Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14.23

c14.23

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.