Prose (गद्य): Comprehension, Theme, Character, Vocabulary
Prose (गद्य) in this paper tests whether you can read a prescribed lesson accurately and then answer about it in Sanskrit: direct comprehension questions, the lesson's theme (तात्पर्यम्), the character of a पात्र (पात्रस्वभावः), and word meanings (शब्दार्थ).
Question types you must recognise
- कः? का? के? - who; answer in प्रथमा.
- किम्? किं कुर्वन्? - what; answer with the action.
- कुत्र? कदा? कथम्? किमर्थम्? - where, when, how, why; answer in सप्तमी, सप्तमी or द्वितीया, an अव्यय, and a purpose clause.
- Theme: one sentence naming the message, not a plot summary.
- Character: two or three adjectives (धैर्यवान्, दयालुः, सत्यवादी) each tied to an incident.
The rule that saves marks
Answers must be complete sentences reusing the question's words and case endings. If the question says कुत्र, the answer needs a सप्तमी form; if it says कैः, use तृतीया बहुवचन; if it says किमर्थम्, use a चतुर्थी or an उद्देश्य clause.
Worked example
Passage: कस्मिंश्चित् वने सिंहः वसति स्म। सः प्रतिदिनं मृगं हत्वा खादति स्म। Question: सिंहः कुत्र वसति स्म? Answer: सिंहः वने वसति स्म। Reasoning: कुत्र asks place, so वनम् becomes सप्तमी वने; स्म marks past narration, so it must be kept; the subject सिंहः stays प्रथमा एकवचन and agrees with वसति.
Traps
- One-word answers such as वने - write the full sentence.
- Dropping स्म, which converts past narration into present.
- Confusing सः / सा / तत् and singular versus plural verb endings.
- Using a dictionary meaning that does not fit the passage.
- Guessing शब्दार्थ by sound similarity instead of the lesson glossary.