MCQ
Sanskrit Alphabet and Sandhi MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers
Solve 10 Sanskrit Alphabet and Sandhi questions for RAS/RPSC preparation.
Practice questions
Q1A Class V learner is asked to write the joined form of सत् + आचार. Which one is the correct sandhi-formed word?
The combination सत् + आचार is a vyanjan-sandhi (consonant sandhi). The unvoiced त् at the end of सत् stands before a voiced vowel आ at the start of आचार. The rule (jhalan jash anto in Ashtadhyayi register, taught simply at primary level as 'unvoiced + voiced -> voiced') changes त् to द्. So सत् + आचार gives सद् + आचार = सदाचार. Option A captures this textbook result. Primary classes practise this with paired examples like उत् + हार = उद्धार and वाक् + ईश = वागीश.
Q2A Class V Sanskrit teacher writes two statements about vowel duration on the board. Statement (i): The vowel अ is a hrsva (short) vowel that takes one matra to pronounce. Statement (ii): The vowel आ is a dirgha (long) vowel that takes two matra to pronounce. Which is correct?
Both statements are correct. Sanskrit varnamala classifies vowels by their utterance time (kala): hrsva vowels (अ, इ, उ, ऋ, ऌ) take one matra, dirgha vowels (आ, ई, ऊ, ॠ and the sandhyakshara ए, ऐ, ओ, औ which are also long) take two matra, and pluta takes three matra and is marked with a numeral 3 after the vowel. So अ is hrsva = 1 matra, आ is dirgha = 2 matra, both as the textbook states. This duration-based classification is the basis on which sandhi rules later operate, especially dirgha-sandhi.
Q3Read the assertion (A) and reason (R) from a Class V Sanskrit lesson. Assertion (A): The join नर + इन्द्र = नरेन्द्र is an example of गुण सन्धि. Reason (R): When the short vowel अ is followed by इ, the result is the vowel ए by the gun-sandhi rule. Choose the correct option.
Both the assertion and the reason are true. नर ends in अ and इन्द्र begins with इ; under gun-sandhi, अ + इ produces ए, giving नरेन्द्र. The reason states this very rule and is therefore the correct explanation of the assertion. The triad of gun-sandhi outputs taught at primary level is — अ/आ + इ/ई = ए, अ/आ + उ/ऊ = ओ, अ/आ + ऋ = अर्. So नरेन्द्र is a clean classroom example, and option A is the precise match for an assertion-reason pair where the rule directly explains the example.
Q4A Class V teacher reviews a learner's notebook listing four sandhi-vichchheda (split) entries: (i) सूर्योदय = सूर्य + उदय; (ii) महर्षि = महा + ऋषि; (iii) सदाचार = सत् + आचार; (iv) विद्यालय = विद्या + लय. Which one is INCORRECT?
Entry (iv) is wrong. The correct sandhi-vichchheda of विद्यालय is विद्या + आलय, not विद्या + लय. The join is dirgha-sandhi where आ (end of विद्या) and आ (start of आलय) combine into a single आ. Splitting it as विद्या + लय loses the second आ entirely and creates a non-word for आलय. Entries (i), (ii), (iii) are textbook-correct: सूर्योदय is gun-sandhi (अ + उ = ओ), महर्षि is gun-sandhi (अ + ऋ = अर्), and सदाचार is vyanjan-sandhi where त् + आ becomes द् + आ.
Q5A Class V teacher prepares a match chart between sandhi types and joined-form examples. List I — Sandhi type: (1) दीर्घ (2) गुण (3) यण् (4) विसर्ग. List II — Joined form: (P) इत्यादि from इति+आदि; (Q) महेन्द्र from महा+इन्द्र; (R) विद्यालय from विद्या+आलय; (S) निरादर from निः+आदर. Which mapping is correct?
Each example matches a distinct sandhi type. विद्या+आलय=विद्यालय joins आ+आ to produce आ — pure dirgha sandhi (1 → R). महा+इन्द्र=महेन्द्र joins अ+इ to produce ए — gun sandhi (2 → Q). इति+आदि=इत्यादि turns इ into य् before another vowel — yan sandhi (3 → P). निः+आदर=निरादर turns the visarga (ः) into र् before a voiced sound — visarga sandhi (4 → S). So the correct chart is 1 → R; 2 → Q; 3 → P; 4 → S, which option A captures.
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More questions
6A Class IV teacher introduces the Sanskrit alphabet to learners and writes the vowels (स्वर) on the board. According to the standard Sanskrit varnamala, how many vowels does she write?
7A Class V teacher introduces uchcharan-sthan (places of articulation) for the five vargas of stop consonants. How many uchcharan-sthan does the standard Sanskrit varnamala recognise for the five sparsha vargas?
8A Class V teacher draws the consonant grid (varga arrangement) of Sanskrit varnamala — five vargas of stops plus the antastha and ushma rows. Excluding the visarga and anusvara, how many consonants does the standard Sanskrit varnamala count?
9A Class V teacher writes a step-card for performing sandhi: (P) Note the last varna of the first word, (Q) Apply the matching sandhi rule and form the joined word, (R) Note the first varna of the second word, (S) Decide which sandhi class the meeting belongs to. Arrange the steps in the correct teaching order.
10A Class V teacher writes the joining विद्या + आलय on the board and asks learners to apply the appropriate sandhi rule. Consider the statements: (i) The combination involves two homogeneous vowels meeting. (ii) The result of the join is विद्यालय. Which of the statements is/are correct?