Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14.330

c14.330

Even on the lower computation, and excluding the decasyllabic metres, decasyllabic verses are about as common in trimeter verse as is hiatus (§ 131): and there is therefore no abstract reason why in individual cases we should prefer the one explanation to the other. The rhythm may, however, often give a reason for a preference: it should at least be a general rule of metrical interpretation that ‘hiatus or resolution’ should not be postulated in order to bring a verse up to the regular number of syllables, if by so doing irregular rhythm is introduced.’