Kerala +2 Sanskrit Sahitya key terms

Sanskrit prose. In the Kerala +2 syllabus it covers narrative and ornate prose passages studied for comprehension, style and content, distinguished from verse (padya) and drama (rupaka).

A Sanskrit prose narrative form, typically a courtly tale with ornate description and a hero of high birth. Studied as a genre of classical prose alongside katha.

A Sanskrit prose tale genre, often with a simpler narrative frame than the akhyayika. Candidates should distinguish the two when identifying prescribed prose passages by form and style.

Sanskrit verse or poetry, composed in fixed metres. In the syllabus it covers prescribed stanzas studied for meaning, figure of speech, metre and poetic suggestion.

A Sanskrit play, literally 'that which has form'. Classical dramatic works in ten recognised types; the syllabus prescribes specific plays studied for plot, character and dramatic convention.

The principal type of Sanskrit drama, typically in five to seven acts, with a heroic or noble hero, a significant plot and a happy or resolved ending. Distinguished from prakarana and other rupakas.

The benedictory verse recited at the opening of a Sanskrit play, invoking blessing on the audience and often hinting at the play's theme. Candidates should identify its position and function.

The prologue of a Sanskrit drama, in which the sutradhara and an assistant introduce the play and its author. It precedes the first act and often leads into the action.

The stage manager and director figure in Sanskrit drama, who opens the play, conducts the prologue and links scenes. Not merely a narrator; he manages the performance itself.

In dramaturgy, a 'joint' or division of plot into five stages from opening to resolution. In grammar the same word means sound combination between words; candidates must distinguish the two senses.

The opening 'face' or first of the five plot divisions (arthaprakrti-related sandhis) in Sanskrit dramaturgy, where the seed of the action is sown. Compare with the grammatical sense of mukha as beginning.

Sanskrit grammar, one of the six Vedangas. The syllabus tests sandhi, samasa, declension, conjugation and karaka analysis, usually following Paninian categories and terminology.

Compound formation in Sanskrit, joining two or more stems into a single word. Candidates must classify compounds by type and explain how the meaning is derived from the members.

A Sanskrit compound in which the final member is the head and earlier members qualify it, often with a case relation understood. The compound's gender follows the last member.

A compound denoting something other than its members, functioning as an adjective: 'having much rice' means 'a rich person'. Its gender follows the noun it describes, not its final member.

A copulative compound in which members are joined by 'and' and each retains equal status. The result is often dual or plural; gender may follow the last member or the majority.

A descriptive compound in which the first member qualifies the second, which remains the head, as in 'blue lotus'. Often treated as a subtype of tatpurusa in Paninian analysis.

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

A grammatical case ending in Sanskrit, eight in the traditional scheme including the vocative. Candidates must decline nouns and pronouns across genders and identify the case used in a sentence.

A nominal word ending in a case suffix, i.e. a declined noun, pronoun or adjective. Declension tables for subantas across the three genders are a standard examination item.

A finite verb form ending in a personal termination, marked for person, number, tense or mood and voice. Conjugation of tinantas in the ten classes is a core grammar skill.

Poetic figure or ornament of sense and sound. Candidates identify figures such as upama and rupaka in prescribed verses and explain the basis of the comparison or striking expression.

Simile: a figure in which one thing is compared to another, usually with words such as iva or yatha. The four components are the subject, the standard, the common quality and the particle.

In poetics, metaphor: identification of one thing with another without a comparative particle, as 'this life is a river'. Note the same word also names a drama; context decides the sense.

Sanskrit metre, the system of syllable-counting and light-heavy patterns that governs verse. Candidates scan prescribed stanzas and name metres such as anustubh and vasantatilaka.

A metre defined by a fixed sequence of light (laghu) and heavy (guru) syllables in each quarter. Identified by counting syllables and matching the pattern to a named metre.

A group of three syllables classified by light-heavy arrangement, used in metre and in Paninian grammar. Eight ganas, named with mnemonic words such as ya and ma, generate metrical patterns.

The aesthetic relish or sentiment produced in a sensitive spectator by the combination of emotion, stimulus and response. Classical theory recognises nine rasas including sringara, vira and karuna.

An emotion or feeling state that, when developed in drama or poetry, becomes the basis of a rasa. Distinguish the stable emotions from the transient auxiliary feelings.

Suggestion: the power of language to convey a meaning beyond the literal. Central to Anandavardhana's theory that suggested sense is the soul of poetry.

Oblique or deviant expression, held by Kuntaka to be the defining feature of poetic language. It covers phonetic, lexical, grammatical and semantic deviations that create beauty.

One of the six auxiliary disciplines attached to the Vedas: phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, metre and astronomy. Knowing the list and each domain's scope is basic cultural knowledge.

The Sanskrit epic attributed to Valmiki, in seven books, telling the story of Rama. Its narrative and characters are frequently used in translation and comprehension passages.

The great Sanskrit epic attributed to Vyasa, in eighteen books, centred on the Kaurava-Pandava conflict. It contains the Bhagavadgita and supplies many literary and cultural references.

Sanskrit courtly poetry, whether prose or verse, judged by standards of suggestion, ornament and style. The term covers mahakavya, laghukavya and prose forms studied in the syllabus.

Translation or rendering, the process of converting a source text into another language while preserving sense. In this exam it usually means translating between Sanskrit and Malayalam or English.

Abridgement or summarising of a text, retaining its essential argument or narrative. Composition questions may ask for a condensed version of a prescribed prose or verse passage.

In dramaturgy, a minor plot division or 'semblance' of the five sandhis, such as the sprouting of a new turn in the action. Not to be confused with the grammatical term for optional rule application.