UPHESC Assistant Professor Sanskrit 2025 PYQs

Concept: Varttika: ubhasarvatasoḥ kāryā dhigupary-ādiṣu triṣu, dvitīyāmreḍitānteṣu tato ’nyatrāpi dṛśyate.

1. So dhik takes the accusative: dhik kṛṣṇābhaktam.

Short trick: Dhik + dvitīyā.

Concept: “yūnas tiḥ” (4.1.77): yuvan + ti → yuvatiḥ (feminine taddhita).

1. Ktin forms abstract nouns (kṛtiḥ); ktic is for names/blessings; tip is a verb ending.

Short trick: Yuvan → yuvati by “yūnas tiḥ”.

Concept: Anvitābhidhāna (words convey meaning already connected) – Prabhakara Mishra.

1. Abhihitānvaya (word-meanings first, then connected) – Kumarila Bhatta.
2. Mukula and Mahima Bhatta are poeticians.

Short trick: P-P: Prabhakara – Anvitabhidhana.

Concept: Sahityadarpana 1.3 – Vishvanatha: vākyaṃ rasātmakaṃ kāvyam.

1. Jagannatha: ramaṇīyārthapratipādakaḥ śabdaḥ kāvyam; Mammata: tad adoṣau śabdārthau…; Kuntaka: vakrokti is the life of poetry.

Short trick: Vishvanatha – rasa; Jagannatha – ramaniya.

Concept: Canto 1 of Kiratarjuniya (śriyaḥ kurūṇām adhipasya pālanīm…) is in vaṃśastha.

1. Vaṃśastha: ja-ta-ja-ra (12 syllables) – “jatau tu vaṃśastham udīritaṃ jarau”.

Short trick: Kirata canto 1 = vamshastha.

Concept: In Bhatta Narayana’s Venisamhara, Duryodhana’s queen is Bhanumati (Act 2 – her dream).

1. Sanumati is an apsaras in Shakuntala.

Short trick: Act 2 – Bhanumati’s bad dream.

Concept: Lollata – utpattivada; Shankuka – anumitivada; Bhatta Nayaka – bhuktivada; Abhinavagupta – abhivyaktivada.

1. Shankuka uses the “chitraturaga-nyaya” – rasa is inferred in the actor.

Short trick: L-U, S-A, N-B, A-A (Utpatti, Anumiti, Bhukti, Abhivyakti).

Concept: Standard examples: gaur vāhīkaḥ – gauṇī sāropā; gaur ayam – gauṇī sādhyavasānā; āyur ghṛtam – śuddhā sāropā; āyur evedam – śuddhā sādhyavasānā.

1. Relation is cause–effect (not similarity) → śuddhā, so C and D are wrong.
2. Only the visayi (āyuḥ) is expressed; the visaya (ghee) is swallowed → sādhyavasānā.

Short trick: Sāropā names both; sādhyavasānā names only the superimposed.

Concept: The Ramayana arose from Valmiki’s grief at the krauncha’s death: śokaḥ ślokatvam āgataḥ.

1. Anandavardhana: rāmāyaṇe hi karuṇo rasaḥ svayam ādikavinā sūtritaḥ.
2. (Mahabharata’s principal rasa is shanta.)

Short trick: Ramayana – karuna, Mahabharata – shanta.

Concept: Mahabharata grew from Jaya (8,800) → Bharata (24,000) → Mahabharata/Shatasahasri Samhita (~1,00,000 verses).

1. The Ramayana has about 24,000 verses (chaturvimshati-sahasri).

Short trick: Shata-sahasri = 1 lakh verses = Mahabharata.

Concept: Vishvanatha’s Sahityadarpana has 10 paricchedas (from kavya-definition to alankaras; 6th on drama).

1. Kavyaprakasha has 10 ullasas; Dhvanyaloka 4 udyotas.

Short trick: Darpana – 10 paricchedas, Prakasha – 10 ullasas.

Concept: Shudraka’s Mrichchhakatika is a prakarana: invented plot (kalpita), hero a Brahmin/merchant (Charudatta), heroine a courtesan (Vasantasena).

1. A nataka has a famous (prakhyata) plot and royal hero.
2. Malatimadhava is another prakarana.

Short trick: Prakarana = invented story, middle-class hero.

Concept: This is Dhvanyaloka 1.10 of Anandavardhana: as sentence meaning is grasped through word meanings, so the suggested sense is grasped through the expressed sense.

1. It explains why vachya precedes vyangya (like a lamp before seeing a pot, 1.9).

Short trick: Pada→vakya :: vachya→vyangya (Dhvanyaloka 1).

Concept: Kautilya (Arthashastra 1.11–12) classifies spies (gudhapurusha) into two broad classes:

1. saṃsthā (stationary – kapatika, udasthita, grihapatika, vaidehaka, tapasa: five)
2. sañcāra (roving – satri, tikshna, rasada, bhikshuki: four).

Short trick: Two classes: sanstha (5) + sanchara (4) = 9 roles.

Concept: Ujjvalanilamani (on madhura/shringara bhakti rasa) and Bhaktirasamritasindhu are by Rupa Gosvami.

1. Bhatti – Bhattikavya; Vamana – Kavyalankarasutra; Mammata – Kavyaprakasha.

Short trick: Rupa Gosvami – Ujjvala + Bhaktirasamrita.

Concept: In 1909–1912 Mahamahopadhyaya T. Ganapati Shastri discovered 13 plays of Bhasa in Kerala and published them in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series.

1. They include Svapnavasavadatta, Pratijnayaugandharayana, Charudatta, Urubhanga etc.

Short trick: 1909, Trivandrum – Ganapati Shastri.

Concept: Rudradaman’s Junagadh (Girnar) inscription: varṣe dvisaptatitame (year 72, Shaka era ≈ 150 CE) heavy rain and storm breached the Sudarshana lake.

1. It was repaired by his minister Suvishakha; the lake was built by Chandragupta Maurya’s governor Pushyagupta.

Short trick: 72 – Sudarshana breach.

Concept: Mallinatha: nārikelaphalasammitaṃ vaco bhāraveḥ – Bharavi’s style is hard outside, sweet inside like a coconut.

1. Famous praise: “bhāraver arthagauravam”.

Short trick: Bharavi – coconut (hard shell, sweet kernel).

Concept: Shishupalavadha 1.72 (Magha): Narada tells Krishna that Shishupala’s cruel nature has followed him from births as Hiranyakashipu and Ravana –

1. “nature, firm like a chaste wife, follows a man even into other births”.

Short trick: Canto 1 of Magha – Narada on Shishupala.

Concept: Yajnavalkya 2.9: abhiyogam anistīrya nainaṃ pratyabhiyojayet, abhiyuktaṃ ca nānyena noktaṃ viprakṛtiṃ nayet.

1. It is a rule for the plaintiff (arthī): he must not alter (viprakṛti) what he has stated in the plaint.
2. Mitakshara: the arthi should not change his own statement.

Short trick: Arthi (plaintiff) may not change his plaint.