Odisha BSE Madhyama Sanskruta Sahityam flashcards

35 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Guṇa sandhi of a + i

When a or ā is followed by i or ī, both merge into the guṇa vowel e. Example: rāma + īśaḥ becomes rāmeśaḥ; nara + indraḥ becomes narendraḥ.

Visarga to o sandhi

A final -aḥ before a voiced consonant or vowel changes to -o, and before a short a it becomes -o ' with elision. Example: rāmaḥ gacchati becomes rāmo gacchati; rāmaḥ api becomes rāmo'pi.

Rāma shabda rūpa

The a-stem masculine paradigm: rāmaḥ, rāmau, rāmāḥ in the nominative; rāmam, rāmau, rāmān in the accusative; rāmeṇa, rāmābhyām, rāmaiḥ in the instrumental; and rāme for the locative singular.

Nadī shabda rūpa

The ī-stem feminine paradigm: nadī, nadyau, nadyaḥ nominative; nadīm, nadyau, nadīḥ accusative; nadyā, nadībhyām, nadībhiḥ instrumental; and nadyām locative singular. The vocative singular is he nadi.

Ten gaṇas of roots

Roots are grouped into ten classes determining the present stem: bhū, ad, hu, div, su, tud, rudh, kṛ, krī, and cur. Examples: bhavati, atti, juhoti, dīvyati, sunoti, tudati, ruṇaddhi, karoti, krīṇāti, corayati.

Kathā versus ākhyāyikā

Kathā is a prose narrative with an invented plot, such as Kādambarī. Ākhyāyikā uses a historical or legendary hero and plot, such as Bāṇa's Harṣacarita, and typically includes verse passages.

Bāṇa's two prose works

Bāṇabhaṭṭa, seventh-century court poet of Harṣavardhana, wrote Harṣacarita, an ākhyāyikā on King Harṣa, and Kādambarī, a romance completed by his son Bhūṣaṇabhaṭṭa. Both are famous for long compounds.

Daśakumāracarita

Daṇḍin's prose work narrating the adventures of ten princes. It blends kathā and ākhyāyikā features and is studied for its ornate prose, sandhi complexity, and compound structures.

Five samāsa types

Tatpuruṣa expresses a case relation; bahuvrīhi denotes an outside noun; dvandva conjoins items; avyayībhāva begins with an indeclinable; karmadhāraya joins adjective and noun. Identification aids comprehension of prose passages.

Meghadūta metre

Kālidāsa's Meghadūta is a sandeśa-kāvya in which a yakṣa sends a cloud messenger to his wife. It is composed in Mandākrāntā metre, with seventeen syllables per quarter.

Raghuvaṃśa contents

Kālidāsa's mahākāvya in nineteen sargas traces the solar dynasty from Dilīpa through Raghu and Daśaratha to Rāma and later kings. It opens with a benediction and a description of the lineage.

Upamā alaṃkāra

A simile comparing upameya and upamāna through a shared quality, using words like iva, yathā, or sadṛśa. Example: 'mukham iva candraḥ' - the face is like the moon.

Rūpaka alaṃkāra

A metaphor in which the subject is identified with the object of comparison without a comparison word. Example: 'rājā sūryaḥ' - the king is the sun - rather than the king is like the sun.

Anuprāsa alaṃkāra

A sound ornament consisting of the repetition of the same consonant or syllable cluster in close proximity within a verse. It belongs to the śabdālaṃkāra class, which depends on sound rather than sense.

Pañcasandhi of nāṭaka

The five structural joints of a Sanskrit play: mukha (opening), pratimukha (progression), garbha (development), vimarśa (reflection or pause), and nirvahaṇa (conclusion). Each sandhi contains sub-elements called sandhyāṅgas.

Abhijñānaśākuntala plot

Kālidāsa's seven-act play on Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā. A curse causes the king to forget her until the lost signet ring is recovered, leading to recognition and reunion with their son Bharata.

Mudrārākṣasa

Viśākhadatta's seven-act political play dramatizing Cāṇakya's strategy to install Candragupta and win over Rākṣasa. The signet ring, or mudrā, serves as the bīja, the seed of the plot.

Eight rasas

Śṛṅgāra (love), hāsya (comedy), karuṇa (compassion), raudra (fury), vīra (heroism), bhayānaka (fear), bībhatsa (disgust), and adbhuta (wonder). Śānta (peace) is often added as a ninth rasa.

Nāndī and sūtradhāra

Nāndī is the opening benediction of a Sanskrit play, invoking blessings. The sūtradhāra is the stage manager who recites it and introduces the play, often with the naṭī and vidūṣaka.

Causative verb formation

The ṇijanta or causative adds -aya to the root: kṛ becomes kārayati, 'causes to do'. In the passive construction the agent takes the instrumental case, as in rāmeṇa kāryate.

Kta and ktavatu participles

Kta forms passive past participles such as kṛta, 'done', used in constructions like tena kṛtam. Ktavatu forms active past participles such as kṛtavān, 'one who has done', used with the subject.

Sanskrit word order

The normal order is subject, object, verb, with the verb agreeing in person and number. The object takes the accusative case, and particles such as ca, tu, api, and eva follow the word they modify.

Rājataraṅgiṇī

Kalhaṇa's twelfth-century historical poem in eight books narrating the kings of Kashmir. It is a rare Sanskrit work of sustained historical narrative and a key text in the history of Sanskrit literature.

Aṣṭādhyāyī

Pāṇini's grammar of Sanskrit in eight chapters, composed around the fourth century BCE. It uses sūtras with meta-rules and is the foundational text of Sanskrit grammatical analysis.

Dhvanyāloka

Ānandavardhana's ninth-century work establishing the dhvani theory of suggestion in poetry, later elaborated by Abhinavagupta. It is central to Sanskrit poetics and the analysis of rasa.

Four Vedas

Ṛgveda (hymns), Sāmaveda (melodies), Yajurveda (sacrificial formulas), and Atharvaveda (spells and speculative hymns). Each Veda has Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka, and Upaniṣad portions.

Mahāvākyas

Great Upaniṣadic statements asserting the identity of ātman and brahman: 'tat tvam asi', 'aham brahmāsmi', 'ayam ātmā brahma', and 'prajñānaṃ brahma'. They come from four different Upaniṣads.

Ṣaḍdarśana

The six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy: Nyāya (logic), Vaiśeṣika (categories), Sāṃkhya (puruṣa and prakṛti), Yoga (discipline), Mīmāṃsā (ritual exegesis), and Vedānta (Upaniṣadic interpretation).

Anuṣṭubh metre

The śloka metre with eight syllables per quarter and four quarters, totaling thirty-two syllables. The fifth syllable of the odd quarters is light, and the even quarters follow a related pattern.

Indravajrā metre

A metre of eleven syllables per quarter following the gaṇa sequence ta-ta-ja-ga-ga. Upendravajrā shares the same length but begins with ja instead of ta, and both appear in benedictory verses.

Vibhāva and anubhāva

Vibhāva is the stimulus that evokes an emotion, such as a person or situation. Anubhāva is the outward response, such as a gesture or expression. Together with vyabhicāribhāva they generate rasa.

Tridoṣa theory

Ayurveda holds that health depends on the balance of three doṣas: vāta (movement), pitta (heat), and kapha (cohesion). Their imbalance causes disease, and treatment aims to restore equilibrium.

Bṛhattrayī of Ayurveda

The three great Ayurvedic classics: Carakasaṃhitā on internal medicine, Suśrutasaṃhitā on surgery, and Vāgbhaṭa's Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya, a concise compendium of all eight branches.

Āryabhaṭīya contributions

Āryabhaṭa's astronomical work proposes that the earth rotates on its axis, gives pi as approximately 3.1416, and includes methods for sine tables and eclipse calculation.

Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta

Brahmagupta's astronomical and mathematical treatise of 628 CE. It formulates rules for zero and for negative numbers and discusses quadratic equations and astronomical computation.