Sanskrit (संस्कृत व्याकरण एवं अनुवाद)
Sanskrit in BSTC is tested at school level: sandhi, shabda roop, dhatu roop, karaka and vibhakti, samasa, and simple translation or passage comprehension. Marks come from accurate endings and sandhi, so memorising paradigms and then applying them is more reliable than guessing from meaning.
Core rules
- Sandhi: दीर्घ (अ+आ=आ), गुण (अ+इ=ए; अ+उ=ओ; अ+ऋ=अर्), वृद्धि (अ+ए=ऐ; अ+औ=औ), यण (इ+अ=य्), and visarga sandhi.
- Shabda roop: akaranta masculine राम, akaranta feminine लता, akaranta neuter फल; pronouns तत् and किम्.
- Dhatu roop: लट् (present), लृट् (future), लङ् (past imperfect), विधिलिङ् (optative); practise पठ्, गम्, कृ, अस्.
- Karaka: कर्ता प्रथमा, कर्म द्वितीया, करण तृतीया, सम्प्रदान चतुर्थी, अपादान पंचमी, अधिकरण सप्तमी.
- Samasa: तत्पुरुष, कर्मधारय, द्विगु, द्वंद्व, बहुव्रीहि, अव्ययीभाव.
Worked example
Join नर + इन्द्रः. The final "अ" of नर meets the initial "इ" of इन्द्रः, and अ + इ = ए, so the form is नरेन्द्रः - a गुण sandhi. Compare सूर्य + उदयः = सूर्योदयः (अ + उ = ओ) and हिम + आलयः = हिमालयः (अ + आ = आ, दीर्घ). Notice that the same first vowel "अ" gives three different results depending on the second vowel.
Traps that cost marks
Do not write नरइन्द्रः without combining the vowels. Do not apply वृद्धि where गुण is required. In vibhakti questions, check singular versus plural (रामम् / रामान्). In translation, keep the verb at the end and match gender and number.