 10a, 6 7a, 8 5c, 16 4a, 18 17d, 19 7d¹, 28 3d¹, 34 24a, 40 5c, 41 7c, 43 3b, 56 17b, 57 3b 6d, 60 4c, 61 4b, 67 5a 5c, 68 5a, 70 1a, 76 6a 7b, 77 2a 5a, 84 1a 1c, 86 4c, 88 3c³, 95 5a; viii 25 18c, 26 5c¹, 35 4a 6a, 60 10a¹, 96 2b⁶; ix 69 8d, 70 1b 2c, 73 5d, 74 4a, 75 3b, 86 4c 36b, 91 4a, 93 4d, 94 3a, 96 17a, 97 27d 34b 53c 53d, 107 16a 26c, 110 8a; x 4 6c, *10 10a, 22 15d, 23 4a, *27 12a, 30 1d, 35 4b, 39 7d, 43 4b, 45 4b, *59 3a, 61 4b 12c¹ 13b 16c 23b, 64 3a¹, 70 11c, 74 1a¹, 76 1b, *85 23b, 91 7b, 93 6a, *95 6b, 99 5d, *101 7d, *103 11c, 111 3c, *120 3c *5d, 126 8c, 133 7c.
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¹ with short eighth syllable.
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² § 127 b.
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³ § 151 iii.
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⁴ § 158.
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⁵ impv. -hi in eighth place.
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⁶ § 159 iv.
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⁷ doubtful: see § 159 i.
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(v) Short final syllables in the eighth place are specially common in the Vasiṣṭha hymns: if however we except those instances which occur in the verses already referred to, they are not so common as in the archaic period or in the Vāmadeva hymns. It does not therefore appear that this variation is by itself an indication of ‘secondary caesura’: but in the cases referred to it is corroboratory evidence of this type.
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214. Both forms of the ‘weak caesura’ (§ 205) are characteristic of the archaic period. There is however some difficulty in determining the extent of these variations, even when occurrences in verses which have secondary caesura are excluded from consideration.
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A caesura separating two elements in a word may confidently be postulated where the rhythm of the break confirms it, as in the following examples:
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dasmásya cáru || -tamam asti dáṃsaḥ i 62 6b
ádabdhavrata || -pramatir vásiṣṭhaḥ ii 9 1c
ánibhṛṣṭa || -taviṣir hanti ójasā 25 4c.
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Conversely, the absence of any regular rhythm in the break makes the ‘weak caesuras’ postulated in the following examples very doubtful:
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yé dhenúṃ viśva || -júvaṃ viśvárūpām iv 33 8b
tatakṣé || sūryāya cid ókasi své v 33 4c.
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The consideration which seems decisive in favour of metrical interpretation by means of the ‘weak caesura’ in the latter instances is the extreme rarity of trimeter verses which cannot be explained in one or other of these ways. Undoubtedly the phonetic character of the Vedic dialect makes a pause of some kind at one of the points named almost unavoidable: but only a very strong metrical feeling for the necessity of such a pause can account for our finding only three trimeter verses in the whole Rigveda which have certainly no caesura of any kind, namely
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tuám sahásrāṇi śatá dāśá práti ii 1 8d
sumnám íyakṣantas tuátvato nṛ́n ii 20 1d
índra svádiṣṭhayā girā śácīvaḥ iii 53 2d.
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A weak caesura separating two parts of a compound is also found in Virgil: see Dr A. W. Verrall's note on ‘the metrical division of compound words in Virgil’ in the *Classical Review* for July 1904.
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The instances of ‘weak caesura’ are as follows, those which imply an irregular rhythm at the break having an indication to that effect attached:
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(i) The caesura follows the prior element of a compound or derivative: i 30 16c¹, 35 5b, 36 1c² 10c, 52 9c, 58 8b¹, 60 5c¹, [61 3c 4d¹ 5c³ 5d 16a 16c], 62 1b 6a 6b, 63 2c², 64 3b¹, 116 3d, 120 9a, 122 2a¹, 127 5b, 129 4b¹, 141 12a, 148 1b¹, 184 2c; ii 4 1a¹, 9 1a 1c, 19 8a¹, 25 4c, 34 8d; iii 2 7d, 26 5d, 53 16d, 58 7c 9a; iv 1 4c¹ 6b¹ 8b¹ 19b, 3 1b¹, 22 3a¹, 23 6d, 33 8b¹, 41 3d, 42 8d; vi 2 11a¹, 4 7a, 11 4d, 15 4c, 16 46c¹, 20 1c 5c¹ †8c¹⁴ 11c 13d¹, 24 6c, 26 5d¹, 29 4a, 33 4d¹, 34 2b 3d, 44 10d, 51 10a, 68 1b 2d¹ 6a 7a; vii 2 7b, 4 5d, 8 6d, 14 1c, 23 5b, *33 11a, 38 2d 5d, 58 2b, 60 8d, *66 16a¹, 81 4c, 88 6c¹; viii 21 9b, 23 19c, 27 11c, 60 17c, 61 14a¹, 66 6c¹, 87 5c, 99 1c; ix 72 4a¹, 83 5c¹, 84 1a, 86 40c¹, 88 3d, 94 1d, 108 13b; x [1 5a], *17 5b, 22 10a¹, 35 14d, 48 8b¹, 50 1b, 61 13d 15c 15d 21c, 74 6c, 76 2b, *85 37a¹, *98 5b, 99 8d¹, *101 2b, 105 4c 11d¹ 11e¹, 122 1a, 140 6c, 160 1a, *167 4d. Occurrences in *dvandva* compounds, as *indrā* ‖ *-varuṇā*, are not included (§ 205 i).
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¹ an irregular rhythm results.
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² after third syllable.
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³ Virātsthānā verse.
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⁴ reading *śaśvādibham* in one word.
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(ii) The caesura follows the third syllable: i 36 1c¹, [61 2b], 62 2d 5a 5b 5c, 73 8a², 122 8c, 127 2b, 135 4f³, 186 5b; iv 2 19d, 7 11d, 26 4b; v 33 4c, 49 5b; vi 3 4d 6b 8b, 11 3c, 20 4d, 24 7d², 33 2b; vii 20 6a, 37 8c⁴, 61 1d, 69 3a; viii 96 3b, 97 13a; ix 72 1c, 93 5b, 97 31d; x 32 5d, 50 5b, 65 15b, 68 2a, *95 7a, 105 5c, 115 2d. For examples accompanied by secondary caesura see § 213 ii.
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¹ caesura after prior element of compound.
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² § 151 iii.
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³ § 149 iii.
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⁴ but see Metrical Comm.
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Apart from the weak caesura irregularities are few and historically unimportant: but we may conveniently record here the following instances:
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(iii) The caesura is at the point of Sandhi combination: i 118 7a 7c, 155 4d, 186 8c; v 45 9b; *vi 75 18b; viii 46 22a; ix 87 5b; x 50 3c. See also § 205 i.
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(iv) The metre is so uncertain that the position of the caesura cannot be determined in *i 162 16c, iv 26 7a, and viii 46 20a.
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(v) The verses i 122 5c, v 33 7a, and vi 12 6a appear to be dimeter verses, but as they occur in hymns which are otherwise in trimeter metre the text is probably incorrect.
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215. The opening provides very little material which can be used for the historical investigation of small groups of hymns:
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its metrical character being less marked than that of other parts of the verse, and the changes that take place being more gradual. Still a history of Vedic metre would be incomplete without some account of its developement, and the attempt is therefore made here to discuss this part of the verse in more detail than was done in § 206. In consequence of the large number of possible forms this is a rather complicated task.
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Perhaps the clearest view of the rhythm is obtained by examining the quantities of the second, third, and fourth syllables according as (i) the caesura is early, (ii) the caesura is late and the fifth syllable long, or (iii) the caesura is late and the fifth syllable short.
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The table at the end of this section gives accordingly the proportions in which each possible form is found under each of these conditions, and also the corresponding proportions in dimeter verse, in three selected groups of hymns. To obtain the clearest possible view we take the groups of which the historical character is in other ways the most pronounced, namely (i) the lyric verse of group I (§ 91), (ii) the normal group VI, and (iii) the popular Rigveda.
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It appears at once that all the groups agree in the general contrast between the regular forms ◡ — ◡ — (◡), and the irregular forms ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ (◡) which have ‘consecutive short syllables’ in the second and third places: but that forms which have consecutive short syllables in the fourth and fifth places are also irregular. The remaining forms may be considered as occasional forms under all conditions, the ‘syncopated’ type ◡ ◡ — — (◡) being everywhere the most common; but occasional forms are comparatively rare where the caesura is late.
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In the two extreme groups there is (except as just stated) very little difference between the openings in the four classes: but in the normal group there is a very marked difference between dimeter and trimeter verse, which is brought out by comparing the frequency of the ‘iambic’ form ◡ — ◡ — with that of the ‘syncopated’ form ◡ ◡ — —. For whilst in dimeter verse the iambic form is not twice as common as the syncopated form, in trimeter verse it is never less than six times as common; and if there is a long fifth syllable before the caesura, it is more than fifteen times as common.
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In the hymns therefore of this group the dimeter and trimeter rhythm have developed in opposite directions. The favour shewn in dimeter verse to a long third syllable may perhaps be connected with the fact that the fifth syllable is always short: but at any rate the favour regularly shewn in trimeter verse to a short third syllable is most marked when the fifth syllable is long.
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The following particulars also deserve to be noticed:
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(i) It is agreed on all hands that the quantity of the first syllable is in all cases indifferent. According to my calculations, the number of long and short syllables in this position is almost exactly the same. Cf. § 183.
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(ii) It follows from the Table that the 4th syllable is long in three cases out of four before early caesura, and in nine cases out of ten before late caesura, the difference being due to the more strict rhythm employed generally in the latter alternative.
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(iii) The line of distinction between occasional and irregular forms cannot be quite clearly drawn. Consecutive short syllables in the fourth and fifth places are particularly rare, doubtless because the late caesura is almost always followed by two short syllables. Amongst the ‘occasional forms’ ◡ ◡ ◡ and ◡ ◡ ◡ are somewhat rare, and amongst the irregular forms ◡ ◡ ◡ — is rather common.
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(iv) The nine possible types of irregular opening are included in the formulae ◡ ◡ ◡, ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡, ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡. The form ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡, in which the irregularity is doubled, and every trace of the rhythm of the opening lost, is naturally very rare: yet we find a few examples of it, as
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*ná ní miṣati* || *suráno divé-dive* *iii 29 14c.
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TABLE SHEWING THE RHYTHM OF THE OPENING.
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| Groups | Lyric (I) | Normal (VI) | Popular (X) |
| | Dim. | A B C | Dim. | A B C | Dim. | A B C |
| Regular forms: | | | | | | | |
| ◡ — — | 29 | 29 39 53 | 28 | 43 61 44 | 31 | 33 43 48 |
| ◡ — — — | 39 | 34 31 36 | 39 | 35 24 44 | 37 | 33 34 36 |
| Occasional forms: | | | | | | | |
| ◡ ◡ — | 11 | 13 11 7 | 16 | 7 4 7 | 11 | 12 8 8 |
| ◡ ◡ — 1 | 10 | 13 5 ·5 | 7 | 6 3 1 | 10 | 11 4 2 |
| ◡ — ◡ 1 | 4 | 5 5 ·5 | 3 | 4 4 1 | 3 | 5 3 1 |
| ◡ — — 1 | 4 | 3 5 0 | 5 | 3 2 0 | 5 | 3 3 1 |
| Irregular forms: | | | | | | | |
| ◡ ◡ ◡ | 2 | 2 4 3 | 2 | 2 1 2 | 2 | 3 2 3 |
| ◡ ◡ — | ·5 | 1 0 0 | 0 | ·5 0 0 | 1 | 1 ·5 ·5 |
First 148 of 477 passages. Read on
Linked texts (3)
- Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
- Viśvāmitrasmṛti — Sanskrit
- Vāsiṣṭha