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Sandhi and Samas
Sandhi = sound-based joining of two adjoining letters (vowel, consonant, or visarga); Samas = meaning-based joining of two or more words after dropping the case-marker between them. Sandhi has 3 types (Swar, Vyanjan, Visarga) with Swar Sandhi further split into Dirgha, Guna, Vriddhi, Yan, and Ayadi. Samas has 6 types (Avyayibhav, Tatpurush, Karmadharay, Dwigu, Dwandwa, Bahuvrihi), distinguished by which word is predominant: first word (Avyayibhav), second word (Tatpurush), both equally (Dwandwa), or neither — pointing to a third entity (Bahuvrihi). Exam questions test Sandhi-Vichchhed, Samas-Vigraha, and identification of type.
Important topics
- Three types of Sandhi: Swar (vowel), Vyanjan (consonant), and Visarga
- Sub-types of Swar Sandhi: Dirgha, Guna, Vriddhi, Yan, and Ayadi
- Samas removes the connecting vibhakti (case markers) between two words
- In Tatpurush Samas, the second word is predominant in meaning
- In Dwandwa Samas, both words carry equal importance and are joined with 'and'
- In Bahuvrihi Samas, the compound denotes an entirely different, third entity
- Sandhi-Vichchhed is splitting a joined word; Samas-Vigraha is expanding a compound with its relation
- Karmadharay differs from Tatpurush in that its two parts share an adjective-noun or simile relation, not a case relation