Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c17.8

c17.8

Following the practice of the native Anukramaṇī’s, the Table states the ‘metre’ of each hymn and the ‘deity’ to which it is addressed. Uneven lyric, Trochaic Gāyatrī, Contaminated Triṣṭubh, and Epic Anuṣṭubh are recognised as distinct metres, but many trifling variations (such as occasional extra verses in Gāyatrī or Triṣṭubh hymns) are not noticed. Poems which are not of the nature of hymns have no entry in the column for the ‘deity,’ except that the words ‘cosmogony’ or ‘charm’ appear where the poem has either of these characters. It thus appears at a glance that poems which are not hymns are found almost exclusively in the popular period.