V, 86, 5.

mārtâ̄yă dēvâū ădăbhâ̄,
āmsâ̄-ivă dēvâ̄u ārvătē,

while, with regard to the Trishtubh and Gagatî verses, our views on these metres must naturally depend on the difficulties we meet with in carrying them out systematically.

There is no reason for shortening â in

V, 5, 10. dēvâ̄nâ̄m gūhyâ̄ nâ̄mâ̄nī.

It is the second pâda of a Gâyatrî here; and we shall see that, even in the third pâda, four long syllables occur again and again.

For the same reason I cannot follow Dr. Kuhn in a number of other passages where, for the sake of the metre, he proposes to change a long â into a short one. Such passages are in the Pada text:

VI, 46, 11. dīdyăvāh tīgmă-mû̄rdhâ̄nāh, not mû̄rdhâ̆nāh.

I, 15, 6. rĭtŭnâ̄ yāgñăm â̄sâ̄thē, not â̄sâ̆thē.

V, 66, 2. sāmyăk ăsūryăm â̄sâ̄tē, not â̄sâ̆tē.

V, 67, 1. vārshīshthām kshātrăm â̄sâ̄thē, not â̄sâ̆thē. See Beiträge, vol. iii, p. 122.

I, 46, 6. tâ̄m āsmē râ̄sâ̄thâ̄m ĭshām, not râ̄sâ̆thâ̄m ĭshām.

p. lxxxviii

IV, 32, 23. băbhrû̄ yâ̄mēshŭ sōbhētē, not sōbhĕtē.

IV, 45, 3. ŭtă prĭyām mădhŭnē yūñgâ̄thâ̄m răthām, not yūñgâ̆thâ̄m răthām.

V. 74, 3. kăm ākkhă yūñgâ̄thē răthām, not yūñgâ̆thē răthām.

IV, 55, 1. dyâ̄vâ̄bhû̄mî̄ (íti) ădĭtē trâ̄sî̄thâ̄m nāh, not trâ̄sî̆thâ̄m nāh.

V, 41, 1. rĭtāsyă vâ̄ sădăsĭ trâ̄sî̄thâ̄m nāh, not trâ̄sî̆thâ̄m nāh.

I must enter the same protest against shortening other long vowels in the following verses which Professor Kuhn proposes to make metrically correct by this remedy:

I, 42, 6. hĭrānyăvâ̄sî̄māt-tămā, not vâ̄sî̆māt-tȃmā.

Here the short syllable of ganasrĭ-bhih in V, 60, 8, cannot be quoted as a precedent, for the i in ganasri, walking in companies, was never long, and could therefore not be shortened. Still less can we quote nâri-bhyah as an instance of a long î being shortened, for nâri-bhyah is derived from nârih, not from nârî, and occurs with a short i even when the metre requires a long syllable; I, 43, 6. nri̅-bhyāh nâ̄rĭ̄-bhy̆āh găvē. The fact is, that in the Rig-veda the forms nârishu and nârî-bhyah never occur, but always nârishu, nâri-bhyah; while from vâsî we never find any forms with short i, but always vâ´sîshu, vâ´sî-bhih.

Nor is there any justification for change in I, 25, 16. gâ̄vāh nă gāvyû̄tî̄h ănū, the second pâda of a Gâyatrî. Nor in V, 56, 3. ri̅kshāh nă vāh mărŭtāh sĭmî̄-vâ̄n ămāh. In most of the passages mentioned by Professor Kuhn on p. 122, this peculiarity may be observed, that the eighth syllable is short, or, at all events, may be short, when the ninth is long:

VI, 44, 21. vri̅shnē tē īndūh vrĭshăbhă ̍ pî̄pâ̄yā.

I, 73, 1. sy̆ōnă-sî̄h ătĭthīh nă ̍ prî̄nâ̄nāh.

VII, 13, 1. bhărē hăvīh nă bărhĭshĭ ̍ iprî̄nâ̄nāh.