RBSE SS Sanskrit Literature flashcards
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- Vasavadatta
- A Sanskrit prose romance (gadya-kavya) by Subandhu, noted for its elaborate compounds and descriptions; the heroine is princess Vasavadatta.
- Dasakumaracarita
- Prose work by Dandin narrating the adventures of ten princes, divided into three parts: purvapithika, madhyapithika, and uttarapithika.
- Kadambari
- A prose romance by Banabhatta, completed by his son Bhushanabhatta; it is known for its ornate style and complex narrative.
- Panchatantra
- A collection of fables in prose and verse attributed to Vishnusharman, designed to teach niti (political wisdom) to princes.
- Hitopadesha
- A prose collection of fables attributed to Narayana, drawn largely from the Panchatantra, divided into four sections: Mitralabha, Suhridbheda, Vigraha, Sandhi.
- Meghaduta
- A poem by Kalidasa in mandakranta meter, in two parts, in which a yaksha sends a cloud as a messenger to his wife.
- Raghuvamsha
- An epic poem by Kalidasa tracing the solar dynasty from Dilipa to Agnivarna; it is a mahakavya in 19 cantos.
- Upama
- A poetic device (alamkara) meaning simile, where one thing is compared to another using words such as iva, yatha, or vat.
- Rupaka
- A poetic device (alamkara) meaning metaphor, where one thing is identified with another without a comparative word.
- Mandakranta
- A Sanskrit meter with 17 syllables per quarter, used by Kalidasa in the Meghaduta; each quarter has the pattern of long and short syllables.
- Abhijnanashakuntala
- A seven-act nataka by Kalidasa dramatizing the love and separation of Shakuntala and King Dushyanta; the title means 'Shakuntala recognized by the token'.
- Mudrarakshasa
- A political drama by Vishakhadatta about Chanakya's strategy to install Chandragupta Maurya; it has no female lead and no shringara rasa.
- Mrichchhakatika
- A prakarana (social drama) by Shudraka featuring the courtesan Vasantasena and the poor brahmin Charudatta; the title means 'The Little Clay Cart'.
- Natyashastra
- The foundational treatise on Indian dramaturgy by Bharata, describing rasas, the purvaranga, and the ten types of drama (dasharupaka).
- Vidushaka
- The jester character in Sanskrit drama, usually a brahmin companion of the hero, who provides comic relief and speaks in Prakrit.
- Vibhakti
- Case endings in Sanskrit; there are eight cases: prathama, dvitiya, tritiya, chaturthi, panchami, shashthi, saptami, and sambodhana.
- Guna sandhi
- A type of vowel sandhi where a or ā followed by i/ī becomes e, and a/ā followed by u/ū becomes o; e.g., upa + indra = upendra.
- Vriddhi sandhi
- A type of vowel sandhi where a/ā followed by e/ai becomes ai, and a/ā followed by o/au becomes au; e.g., eka + ekam = ekaikam.
- Bahuvrihi
- A compound (samasa) that denotes a possessor of the compound's meaning and functions as an adjective; e.g., bahuvrihi = 'having much rice'.
- Tatpurusha
- A compound (samasa) in which the first member qualifies the second, which is the head; e.g., raja-putra = 'king's son'.
- Dvandva
- A copulative compound (samasa) joining two or more words of equal status, often translated with 'and'; e.g., rama-lakshmanau = 'Rama and Lakshmana'.
- Lat lakara
- The present tense in Sanskrit, formed by adding primary endings to the verbal root with the appropriate gana suffix.
- Karmani prayoga
- The passive construction in Sanskrit, where the object of the active sentence becomes the nominative subject and the verb takes a past participle form.
- SOV order
- The typical word order of Sanskrit sentences: subject, object, verb; English uses SVO, so reordering is needed in translation.
- Tritiya vibhakti
- The instrumental case in Sanskrit, often translated as 'by', 'with', or 'through'; it marks the means or instrument of an action.
- Saptami vibhakti
- The locative case in Sanskrit, often translated as 'in', 'on', or 'at'; it marks the location or occasion of an action.
- Vedic period
- The earliest period of Sanskrit literature (c. 1500–500 BCE), comprising the four Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.
- Kalidasa
- A classical Sanskrit poet and dramatist of the Gupta period, author of Abhijnanashakuntala, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, and other works.
- Bhasa
- An early Sanskrit dramatist whose plays, including Charudatta and Svapnavasavadatta, were discovered in Kerala in 1912.
- Gita Govinda
- A lyrical poem in twelve cantos by Jayadeva (12th century), describing the love of Radha and Krishna and the song 'Jayati jayati devo devaki-nandano'.
- Rajatarangini
- A historical chronicle of Kashmir in Sanskrit by Kalhana (12th century), valued as a source for early Indian history.
- Prastavana
- The prologue of a Sanskrit play, in which the sutradhara and an assistant introduce the play and its author.