Signing Off a Sandhi Key When Two Teachers Disagree
A Sanskrit teacher at a Nagpur madhyamik school has printed a 10-item sandhi drill for 62 Class-9 students. Five of the printed strings are: (4) so'bravīt, (5) nāsti, (6) ityuvāca, (7) tacca, (8) devī iti / devīti. Each item carries 2 marks and asks for the split (vigraha) plus the name of the operation. Before the test, three teachers must sign the key. Two of them dispute item 8 because the typesetter printed both forms; a fourth teacher argues that item 4 should also accept the written-out saḥ abravīt. A parent has complained that awarding half marks in a sandhi item is arbitrary, and the head of department wants the key defensible to a moderator who follows a different textbook. Only two days remain, and 62 scripts will be marked by two teachers using whatever key is finally agreed.
1. Give the split and the operation for printed strings (4) to (8), flagging any item where more than one printed form is defensible. State the rule (sūtra) name in each case.
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Four of the five items are unambiguous; only item 8 is a printing fault.
| Printed | Split | Operation |
|---|---|---|
| so'bravīt | saḥ + abravīt | visarga of -aḥ becomes o before a voiced sound; the initial a- is then elided and shown by avagraha (6.1.113 / 6.1.109) |
| nāsti | na + asti | savarṇadīrgha: a + a → ā (6.1.101) |
| ityuvāca | iti + uvāca | iko yaṇ aci: i → y before a vowel (6.1.77) |
| tacca | tat + ca | ścutva: final -t → -c before c (8.4.40); the cluster is written -cc- |
| devīti | devī + iti | savarṇadīrgha again: ī + i → ī (6.1.101) |
Reasoning to record in the key: items 4–7 are single-answer because the saṃhitā form is the only correct written form in a continuous string. Item 8 is different - the drill's own printing gives both devī iti and devīti, so the item must be rewritten, not merely keyed: print devī + iti and ask for the combined form (answer: devīti), or print devīti and ask for the split (answer: devī + iti). That removes the ambiguity instead of rewarding guesswork.
2. A student answers item 4 by writing out saḥ abravīt uncombined. Using the 2-mark scheme, decide the award and justify it in a way that would satisfy the complaining parent.
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Award 1 of 2.
The student has shown the correct vigraha - saḥ + abravīt - which is half the demand of the item. What is missing is the second half: producing the saṃhitā form so'bravīt and naming the operation (visarga → o before a voiced sound, then avagraha for the elided a-). The uncombined string is not ungrammatical; it is a pause-form (it would be legitimate at the end of a sentence or before a break). So the script is not wrong, it is incomplete, and 1 mark matches the split/operation division printed in the key.
Phrase the feedback exactly that way for the parent: the answer is grammatical but the item asked for the joined form; you earned the split mark and lost the operation mark. To close the argument permanently, print the instruction as 'write the saṃhitā form and name the operation' so no student can misread the demand.
3. The moderator follows a textbook that would key item 8 with devīti only. Draft the two-line note that should appear in the key so that the item survives moderation.
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The note should separate the grammar from the printing.
Suggested wording: Item 8 as printed is faulty. The saṃhitā form is devīti (devī + iti, savarṇadīrgha 6.1.101); the separated spelling devī iti is the vigraha, not the joined form. Both were printed by the typesetter, so the item is reissued as 'split devīti' with the single answer devī + iti.'
Reasoning: moderation fails an item when two answers are correct as printed, not when a textbook happens to print only one. By rewriting the stem so that it supplies one half and asks for the other, the teacher removes the double answer rather than defending it. If the paper cannot be reprinted, then accept both spellings on item 8 but cap the mark at 2 only for scripts that name savarṇadīrgha - the operation is the part that is genuinely testable.