When the Gayatri Mantra is recited, on the other hand, a pause is customarily made after each "pada". When there is a pause, a short syllable at the end of a line can be considered long, by the principle of "brevis in longo". Although the Gāyatrī is very common in the Rigveda, it fell out of use early and is not found in Sanskrit poetry of the classical period. There is a similar 3 x 8 stanzaic metre in the Avestan scriptures of ancient Iran.