Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c6.17

c6.17

78. The evidence of metre is, on the whole, more cogent than that of language: for though the external form of older hymns may be occasionally imitated later, yet this would seem to be impossible as regards the rhythm: for the younger poet either did not appreciate the rhythms used by his predecessors, or desired to improve them. The characteristic metres of the popular Rigveda have been described, viz. the ‘epic’ Anuṣṭubh in all its stages (§ 41), and the ‘contamination’ of Triṣṭubh metre by Jagatī (§ 54). In Anuṣṭubh verse a single occurrence of a long 7th syllable in ‘semi-cadence’ is a decided indication of popular character, whilst the absence of a short 3rd syllable in several successive ‘reopenings’ is almost as significant. On the other hand too much stress must not be laid on single instances of contamination in trimeter verse, for these are not uncommon in the hymns assigned to the ‘cretic’ period.