The Answer Key Is Wrong: Samaasa Labels Without a Vigraha
A five-mark grammar question in a unit test asked for four one-mark identifications and a one-mark justification: the sandhi in dēvālayam, the split of maharṣi, and the samaasa type in rājabhavanam and nīlamēgham. The key prepared by a substitute teacher marks both compounds as karmadhāraya. Checking the 30 scripts, the regular teacher finds that 22 students followed the key, six wrote tatpuruṣa for rājabhavanam, one wrote dvandva for nīlamēgham, and one wrote savarṇa dīrgha for maharṣi. There is also a deeper problem: the question asked students to 'name the samaasa' without asking them to show the vigraha vakya, so the scripts contain no evidence of reasoning, and the six who disagreed cannot be judged on anything except the final label. The teacher must decide the correct key, re-mark the affected items without penalising students who reasoned correctly but used the key's label, and consider how to set such questions next term.
1. State the correct samaasa for rājabhavanam and nīlamēgham, with the vigraha that proves each.
Read the worked answer
rājabhavanam → rājuni bhavanam (rājñaḥ bhavanam): ṣaṣṭhī tatpuruṣa. The first member stands in a case relation to the second, and the compound denotes the palace, not the king. The expansion needs a case ending - 'of'.
nīlamēgham → nīlamu ayina mēghamu: karmadhāraya. Both members denote the same thing; the first qualifies the second. The expansion needs 'which is / ayina', not a case ending.
The operational test the substitute teacher was missing: if the vigraha needs of/for/by/from, it is tatpuruṣa; if it needs 'which is', it is karmadhāraya. Colour and quality adjectives (nīlamu, pedda, manchi) almost always give karmadhāraya; relationship and possession nouns give tatpuruṣa. So the key is wrong on item (iii) and right on item (iv).
2. What is the correct answer for maharṣi, and how do you re-mark the affected items fairly?
Read the worked answer
maharṣi = maha + ṛṣi, and a + ṛ → ar, which is guṇa, not savarṇa dīrgha. Savarṇa dīrgha requires two like vowels (a + a → ā, as in dēva + ālayam → dēvālayam); guṇa is the middle grade used when a/ā meets i/ī, u/ū or ṛ. The student's label is wrong even though the instinct - 'the vowels have combined' - is sound.
Re-marking, in order:
- Check the key first. If the key itself said savarṇa dīrgha, the student must be credited and the key corrected. If the key said guṇa, no mark is due.
- Re-mark upward the six 'tatpuruṣa' answers on rājabhavanam - they are correct and were marked wrong.
- Leave the dvandva answer on nīlamēgham wrong: dvandva requires both members to be independently referred to (rāmalakṣmaṇulu = rāmuḍu mariyu lakṣmaṇuḍu).
- Record the number affected so the correction is auditable, and put the guṇa set (a + i → e, a + u → o, a + ṛ → ar) on the board.
3. How should next term's samaasa items be written so that reasoning is visible in the script?
Read the worked answer
Ask for the reasoning, not only the label: 'Name the samaasa and write the vigraha vakya.' Give the label 1 and the vigraha 1, so a right label with a wrong expansion cannot score full marks, and a wrong label with a correct expansion earns partial credit - which is precisely the evidence the present question destroyed.
Also:
- Include at least one pair that turns on the case relation (rājabhavanam against nīlamēgham), so the distinction is tested rather than the term.
- Include one sandhi item whose wrong answer is plausible (maharṣi/guṇa) rather than a giveaway.
- Keep the total at five marks: four labels plus one written justification, so at least one item forces prose.
Finally, have the key written by the teacher who will mark it, and require every keyed answer to carry its vigraha. A key that cannot show its reasoning cannot defend itself when a student is right and it is wrong.