Odisha BSE Madhyama Sanskruta Vyakarana O Darshan key terms

The rule-governed joining of adjacent sounds, where the final sound of one word and the initial sound of the next combine or change; also the resulting combined form. It explains both the fused written form and the reverse split.

In Sanskrit vowel gradation, the strengthened grade of a basic vowel: a stays a, i and ī become e, u and ū become o, and ṛ becomes ar. It appears in certain suffixes and in sandhi before a following vowel.

The strongest grade in Sanskrit vowel gradation: a becomes ā, i and ī become ai, u and ū become au, and ṛ becomes ār. Vṛddhi forms appear in derivatives and in the vṛddhi sandhi of a or ā with e, o, ai, or au.

The set of rules governing final visarga (ḥ) when another sound follows. Depending on the following phoneme, ḥ may become r, o, or s, or be dropped, so the written form changes markedly.

The paradigm of a nominal stem, showing its forms across the eight cases and three numbers, and across genders where relevant. Learning shabdarupa means mastering endings for ajanta and halanta stems.

A nominal stem ending in a vowel. Ajanta stems take case endings that often combine with the final vowel, producing forms such as rāmāya, kavīnām, or nadīṣu.

A nominal stem ending in a consonant. Halanta declension adds endings with connecting vowels and may alter the final consonant, as in rājñe from rājan or ātmane from ātman.

A verbal root, the irreducible base from which verb forms and many derived nouns are built. Dhatus are grouped into ten ganas, and each root selects specific lakaras and pada endings.

The Sanskrit tense-mood category marked by a set of endings, often an augment, and rules for stem formation. The ten lakaras include present, imperfect, optative, imperative, future, conditional, aorist, perfect, and benedictive.

The set of verb endings used when the action is presented as benefiting another, typically in transitive activity. Its present third-person endings are -ti, -tas, and -anti.

The set of verb endings used when the fruit of the action is presented as returning to the agent. Its present third-person endings are -te, -ete, and -ante, and many roots allow either pada.

Grammatical person, distinguishing the speaker (first), the addressee (second), and the person or thing spoken about (third). Each purusha has distinct singular, dual, and plural verb endings.

The semantic role a noun plays in relation to a verb, such as agent, object, instrument, recipient, source, or locus. Panini assigns case endings according to karaka rather than surface position alone.

The agent karaka, the doer of the action, normally expressed in the nominative case. In passive constructions the agent appears in the instrumental, while the grammatical subject is the object.

The object karaka, that which the agent most directly wishes to attain through the action. It is usually accusative, but with verbs of giving or speaking a second object may also appear.

A subordinate word accompanying a root in a compound or derivation, conditioning the meaning or the suffix chosen. Upapada is central to Panini's rules for kridanta and some taddhita formations.

The compounding of two or more stems into a single nominal unit. A compound is classified by the relation between its members, and its meaning is recovered through vigraha, an expanded paraphrase.

The analytical expansion of a compound into a phrase or sentence that shows the grammatical relation between its members. Vigraha is the standard test for identifying a samasa's type.

A compound whose final member is the principal one, with the preceding member qualifying it in a case relation, as in rājaputra, 'king's son'. Its vigraha usually restores the case ending.

A compound denoting something characterized by its members rather than by the final member itself, as in mahābhāga, 'one with a great share'. It functions as an adjective and agrees with the noun it qualifies.

A copulative compound joining members that are coordinate, as in rāmalakṣmaṇau, 'Rama and Lakshmana'. The compound may be dual or plural, and its vigraha uses ca, 'and'.

A suffix added to a nominal stem to derive a new noun or adjective, often expressing relation, possession, diminution, or patronymic descent. Examples include -in, -ika, -eya, and -tva.

A nominal form derived from a verbal root by a kṛt suffix, such as kartavya, kāraka, or gamana. Kridanta formation frequently involves karaka relations and is treated in the grammar's derivational chapters.

A suffix that forms a feminine stem from a masculine or neuter base, such as -ā, -ī, and -inī, producing forms like kanyā, nadī, or mālinī. Gender and stem-final sound determine the choice.

A technical designation defined by a Paninian rule; once defined, the term lets later sutras refer to a whole class of items economically. Examples include vṛddhi and sarvanama.

A metarule in Panini's grammar that governs how other rules are interpreted and applied, resolving conflicts of order, scope, and priority. Paribhashas such as 'utsarga precedes apavāda' ensure consistent derivation.

A heading sutra that establishes the domain of a following passage, so rules in that section are read as belonging to the topic. It is marked by phrases such as adhikāra or by a statement of scope.

The carrying forward of a word or rule from one sutra to later sutras in the same passage. Anuvrtti lets a term stated once remain operative, making Panini's sutras extremely concise.

One of the six astika schools, founded by Gautama, specializing in logic, epistemology, and debate. Its principal text is the Nyayasutra, and it classifies pramanas, fallacies, and means of valid knowledge.

An astika school associated with Kanada, emphasizing atomistic metaphysics and the categories (padarthas) of substance, quality, action, generality, particularity, and inherence. It is often studied together with Nyaya.

An astika dualist school attributing the world to two principles, purusha (consciousness) and prakriti (matter), with prakriti evolving through twenty-three tattvas. Its classical text is Ishvarakrishna's Samkhyakarika.

An astika school codified in Patanjali's Yogasutra, defining yoga as stilling the fluctuations of the mind. It adopts Samkhya metaphysics but adds Ishvara and prescribes eight limbs of practice.

The astika school based on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavadgita. Its major branches, Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita, debate the nature of Brahman and the self.

The astika school centered on the ritual injunctions of the Vedas and on language as the key to dharma. Its principal text is Jaimini's Mimamsasutra, and it develops a rigorous theory of shabda pramana.

The materialist nastika school attributed to Brihaspati, accepting only perception as a pramana and rejecting karma, rebirth, and Vedic authority. Its ideas survive mainly through critiques by other schools.

The Buddhist philosophical traditions, which reject Vedic authority and accept the Buddha's teaching as a pramana. Major schools include Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Yogachara, and Madhyamaka, differing on self and external objects.

The Jain philosophical tradition, which accepts a plurality of souls and an atomistic universe and rejects a creator god. Its epistemology employs syadvada and anekantavada, and its pramanas include perception and inference.

A means of valid knowledge. Nyaya accepts four: perception, inference, comparison, and verbal testimony; other schools accept fewer, and these differences define much of Indian epistemology.

Perception, the direct cognition arising from contact between a sense organ and its object. It is the most widely accepted pramana and a starting point for Nyaya and Vaisheshika analysis.

Inference, knowledge of an unperceived object from a perceived sign, as when smoke indicates fire. It requires a stable relation (vyapti) between the sign and what is inferred.