Daten und Zahlen zur Struktur rigvedischer Metren

Abstract

In this article we introduce and describe an easily accessible data set that contains metrical information on each Rigvedic syllable and pāda, in particular weight and position of each syllable in the pāda, transitions between adjacent syllables, and position of word boundaries within pādas. We illustrate the usefulness of this data by providing some sample summary statistics as well as an assessment of a widely assumed metrical rule, namely the correlation between the presence and absence of a caesura after syllable four and five and the weight of syllable six and seven, respectively, in trimeter pādas. Our results do not lend much support to such a rule. Based on these results we propose that the weight of the sixth syllable of trimeters is structurally determined, not contextually. We zoom in on some possible sources for conflicting evidence in production and transmission of Rigvedic hymns, most prominently interaction between pāda types and allomorphic variation.