SVEN SELLMER
University of Poznań sven@amu.edu.pl
FORMULAS AND FORMULAIC STRUCTURES IN MAHĀBHĀRATA TRIṢṬUBHS
While the formulas and formulaic structures occurring in epic anuṣṭubhs have been investigated in a number of studies, triṣṭubhs have rarely been looked at from that perspective, though they make up a non-negligible part of the text. Based on a computational analysis of the entire triṣṭubh material, the present paper gives an overview of the formulaic elements and structures attested, together with their frequency and distribution. In addition, the results are compared with comparable data for the anuṣṭubh passages, thus contributing to a fuller understanding of the epic versification process.