Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14.69

c14.69

(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.