Assam HS Sanskrit key terms

The set of rules by which the final sound of one word changes when the next word follows, producing a single joined sequence in continuous Sanskrit speech and verse.

The sandhi rule that combines two adjacent vowels into one long vowel, a diphthong, or a glide, as when two like vowels merge into a single long one.

The sandhi rules governing a final visarga before a following sound, where it may become r, s, o, or remain, depending on the vowel or consonant that comes next.

The strengthened vowel grade in which a simple vowel is replaced by a related heavier vowel, for example short a becoming a, used in sandhi and in derivation.

The strongest vowel grade, produced by lengthening a guna vowel or by combining a with a related vowel, common in derived nouns and secondary formations.

A final breath sound written as two dots, arising from original s or r at the end of a word, which undergoes special changes before the next word.

A nasal sound represented by a dot above the preceding letter, pronounced through the nose without full closure, often appearing before a consonant or at word end.

The inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives into three numbers and eight cases, each case marked by a distinct ending or stem change.

A single case form or its ending in the nominal system, one of eight in Sanskrit, each expressing grammatical relations such as agent, object, instrument, or location.

The semantic role a noun plays in relation to the verb, such as doer, object, instrument, or recipient, which determines the case ending it may take.

The doer or agent in a sentence, the participant who performs the action, normally expressed in the nominative when the verb is active.

The object of a transitive action, the thing directly affected by what the agent does, usually expressed in the accusative case.

A class of suffixes added to nouns and adjectives to form new derived words, such as patronymics and possessive or relational adjectives.

A class of suffixes added directly to verbal roots to make nouns and adjectives, including agent nouns and action nouns such as those ending in -ana.

A verbal root, the basic meaningful unit from which verbs and many nouns are formed, listed with its class and characteristic markers in traditional grammars.

One of ten traditional classes into which verbal roots are grouped according to how their present stems are formed and how their endings behave.

The set of verbal endings used for actions performed for another or without direct benefit to the agent, as opposed to the middle endings.

The set of verbal endings used when the fruit of the action is thought to return to the agent, contrasting with the endings of the parasmaipada.

The present tense system of Sanskrit verbs, expressing an action happening now or habitually, with endings added to the present stem.

The perfect tense system, used for past actions often not witnessed by the speaker, marked by reduplication of the root and special endings.

The simple future tense system, expressing an action yet to happen, formed with the future marker -sya- attached to the strengthened root.

The simple past tense system, the aorist, used for a completed past action, often with an augment and a distinct set of personal endings.

The most common Sanskrit verse metre, with four quarters of eight syllables each, used throughout the epics and in much didactic poetry.

The eight-syllable verse line and the metre built from four such quarters, the standard epic and narrative metre, closely identified with the sloka.

The study of metre, the system of syllable counting and patterning by which verse lines are composed, recited, and classified in Sanskrit literature.

A figure of speech or poetic ornament, such as simile or metaphor, that enhances the beauty and expressive power of a literary passage.

The figure of comparison, in which one thing is likened to another through an explicit word such as iva or yatha, stating a clear resemblance.

The figure of metaphor, in which one thing is identified with another without an explicit word of comparison, treating them as the same.

The aesthetic sentiment or flavour that a well-wrought literary work evokes in a cultivated audience, classically counted as nine, such as love and heroism.

Polished literary composition in verse or prose, distinguished from scripture and technical text by its aim of evoking aesthetic delight through ornamented language.

A class of philosophical texts appended to the Vedas, exploring the nature of the self and ultimate reality through dialogue, instruction, and analogy.

The oldest body of Sanskrit sacred literature, comprising hymns, ritual formulas, melodies, and incantations, transmitted orally with meticulous care.

One of six auxiliary disciplines attached to Vedic study, covering phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, metre, and astronomy, needed to preserve and interpret the texts.

The philosophical tradition based on the concluding portions of the Vedas, especially the Upanishads, concerned with the nature of the self and liberation.

The Sanskrit epic attributed to Valmiki, telling of Rama's exile, the abduction of Sita, and the war in Lanka, composed largely in the sloka metre.

The vast Sanskrit epic of the Bharata war, traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, containing narrative, moral instruction, and the Bhagavadgita within its many books.

A philosophical dialogue in verse between Krishna and Arjuna set before battle, discussing duty, action, devotion, and knowledge, embedded in the Mahabharata.