Vyakarana: Sandhi, Samasa, Karaka and Pratyaya
Vyakarana: grammar as applied analysis
Vyakarana is the highest-precision domain. It tests sandhi, samāsa, kāraka and vibhakti, and pratyaya. Do not memorise labels alone: every answer needs the split, the rule, and the meaning.
Core rules
- Sandhi: savarṇa dīrgha (a + a → ā); guṇa (a + i → e, a + u → o, a + ṛ → ar); vṛddhi (a + e → ai, a + o → au); yaṇ (i/u/ṛ + vowel → y/v/r); anusvāra and visarga changes.
- Samāsa: tatpuruṣa (head is the final member), karmadhāraya (adjective + noun), dvigu (number), dvandva (both members), bahuvrīhi (denotes someone else), avyayībhāva (indeclinable first member).
- Kāraka: kartā, karma, karaṇa, sampradāna, apādāna, adhikaraṇa. Map to prathamā, dvitīyā, tṛtīyā, caturthī, pañcamī, saptamī; ṣaṣṭhī marks sambandha.
- Pratyaya: kṛt (ktvā, tumun, kta, ktavatu, śatṛ, śānac); taddhita (matup etc.); strī-pratyaya (ṭāp, ṅīp).
Worked example
सूर्य + उदयः → सूर्योदयः. Reason: final a + initial u are dissimilar simple vowels, so guṇa applies and gives o. It is not savarṇa dīrgha, which would require a + a and give ā. The form means “sunrise.”
Traps
Do not apply savarṇa dīrgha to a + u. Do not label a compound bahuvrīhi unless the vigraha shows the meaning rests on an outside referent. Distinguish karaṇa (“by means of”) from apādāna (“from”). In tatpuruṣa, the first member often carries ṣaṣṭhī in the vigraha.