Nine minutes for twenty grammar marks: sandhi alternatives and a blank samāsa name
The grammar block carries 20 marks in four parts: five pairs of opposites to match (5 marks), four verb-form changes from present to past (4 marks), three samāsa items needing both vigraha and the name of the samāsa (6 marks), and two sandhi splits with the type named (5 marks). Rohit reaches it with only 9 minutes left, because he over-wrote two prose answers. He is confident with matching and verb forms, shaky on samāsa names, and worst on sandhi. On 'ದೇವಾಲಯ' he cannot decide whether the split is ದೇವ + ಆಲಯ or ದೇವಾ + ಆಲಯ, so he intends to write both. On 'ರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ' he can produce the vigraha 'ರಾಜನ ಮಾರ್ಗ' but not the samāsa name, and plans to leave the name line blank rather than risk a wrong answer. He also believes that writing two possibilities shows the examiner he has thought about it.
1. Sequence the four grammar blocks across the 9 minutes and justify the order in terms of marks per minute and risk.
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Start with certainty, end with the block that invites second-guessing.
- Matching opposites - 2 minutes, 5 marks. Pure recognition, no sentence construction; the best marks-per-minute on the page and the fastest way to stop the clock from dictating everything else.
- Verb forms - 2½ minutes, 4 marks. Short transformations; he is confident, so the work is mechanical.
- Samāsa - 2½ minutes, 6 marks. Three items at about 50 seconds each, using the fixed shape: vigraha first, then the name. Highest total marks in the block.
- Sandhi - 2 minutes, 5 marks. Two items, most uncertainty, so it gets the residual time and not a minute more.
Reasoning: 20 marks in 9 minutes is about 2.2 marks per minute. The order protects against the likely failure mode - spending six minutes worrying about one sandhi and losing the matching and verb marks entirely. If time collapses, always write the label (the type name) even beside an imperfect split, because the label often carries one of the two marks.
2. For 'ದೇವಾಲಯ' he plans to write both ದೇವ + ಆಲಯ and ದೇವಾ + ಆಲಯ. Evaluate that plan and tell him what to write.
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Write one split: ದೇವ + ಆಲಯ, ಸವರ್ಣದೀರ್ಘ ಸಂಧಿ.
Why the second alternative loses: the split must redistribute the letters of the given word between the two members. If the first member is written as 'ದೇವಾ', the lengthened vowel has already been counted inside the first unit, and the join no longer produces 'ದೇವಾಲಯ'. The final long ā is the result of combining the final short a of ದೇವ with the initial ā of ಆಲಯ - that lengthening is exactly what makes it a savarṇadīrgha sandhi.
Why writing both is worse than choosing: examiners match against a single key. Two alternatives with no decision read as a guess and are commonly marked as not answered, so he risks losing the split mark he could have secured. His belief that two options show thinking is mistaken in this format - it shows indecision.
The rule to carry out of the hall: one split, correctly redistributed, plus one named type. If unsure of the type, still write the split; half a mark beats none.
3. On 'ರಾಜಮಾರ್ಗ' he can build the vigraha but not the name, so he plans to leave the name blank. Is that the right call? Show how the vigraha itself can generate the name.
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No - a blank guarantees zero for that part, while a derived name has a real chance of scoring.
Derive the name from the vigraha: 'ರಾಜನ ಮಾರ್ಗ' uses a genitive relationship (ರಾಜನ = of the king), and a compound whose vigraha rests on the genitive is a ಷಷ್ಠಿ ತತ್ಪುರುಷ. He does not need to recall a list; he needs to look at the case ending in his own vigraha.
Compare the other common pattern: a vigraha such as 'ನೀಲವಾದ ಕಮಲ' is an adjective plus noun, giving ವಿಶೇಷಣ ಪೂರ್ವಪದ ಕರ್ಮಧಾರಯ. Again the vigraha itself supplies the answer.
Mark logic: two marks typically split as one for the vigraha and one for the name. Blanking the name caps him at half even when the vigraha is perfect. He should spend ten seconds asking 'what case is my vigraha using?' rather than searching memory, then write the name and move to the sandhi block.