Vyākaraṇa: Sandhi, Samāsa, Declension, Conjugation, Kāraka
Grammar questions are the most mechanical and therefore the most winnable part of the paper. The syllabus concentrates on sandhi, samāsa, nominal and verbal inflection, and the kāraka-vibhakti mapping.
Core rules
- Sandhi: savarṇadīrgha (a + ā = ā), guṇa (a + i = e), vṛddhi (a + e = ai), yaṇ (i + vowel = y), pūrvarūpa, parasavarṇa, visarga sandhi, and cerebral ṇatva after r/ṣ (except before vowels and cerebrals).
- Samāsa: avyayībhāva, tatpuruṣa (with ṣaṣṭhī, dvitīyā, tṛtīyā, pañcamī, saptamī, nañ), dvigu, bahuvrīhi, dvandva.
- Kāraka: eight - kartṛ, karma, karaṇa, sampradāna, apādāna, adhikaraṇa, sambandha (as ṣaṣṭhī), and the vocative as address.
- Vibhakti mapping: kartā–prathamā (or tṛtīyā in passive), karma–dvitīyā, karaṇa–tṛtīyā, sampradāna–caturthī, apādāna–pañcamī, adhikaraṇa–saptamī.
- Conjugation: laṭ (present), laṅ (past imperfect), lṛṭ (future), loṭ (imperative), vidhiliṅ (optative), lit (perfect); parasmaipada and ātmanepada endings.
Worked example
rāmeṇa kaṭaḥ kriyate. Here the verb is passive (karmaṇi prayoga), so the logical agent Rāma takes the instrumental rāmeṇa, and the object kaṭaḥ becomes grammatical subject in the nominative. The rule is "anabhihite": a kāraka already expressed by the verb's own ending is not marked again. Hence tṛtīyā for the agent, prathamā for the promoted object.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing guṇa where vṛddhi is required (a + e = ai, not e).
- Applying ṇatva before a vowel or a cerebral.
- Mixing up bahuvrīhi and tatpuruṣa by looking at the first member instead of the head.
- Using ṣaṣṭhī for a direct object, or caturthī with namas incorrectly.