Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14.7

c14.7

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.