पद्य साहित्य - Prescribed Poetry Texts
पद्य साहित्य
Poetry questions come in three shapes: शब्दार्थ (word meanings), अन्वय/भावार्थ (reordering the verse into prose and explaining it), and तत्त्व-प्रश्न (कवि का उद्देश्य, अलंकार, छन्द, रस). Marks are lost mostly in अन्वय - the grammatical unscrambling - not in the meaning, which candidates usually get right.
Sequence that works
- शब्दार्थ - list forms exactly as printed, endings included.
- अन्वय - rewrite in prose order: कर्ता, कर्म, क्रिया. Convert participial and absolutive forms (सति, -त्वा, -य) into finite clauses.
- भावार्थ - two or three simple Sanskrit sentences, adding no new idea.
- सौन्दर्य - name अलंकार and छन्द only where you can justify the choice.
Worked example
उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनोरथैः। न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृगाः॥
- अन्वय: कार्याणि उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति, मनोरथैः न सिध्यन्ति; हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य मुखे मृगाः न प्रविशन्ति।
- भावार्थ: केवलं कल्पनया कार्यं न जायते; परिश्रमेणैव सिद्धिः भवति।
- अलंकार: अर्थान्तरन्यास - a general rule about उद्यम is confirmed by a concrete instance, the sleeping lion.
- छन्द: अनुष्टुभ् - four padas of eight syllables each, the fifth laghu and the sixth guru.
Traps
- Writing भावार्थ only when the question explicitly asks for अन्वय.
- Naming उपमा where no इव, यथा or सदृश appears; comparison needs a वाचक शब्द.
- Getting लिङ्ग wrong in the अन्वय - मुख, वाक्य, कार्य, फल are neuter, and a wrong ending breaks agreement.
- Skipping कवि-परिचय when a question asks 'कवेः परिचयं लिखत'.
- Assigning अलंकार before you have finished the अन्वय - the figure usually becomes clear only after reordering.