Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c5.4

c5.4

3. But to students of the European tradition the Rigveda is not a book, but a library and a literature. Our acquaintance with the poetry of many other countries leads us quickly to the conviction that its ten *Maṇḍalas* or cycles have gathered up the work of many periods, and that the original composition of the hymns was probably the work of several centuries. During the period in which this poetry was produced, great political and social changes undoubtedly occurred: but of these there exists no record, except such as is contained in the pages of the Rigveda itself, or may be distantly inferred from our knowledge of the general history of mankind. It becomes therefore our task to study the Rigveda from within.