Mind Your Language: 4 tips to score well in class 10 Sanskrit Board exam

There is a reason why most students in class IX choose to pursue Sanskrit rather than Hindi. Not only is it easy to study, but there is also little writing involved during the class X Board exam. Most of the questions are in the form of fill-in-the-blanks in which the students have to write the correct grammatical form of the word.

“The Sanskrit question paper is easy and not very time-consuming as compared to Hindi since there are not very long question-answers. It is the silly mistakes that some students make. Therefore, it is important to have a thorough knowledge of shabd and dhatu roop right from the ones that were learnt in class VI,” Kishanlal Arya, Sanskrit teacher at Apeejay School, Nerul.

Format of the question paper

• a.    Each grammar question is in the MCQ format. The good part is that the options are given; the student has to write the correct form. Here it is important to know the shabd and dhatu roop that the student has learnt from class VI. Just like Math has formulae, shabd, and dhatu roop are formulae in Sanskrit.
• b.    A student is given a para from the book – there are three types – passage, verse, and drama. Each part carries 5 marks, questions are based on these paras which the student has to answer. Around 15 marks are for questions where the students are asked questions, to explain, and integrate these. Here the student is also asked to write sentences in chronological order based on the incident. Students are also asked about word meanings and synonyms. (The entire section carries 30 marks).
• c.    Then there are questions based on unseen passages for 10 marks.
• d.   There is a 15-mark question – letter writing, writing sentences based on the picture given the words, and translation from Hindi to Sanskrit.
• e.   There is grammar for 25 marks; it has sandhi, samas, pratyay, avyay, and upsarg to name a few.

“There are several books that the students can consult. A book titled Together With has several exercises that the students must solve. The book by Hari Om Shastri also has exercises that students need to attempt at the end of the chapter. A question paper by Oswal must also be done – at least three-four,” Arya said in conclusion.

 Ensure that you write neatly. Don’t overwrite or do much cutting. A neat answer sheet leaves a good impression on the examiner. Answer the questions in a chronological manner which are properly numbered  

–Kishanlal Arya, Sanskrit teacher at Apeejay School, Nerul