Grammar (Vyakaranam): Declension, Conjugation, Sandhi, Samasa and Karaka
Grammar (Vyākaraṇam) is tested through direct identification and application: decline a noun, conjugate a verb, split a sandhi, name a samāsa, and assign kāraka roles. Accuracy depends on endings and context, not on memorised translations.
Core rules
- Vibhakti: prathama for subject/predicate nominative; dvitīyā for direct object and motion to; tṛtīyā for instrument and accompaniment; caturthī for purpose and indirect object; pañcamī for separation and cause; ṣaṣṭhī for possession; saptamī for location.
- Lakāra: note whether the action is present, past, future, imperative, or optative; match puruṣa and vacana.
- Sandhi: classify as svara, visarga, or vyañjana before applying a rule.
- Samāsa: identify the head (uttarapada or pūrvapada) and the relation hidden in the compound.
Worked example
Sentence: “रामः फलं खादति।” Parse: रामः - rāma, prathama, eka; फलम् - phala, dvitīyā, eka; खादति - khād, laṭ, prathama puruṣa, eka. Kāraka: rāma is kartā; phala is karma. Translation: “Rāma eats a fruit.” If asked for sandhi in “रामः अत्र”, the correct form is रामोऽत्र: visarga before a vowel, with the following a absorbed.
Traps
Do not assign case by English word order; do not call every compound tatpuruṣa; do not confuse ṣaṣṭhī possession with dvitīyā object; do not ignore an augment or reduplication in a verb form.