Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c14.86

c14.86

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.