Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c5.30

c5.30

16. In the determination of the text of the Rigveda that of the metrical value of words and syllables is implicitly contained. The metrical value of a word depends solely upon the number and succession of the short and long syllables which it contains, without regard to the position of the accent. A syllable containing a long vowel or diphthong is necessarily long, the only doubt arising when the long vowel or diphthong is final, and the next word in the same verse begins with a vowel. In such cases the quantity of a final diphthong is that of its prior element, as is shewn by a correct text in *dáma á* (for *dáme á*), *tásmā adāt* (for *tásmai adāt*): but the quantity of a long final vowel when not combined by Sandhi is not always easy to determine.