UGC NET Gujarati flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Old Gujarati

The earliest stage of the Gujarati language, emerging around the 12th century CE from Apabhramsha; also called Maru-Gurjari and the ancestor of modern Gujarati and Rajasthani.

Apabhramsha

The late Middle Indo-Aryan stage that preceded Old Gujarati; its literary form in Gujarat produced early narrative verse later adapted into medieval Gujarati poetry.

Ergative -e

A marker placed on the subject of a transitive verb in perfective tenses in Gujarati; in such constructions the verb agrees with the object, not the subject.

Genitive -no/-ni/-nu

Gujarati possessive postposition that agrees in gender, number, and case with the possessed noun, not with the possessor; e.g., 'mari kitab' versus 'maro chhokro'.

Tatsama and Tadbhava

Tatsama words are borrowed unchanged from Sanskrit; tadbhava words evolved naturally from Sanskrit through Prakrit and Apabhramsha; deshi words are indigenous and videshi are foreign loans.

Saraswatichandra

Govardhanram Tripathi's four-part philosophical novel (1887–1901) regarded as the foundational modern Gujarati novel, exploring personal and national ideals through its protagonists.

Mari Hakikat

The autobiography of Narmadashankar Dave ('Narmad'), a landmark of modern Gujarati prose and a key text in the reformist literary movement of the 19th century.

Narmad

Narmadashankar Dave (1833–1886), called the father of modern Gujarati prose; author of 'Mari Hakikat' and the patriotic song 'Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat'.

Dalpatram

Dalpatram Dahyabhai (1820–1898), reformist poet and dramatist; wrote 'Bapani Pinpar' and 'Hunnar Khan' and helped establish modern Gujarati drama.

Bhavai

A traditional Gujarati folk theatre form with dance, music, and satire, traditionally attributed to Asait Thakar; performed in village squares with minimal props.

Garba and Raas

Gujarati devotional dance-song forms performed during Navratri; 'garba' is danced around a central lamp, while 'raas' uses sticks (dandiya) in circular formations.

Akho

A 17th-century Gujarati poet known for 'Chhappa' couplets expressing Vedantic and philosophical thought in direct, often satirical language.

Narsinh Mehta

A 15th-century bhakti poet of Gujarat, traditionally credited with 'Vaishnav Jan To'; his devotional lyrics and 'akhyans' shaped Gujarati devotional literature.

Premanand

A 17th–18th century Gujarati poet famous for long narrative 'akhyans' such as 'Nalakhyan' and 'Sudama Charit', blending devotion with storytelling.

Dayaram

An 18th-century Gujarati poet known for 'garbi' and devotional lyrics, celebrated for his treatment of love and devotion in the Krishna tradition.

Shamal Bhatt

A 18th-century Gujarati narrative poet known for 'Nand Batrisi' and other akhyans; his verse is noted for narrative clarity and devotional content.

Umashankar Joshi

Modern Gujarati poet and Gandhian who won the Jnanpith Award in 1967 for 'Nishitha'; also wrote 'Gangotri' and worked as a scholar and editor.

Pannalal Patel

Gujarati novelist who won the Jnanpith Award in 1985; best known for 'Manvi ni Bhavai', a rural novel set against the Kutch famine.

K. M. Munshi

Gujarati historical novelist and statesman; author of 'Patanni Prabhuta', 'Gujaratno Nath', and 'Prithivi Vallabh', and founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Re Math

A 1940s experimental movement in Gujarati poetry that rejected conventional metre and sentiment, emphasising new imagery and individual expression.

Akraman

A post-1960s modernist movement in Gujarati poetry associated with revolt against established forms and with writers such as Sitanshu Yashaschandra and Chandrakant Sheth.

Akhyan

A long narrative verse form in medieval Gujarati literature, often retelling Puranic or folk stories with devotional and moral emphasis.

Khandakavya

A medium-length narrative poem in Gujarati, shorter than a mahakavya but longer than a lyric; a common genre in modern Gujarati poetry.

Rasa theory

The classical Indian aesthetic theory of nine rasas (shringar, hasya, karuna, raudra, veer, bhayanak, bibhatsa, adbhut, shant) used to analyse emotional flavour in Gujarati literature.

Alankar

Figures of speech in Gujarati poetics; common types include upama (simile), rupak (metaphor), utpreksha (poetic fancy), anupras (alliteration), and yamak.

Samas

Compound formation in Gujarati; types include dvandva, tatpurusha, bahuvrihi, karmadharaya, and dvigu, often used to create technical and literary vocabulary.

Sandhi

The phonological joining of adjacent sounds across word boundaries; Gujarati retains Sanskritic sandhi mainly in tatsama vocabulary and formal writing.

Mumbai Samachar

A Gujarati newspaper founded in 1822, commonly cited as one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in India and a landmark in Gujarati print culture.

Gujarati script

A left-to-right script derived from Nagari, closely related to Devanagari but written without a headstroke; it has 12 vowels and 34 consonants in its standard inventory.

Retroflex lateral ળ

A distinctive Gujarati consonant (retroflex lateral) absent from standard Hindi; its presence in a word is a useful marker of Gujarati phonological identity.

Honorific plural

Gujarati uses plural verb agreement with 'tame' and with third-person honorific subjects, so polite address takes plural forms even for one person.

Nishitha

Umashankar Joshi's poetry collection that won the Jnanpith Award in 1967; it reflects Gandhian humanism and modernist sensibility in Gujarati literature.