KSEAB SSLC FL Sanskrit key terms

The sound change that occurs when two words or word-parts meet, so that a final sound and an initial sound join or alter: rāma + āgacchati → rāmāgacchati. Splitting a written word back into its parts is a standard exam task.

A vowel sandhi in which two similar simple vowels merge into one long vowel: a + a → ā, i + i → ī, u + u → ū. Example: deva + ālayaḥ → devālayaḥ; kavi + īśvaraḥ → kavīśvaraḥ.

A vowel sandhi in which a or ā standing before i, ī, u, ū, ṛ or ḷ is replaced by the corresponding guṇa vowel e, o, ar or al: nara + indraḥ → narendraḥ; sūrya + udayaḥ → sūryodayaḥ.

A vowel sandhi in which a or ā before e, o, ai or au becomes the matching vṛddhi vowel ai or au: sadā + eva → sadaiva; rāma + aiśvaryam → rāmaiśvaryam. It is the strongest of the three vowel strengthenings.

A vowel sandhi in which i, ī, u, ū, ṛ or ḷ before a dissimilar vowel turns into the consonant y, v, r or l: iti + api → ityapi; madhu + agniḥ → madhvagniḥ; pitṛ + ājñā → pitrājñā.

The set of changes a final visarga (ḥ) undergoes before a following sound: rāmaḥ + gacchati → rāmo gacchati; rāmaḥ + api → rāmo'pi; rāmaḥ + ca → rāmaś ca. Recognising the original ḥ is often needed to restore the word.

A compound: two or more words fused into a single word, the case endings of all members except the last being dropped. The meaning depends on the relation between the members, so splitting a compound correctly is essential.

A compound in which the last member is the main word and the earlier member stands in some case relation to it: rājñaḥ putraḥ → rājaputraḥ, 'the king's son'; gṛhaṃ gataḥ → gṛhagataḥ, 'gone home'.

A compound whose members are equally important and are joined in meaning by 'and': rāmaś ca kṛṣṇaś ca → rāmakṛṣṇau. Its gender and number follow the group of things named, and it often takes a dual or plural ending.

A compound that names a person or thing by something possessed, the members describing the owner rather than being the thing itself: pītāmbaraḥ, 'the yellow-garmented one'; dīrghabāhuḥ, 'long-armed'. It commonly works as an adjective.

A compound in which the earlier member qualifies the later one and both point to the same thing: nīlotpalam, 'blue lotus'; mahārājaḥ, 'great king'. The qualifier's ending is dropped and the whole behaves as one noun.

A compound whose first member is an indeclinable used as a prefix and whose whole form stays indeclinable in every case: upa + nagaram → upanagaram, 'near the city'; prati + dinam → pratidinam, 'every day'.

The role a noun plays in relation to the verb of a sentence: doer, object, instrument, recipient, source or place. Sanskrit grammar recognises six such roles and links each one to a particular case ending.

A case ending taken by a noun, pronoun or adjective, eight in all, the last being the vocative used for address. Each vibhakti signals a kāraka or other relation such as possession, purpose or location.

A suffix added to a root or to a finished word to build a new word. Kṛt suffixes make nouns and adjectives from roots; taddhita suffixes make new nouns from existing nouns; sup and tiṅ are inflectional endings, not word-builders.

A suffix attached directly to a verbal root to form a noun or adjective: √kṛ + kta → kṛta, 'done'; √gam + kta → gata, 'gone'; √paṭh + a → paṭha? Forms like these are frequent in compounds.

A suffix added after a noun or adjective to create a new word showing relation, descent or possession: śiva + aṇ → śaiva, 'belonging to Śiva'; vidyā + aṇ → vaidya, 'learned'. The first vowel usually takes vṛddhi.

A verbal root: the basic meaningful element from which verbs and many nouns are formed. Roots are listed with their class and meanings, e.g. √gam 'to go', √paṭh 'to read', and must be recognised when explaining verb forms.

The complete set of inflected forms of a noun, pronoun or adjective across the eight cases and three numbers, recited as a paradigm: rāmaḥ, rāmau, rāmāḥ, rāmam, rāmābhyām and so on. Writing such a paradigm is a routine exam question.

A word ending in a case suffix (sup), that is, a declined noun, pronoun or adjective, as opposed to a tiṅanta verb. Analysing which case and number a subanta carries is a common grammar exercise.

A verb form ending in a personal ending (tiṅ) and showing person, number and tense or mood: paṭhati, paṭhataḥ, paṭhanti. Conjugating a given root in the present tense is a standard exam task.

Grammatical number. Sanskrit has three: eka-vacana (singular), dvi-vacana (dual) and bahu-vacana (plural). Nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verbs must all agree in number within a sentence.

The grammatical gender of a noun. Sanskrit has three: pulliṅga (masculine), strīliṅga (feminine) and napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter). Gender decides which set of endings a word takes, so it must be learnt with each noun.

A literary ornament: a deliberate device of sound or sense that heightens the beauty of a verse, such as upamā, rūpaka and anuprāsa. Questions ask candidates to name the ornament used and explain how it works.

A figure of sense in which one thing is explicitly compared to another of a different kind using words such as iva, yathā, sadṛśa or samam: 'a face like the moon'. Both objects must be dissimilar in kind.

A figure of sense in which the thing compared and the thing it is compared to are identified as one, the comparison being implied, not stated: 'the lotus-face'. Words of comparison such as iva are absent.

A figure of sound in which the same consonant is repeated in neighbouring syllables, producing alliteration: rāmo rājīva-locanaḥ. The repetition is of sound, so it is classified as a śabdālaṅkāra, an ornament of words.

Metre: the fixed syllable pattern of a verse, defined by the number of syllables in each quarter (pāda) and by which syllables are light or heavy. Naming the metre of a prescribed verse is a typical question.

The commonest Sanskrit metre, with four pādas of eight syllables each. Its pattern is fairly free except in the closing pāda, and most epic and didactic verses, including many prescribed ones, are in it.

The heavy and light syllable units counted in metre. A syllable is guru if its vowel is long or is a short vowel followed by a conjunct consonant; a plain short vowel is laghu. Scanning verses depends on this distinction.

Right conduct and practical wisdom - the moral teaching that many prescribed verses carry: speak the truth, keep good company, act with effort, control anger and speech. Questions often ask for the nīti of a verse in one sentence.

A character in a prose lesson. Character questions ask what the figure did or said, and what quality - generosity, courage, devotion, honesty - that action reveals, so evidence from the text should always be given.

A paragraph or short continuous composition in Sanskrit on a set topic such as a festival, a sport or a great person. A good answer has an opening statement, two or three supporting points and a closing sentence, in simple correct sentences.

A letter written in Sanskrit. Formal letters open with a salutation such as ārya or priya, state the matter plainly in the body, and close with a polite request and the sender's name and place.

An unseen passage, in prose or verse, not taken from the prescribed textbook. Candidates read it and answer objective and short questions on word meaning, syntax and central idea, testing comprehension independent of memorised lessons.

Translation: rendering a Sanskrit sentence or passage into Kannada or English, or the reverse. The aim is to keep the full meaning and the grammatical relations intact, not to replace word for word mechanically.

Vocabulary, the stock of words a reader commands. Exam tasks give Sanskrit words to be matched with Kannada or English meanings, so a word list should be built lesson by lesson and revised with the text.

A synonym: a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another, such as gaja, kuñjara, hastī and dantī for 'elephant', or vana, araṇya and aṭavī for 'forest'. Synonym sets are a common vocabulary question.

An antonym: a word whose meaning is the opposite of another's, such as sukha and duḥkha, jaya and parājaya, or satya and asatya. Antonym pairs are asked in vocabulary and translation exercises.