Karnataka SSLC Sanskrit - Third Language (KSEAB) key terms

The joining of two adjacent sounds into one, as when a final vowel meets an initial vowel and the two combine, shorten, or lengthen according to fixed rules.

A vowel junction in which a or ā followed by i, ī, u, or ū becomes e or o, and a or ā followed by ṛ becomes ar, as in नर + इन्द्रः = नरेन्द्रः.

A vowel junction in which a or ā followed by e, o, ai, or au becomes ai or au, and a or ā followed by ṛ becomes ār, as in एक + एक = एकैक.

A junction involving consonants, where a word-final consonant changes to match the following sound, often becoming a nasal of the same class or a sibilant, as in तत् + च = तच्च.

A junction in which a word-final visarga changes according to the next sound, becoming o before voiced consonants, r before vowels, or staying unchanged before certain consonants.

A compound word formed by joining two or more stems into a single inflected unit, whose internal case relation is not expressed by a separate ending.

A compound in which the final member is the head and earlier members stand in a case relation to it, as राज्ञः पुत्रः becoming राजपुत्रः, the king's son.

A compound whose meaning points to something outside its members, so पीताम्बर, wearing yellow cloth, names a person rather than the cloth itself.

A compound joining words that are coordinated, usually linked by and, as रामलक्ष्मणौ means Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa together.

A compound whose first member is a number, giving a collective or single unit, as त्रिभुवनम्, the three worlds taken as one whole.

A nominal word form carrying a case ending, covering nouns, pronouns, and adjectives declined in eight cases across three numbers.

A case ending that marks a noun's grammatical role, such as subject, object, instrument, or possessor; Sanskrit has eight, including the vocative.

The grammatical number of a word form: singular for one, dual for exactly two, and plural for three or more.

A verb form carrying a personal ending, agreeing with its subject in person and number and marked for tense, mood, or voice.

One of the ten tense-and-mood schemes of the Sanskrit verb, such as present, imperfect, imperative, optative, and perfect, named by the letter that labels it.

The set of verb endings used when the fruit of the action is thought to return to the agent, as in सेवते or पठते; contrasted with parasmaipada.

The ordinary set of verb endings used when the action is directed outward to another, as in पठति or सेवति; contrasted with ātmanepada.

Prose, written in unmeasured sentences rather than verse; in this syllabus it covers the prescribed narrative lessons read for plot, character, and theme.

Verse, composed in metrical lines; the prescribed poems are studied for meaning, sentiment, and figures of speech as well as for recitation.

The aesthetic sentiment a poem or scene arouses in a prepared reader, such as compassion, heroism, or mirth, treated as the goal of poetic experience.

A figure of speech that ornaments meaning or sound, such as simile, metaphor, or alliteration, recognised and named when analysing a prescribed verse.

A simile that compares two things explicitly through a word meaning like or as, as when a face is said to resemble the moon.

A sound figure in which a consonant is repeated noticeably within a line or stanza, producing a musical echo heard clearly when the verse is recited.

The sentiment of grief and compassion, aroused when a sympathetic character suffers loss or misfortune; commonly identified in prescribed verses of lament.

A synonym: a different word carrying the same or nearly the same sense, as वारि and जल both meaning water, tested in matching exercises.

An antonym: a word of opposite meaning, such as सुख against दुःख or उच्च against नीच, asked for in vocabulary questions.

Word meaning, including the sense a stem carries and the sense it gains from prefix, suffix, or compound context; the basis of vocabulary questions.

A suffix added to a root or stem to build a new word, such as क्त or त्वा forming participles, or ता forming abstract nouns like मित्रता.

A prefix such as प्र, अनु, or वि placed before a root or word, modifying its sense, as गम् to go becomes प्रगच्छति, he proceeds forward.

Translation: rendering a Sanskrit sentence faithfully into Kannada, or a Kannada sentence into grammatically correct Sanskrit, preserving sense and tense.

Sentence construction: arranging subject, object, and verb in correct order with matching endings, so that the Sanskrit sentence is grammatical and clear.

Composition: producing a short guided paragraph, letter, or dialogue in Sanskrit on a familiar topic, using correct forms and connected sentences.

A letter; the prescribed composition task asks for a short informal Sanskrit letter with address, salutation, body, and closing formula.

A dialogue; candidates write a short conversation between two speakers in Sanskrit, keeping turn-taking, address forms, and verb agreement correct.

Sanskrit literature, covering the great epics, classical poetry, drama, and didactic verse; background questions test knowledge of authors, works, and genres.

The gist or summary of a story; candidates restate the substance of a prescribed prose lesson briefly in their own words.