How to score 100 out of 100 marks in Sanskrit in SSC board exam! Useful Tips and Tricks

 

         As SSC board examinations are around the corner, with the prospect of guiding all the Maharashtra SSC board aspirants, I want to share my experience and success of scoring full marks i.e 100 of 100 marks in (full) Sanskrit and provide some useful tips and tricks to you all!

 

        Let's start with the first section, i.e. सुगमसंस्कृतम्, which is for 8 marks. It is very easy to score those 8 marks as all the questions are based on student's learning ability. Read aloud and practice writing all the चित्रपदकोष and सड्ख्या. Be thorough with it. For समय, practice from the textbook, make your own examples and write the timing in words and vice-versa.

 

        Now, for the second section of prose, which is for 20 marks, 2 passages are provided on the basis of which you are expected to do the given activities. Both passages are for 7 marks each. Let's start with the first passage; the first question is अवबोधनम्, in which there are 4 sub-questions. Read the passage carefully and solve the questions. Make sure while solving the first question in अवबोधनम्, you copy the statement  first and then write the correct reason. Same goes for who said to whom, first copy the statement and then write the answer in correct vibhakti. Write the answer for the next question in full statement, you just have to search the statement in the passage and copy it correctly. For the next question, from which lesson is this passage, students must learn and practice writing all the names of the lessons prior itself and read the lessons so that they are aware of the correct answer. The second sub- question शब्दज्ञानम् is based on grammar knowledge, which can be solved only with practice. For पृथ्थकरणम् also, the answer is in the passage itself, don't make the mistake of self-analysing the answer without confirming by reading the passage. The question pattern of the second passage are almost similar to the first passage. For the माध्यमभाषया सरलार्थं लिखत, read and learn the translation of all prescribed lessons for translation. Refer to my other articles for translation of the passages:  

https://sanskritmadesimple.blogspot.com/search/label/Translation and also for माध्यमभाषया उत्तरं लिखत, learn all the answers of such questions in the भाषाभ्यास. Refer to the answers which I have written and compiled:  

https://sanskritmadesimple.blogspot.com/search/label/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%A4 . Also visit this site for a quick review of त्वान्त, ल्यबन्त and तुमन्त अव्यय:

https://sanskritmadesimple.blogspot.com/2020/03/important-based-tricks-when-word-ends.html

Now let’s analyse the third section, i.e. prose, which is for 18 marks. If you practice the questions from भाषाभ्यास अ and आ questions can be solved easily. Now for पद्ये शुद्धे पूर्णे च लिखत, first learn all the shlokas in a simple tune 

(refer videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwRQwbwWPlKE0p4c8cz-fgViw-M35VVhU ) 

and then practice writing a shloka daily until you perfect them and write them without a single mistake! For अन्वय, use your logical ability by saying the shloka in your mind and fill in the blanks or if you are unable to do so, learn the अन्वयs which are given in your textbook. Do not skip this question like many other students or you may lose 2 of your valuable marks! For माध्यमभाषया सरलार्थं लिखत, learn the translation and write it word to word.

The fourth section is writing skill, which is for 9 marks. For उपपद विभक्ति question, learn and practice writing all the statements on this link:  

https://sanskritmadesimple.blogspot.com/2020/03/blog-post_4.html . Prefer to attempt this question rather than अनुवाद as, if your grammar is weak and vocabulary is not good, you may end up losing marks here. Same for the second question, prefer to attempt निबन्घम्, refer this link for writing perfect essays and scoring those 5 marks:  

https://sanskritmadesimple.blogspot.com/search/label/Essays . You can also attempt the चित्रवर्णन, but it is a bit risky. A wise solution is to attempt both, but only if you have extra time left even after checking your answer sheet.

For the fifth section, i.e. भाषाभ्यास, practice grammar questions and do a lot of revision with the help of your teacher. For तालिकापूर्तिं कुरुत, learn all the grammar tables, right from the 8th std textbook to the 10th and also the table on page 78 from 10th std textbook. For the आ question, practice questions from  

https://sanskritmadesimple.blogspot.com/2020/03/blog-post_28.html . For समास practice all the समासासिक words from the lessons and for  समानार्थी and विरुद्धार्थी words, you have no option but to learn and practice. For सूचनानुसारं कृतीः कुरुत, compile all such questions from the textbook and be thorough with them.

For the sixth section, i.e. unseen passage, which comes for 8 marks, go through some Sanskrit material other than your textbook to develop your understanding of the passage so that you can answer such questions effortlessly. No need to stress for this question as a very simple passage and shloka is given in the board exams.

Important tips and tricks:

1) Make sure you write your paper in a clean and legible handwriting and also present your paper beautifully without making much mistakes and crossing out and drawing straight margins with the help of a scale on both the sides of the paper. Draw a line after each question. 

2) Don’t forget to underline or make a neat box around your main answer. Also draw all the आकृतीs as given in the paper with pencil. 

3) For the prose and poetry section, remember this smart tip: Always read the questions first and then read the passage, so that you can easily find your answers without wasting much time! 

4) In माध्यमभाषया उत्तरं लिखत, underline the keywords and write as per as the format (First para-introduction i.e. name of the lesson, writer and brief introduction of the lesson, second para- answer in your medium and third para- conclusion). 

5) Know the paper pattern well to study effectively.

6) Pre- decide how much time you are going to spend on each question and keep atleast  15 minutes for checking the paper.

7) After checking the paper, if you have ample of time left, solve other extra questions.

8) For the fifth section, i.e. भाषाभ्यास, solve ALL THE QUESTIONS (extra also) to ensure full marks in that section.

At the end of my post, I would like to thank my Sanskrit teacher Gayatri Gumaste, under whose guidance and endless support for 3 years, I was able to score full marks in Sanskrit in SSC.