Karnataka SSLC Sanskrit - Third Language (KSEAB) cheat sheet

Theme questions: state the lesson's central idea in one Sanskrit sentence first, then support it with one incident from the text - examiners award marks for text-based evidence, not opinion.

Character questions: name the character, give two qualities with the exact action that reveals each (e.g., दानशीलः because he gave away his own possession), and close with the lesson's moral.

Comprehension of an unseen prose passage: read the questions before the passage, underline the sentence answering each, and answer in the same person (first/third) as the passage.

Vocabulary from prose lessons: match the word to its context meaning, not the dictionary's first gloss; a word like गुरु means 'teacher' in the classroom context but 'heavy' in a physical description.

Direct-speech passages: convert quotes to reported speech by changing the pronoun and verb ending to third person, keeping the tense of the original speech verb.

Sandhi-split words in the prose text must be rejoined before answering 'give the compound form' questions; the printed split is not the answer.

Answer length rule: one-word questions get one word, 'why' questions get a full sentence with a because-clause (यतः / तस्मात्).

Lesson titles and authors are examinable: link each prescribed prose lesson to its author and to the source text it is drawn from.

Recitation recall: fix the metre first (अनुष्टुभ् = 8 syllables per quarter, वसन्ततिलका = 14, शार्दूलविक्रीडित = 19), because the metre tells you the syllable count to restore in a half-remembered line.

Rasa identification: शृङ्गार (love/beauty), वीर (heroism), करुण (compassion), हास्य (laughter), रौद्र (anger), भयानक (fear), बीभत्स (disgust), अद्भुत (wonder), शान्त (peace) - justify with the emotion of the speaker, not the topic.

अलङ्कार decision rule: उपमा needs the words इव/यथा/सदृश; रूपक needs an identification with no comparing word; अनुप्रास needs repeated consonants in a quarter; यमक needs the same word with different meanings.

श्लेष is double meaning in one word; if the verse can be read two ways with different senses, choose श्लेष, not यमक (which repeats sound, not sense).

अतिशयोक्ति is deliberate exaggeration; उत्प्रेक्षा uses मन्ये/इव with an imagined comparison - do not label exaggeration as उपमा.

Verse comprehension: translate the verse into simple prose order (कर्ता → कर्म → क्रिया) before answering, since Sanskrit word order in poetry is inverted.

Speaker identification: check the प्रतिपाद्य (who is addressed) - verses addressed to a king, a bee, a cloud, or a mind each signal a different figure and tone.

Quote-recall questions ask for the exact line; reproduce the metre's syllable pattern and the case endings, not a paraphrase.

सुबन्त (declension) endings for अ-ending masculine राम: रामः, रामौ, रामाः (nom.); रामम्, रामौ, रामान् (acc.); रामेण, रामाभ्याम्, रामैः (instr.); रामाय, रामाभ्याम्, रामेभ्यः (dat.); रामात्, रामाभ्याम्, रामेभ्यः (abl.); रामस्य, रामयोः, रामाणाम् (gen.); रामे, रामयोः, रामेषु (loc.); हे राम, हे रामौ, हे रामाः (voc.).

आ-ending feminine रमा follows रामा-type endings: रमा, रमे, रमाः; रमाम्, रमे, रमाः; रमया, रमाभ्याम्, रमाभिः; रमायै; रमायाः; रमायाः; रमायाम्.

तद् pronoun declension is examinable: सः, तौ, ते; तम्, तौ, तान्; तेन, ताभ्याम्, तैः; तस्मै; तस्मात्; तस्य; तस्मिन्.

लकार recognition: लट् = present, लृट् = future, लङ् = past imperfect, लोट् = imperative, विधिलिङ् = optative ('should'), लिट् = perfect. Identify by the ending and the augment (अ- in लङ्/लिट्).

Present-tense endings: परस्मैपद -ति, -तः, -न्ति; -सि, -थः, -थ; -मि, -वः, -मः. आत्मनेपद -ते, -ेते, -न्ते; -से, -ेथे, -ध्वे; -े, -ावहे, -ामहे.

स्वरसन्धि: अ/आ + अ/आ → आ; अ/आ + इ/ई → ए; अ/आ + उ/ऊ → ओ; अ/आ + ऋ → अर्; ए/ओ + अ → अ (लोप with पूर्वरूप/अयादि rules). Example: सूर्य + उदयः → सूर्योदयः.

व्यञ्जनसन्धि: त्/द् + न् → न्न (उत् + नयति → उन्नयति); त् + श् → च्छ (तत् + श्रुत्वा → तच्छ्रुत्वा); स्/र् + vowel → र् (निः + आशा → निराशा).

समास classification by the relation: तत्पुरुष (last member governs, case relation lost), द्वन्द्व (members joined by च), बहुव्रीहि (compound denotes a third thing, e.g., दशरथः = one whose chariot is ten-horsed), कर्मधारय (adjective + noun, same case), द्विगु (numeral first).

Sanskrit → Kannada: fix the verb last, identify its person/number, then assign the subject in the matching nominative case; Kannada word order (SOV) matches Sanskrit, so keep order and only change endings.

Case-to-case mapping: प्रथमा → nominative (ಕರ್ತೃ), द्वितीया → accusative (ಕರ್ಮ), तृतीया → instrumental/ablative (ಮೂಲಕ/ಇಂದ), चतुर्थी → dative (ಗೆ/ಆಗಿ), पञ्चमी → ablative (ಇಂದ), षष्ठी → genitive (ಅ/ದ), सप्तमी → locative (ನಲ್ಲಿ/ಮೇಲೆ).

Kannada → Sanskrit: choose the verb form from the tense marker (present -ುತ್ತಾನೆ → लट् -ति; past -ದನು → लङ्/लिट्; future -ುವನು → लृट् -ष्यति), then set the subject's ending.

Dual is absent in Kannada: a Kannada plural may need Sanskrit dual (द्वौ/उभौ) - check whether the sentence names exactly two things.

Do not translate Sanskrit particles literally: च → ಮತ್ತು, अपि → ಸಹ, एव → ಮಾತ್ರ/ಎೕ, इति → ಎಂದು, हि → ಖಂಡಿತವಾಗಿ.

Gender must be re-assigned: Kannada neuter nouns often become masculine/feminine in Sanskrit (ಹುಡುಗಿ → बालिका), so match the Sanskrit adjective to the Sanskrit noun's gender.

Idiomatic Sanskrit expressions translate by sense: कृपया → ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು; नमः → ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ; अस्तु → ಆಗಲಿ.

Marks are lost for leaving a Sanskrit word untranslated in the Kannada version and vice versa; every content word must appear on the target side.

Guided paragraph structure: topic sentence (विषयः) → two supporting sentences with examples → concluding sentence; use connectives अत्र, ततः, अपि च, परन्तु, अतः.

Letter format in Sanskrit: स्थानम् + दिनाङ्कः at top right; प्रिय मित्र / आदरणीय at left; body; then भवदीयः / आपकाः and name; the salutation and closing are mark-bearing items.

Application/request letter (प्रार्थनापत्रम्) opens with सेवायाम् / महोदय and closes with भवदीयः विद्यार्थी; the request verb goes in लोट् or विधिलिङ् (कृपया अनुमतिं ददातु / दद्यात्).

Dialogue writing: each turn is a complete sentence with a speech tag (उवाच / अवदत् / पृष्टवान्); use आम् / न for yes-no answers and प्रति-questions to keep the exchange moving.

Aim for the required word count by expanding nouns into noun phrases (पुस्तकम् → मम प्रियं पुस्तकम्) rather than padding with repeated adjectives.

Tense consistency rule: a narrative paragraph stays in one tense; switch only when the time reference changes, and signal it with पुरा, इदानीम्, अग्रे.

Avoid transliterating Kannada proper nouns; give Sanskrit equivalents or use the Sanskritized form with a case ending (बेङ्गळूरु → बेङ्गळूरुनगरे).

Common composition topics to prepare in outline: मम विद्यालयः, मम प्रियः गुरुः, दीपावलीपर्व, पर्यावरणरक्षणम्, मम जन्मभूमिः.

Synonym pairs to know: वनम्–अरण्यम्, जलम्–उदकम्, पुत्रः–सुतः, गृहम्–निकेतनम्, राजा–नृपः, मित्रम्–सुहृत्, वायुः–पवनः, पृथ्वी–धरा, नेत्रम्–चक्षुः, हस्तः–करः.

Antonym pairs to know: सुखम्–दुःखम्, उच्चैः–नीचैः, दिवा–रात्रौ, ज्ञानम्–अज्ञानम्, धनिकः–दरिद्रः, प्रकाशः–अन्धकारः, जयः–पराजयः, आदि–अन्तः.

कृदन्त derivation: root + प्रत्यय - पठ् + क्त्वा → पठित्वा; पठ् + ल्यप् → अपठित्वा (with prefix); पठ् + तुमुन् → पठितुम्; पठ् + क्त → पठितः; पठ् + शतृ → पठन्.

स्त्रीप्रत्यय: nouns take ङीप्/टाप्/ङाप् to form feminines - नर → नारी, बाल → बाला, राजन् → राज्ञी, गज → गजा (not गजी).

Upasarga changes meaning: हृ (take) → आहरति (brings), प्रहरति (strikes), संहरति (destroys); learn roots with their prefixes, not alone.

समास-derived words: दशरथः, पञ्चवटी, त्रिलोकम्, सप्तर्षयः - the numeral prefix tells you the count, so decode meaning from the number.

Word-form traps: राज्ञः is genitive singular of राजन्, not nominative; सर्वे is nominative plural masculine, सर्वाणि neuter - check gender of the head noun.

Nouns of relationship: जनकः/पिता, जननी/माता, भ्राता, भगिनी, पुत्रः, पुत्री, पतिः, पत्नी - use the correct stem, since माता and पिता decline irregularly.

The prescribed supplementary text is examinable for plot order, character names, and the moral; questions ask 'who did what' and 'what happened next', so keep a sequence list for each story.

Sanskrit literary history markers: वाल्मीकि → रामायण (24,000 verses, 7 काण्ड); व्यास → महाभारत (18 पर्वन्); कालिदास → अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, मेघदूतम्, रघुवंशम्.

कालिदास's three plays: मालविकाग्निमित्रम्, विक्रमोर्वशीयम्, अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम् - 'Shakuntala' is the one with the lost ring.

पञ्चतन्त्र (विष्णुशर्मा) is fable-based niti literature; हितोपदेश (नारायण) is its later companion; both are framed by a teacher instructing princes.

बाणभट्ट wrote कादम्बरी and हर्षचरित; भवभूति wrote उत्तररामचरितम्, मालतीमाधवम्, महावीरचरितम्.

Cultural terms: वेदाः चत्वारः (ऋग्, यजुर्, साम, अथर्व); उपनिषदः = वेदान्त; पुरुषार्थाः = धर्म, अर्थ, काम, मोक्ष; षड्दर्शनानि include न्याय, वैशेषिक, साङ्ख्य, योग, मीमांसा, वेदान्त.

Sanskrit drama conventions: नान्दी opens the play, सूत्रधार introduces, विदूषक is the comic companion, and भारतीवृत्ति/कैशिकीवृत्ति are styles of diction.

Geography-and-culture items: सप्तसिन्धवः, हिमालयः as देवतात्मा, गङ्गा as मोक्षदा - the exam asks for the epithet attached to each name.