CBSE has published the 2026-27 sample question paper for Class 10 Sanskrit (code 122), with its marking scheme. Both are free on CBSE's academic site: cbseacademic.nic.in, Class X sample papers 2026-27. The first thing every page says is the most useful: there is no change in the design of the paper or the method of marking this year.
This post goes through the sample paper section by section: what each question asks, how the marking scheme says it is marked, and how to use the paper in the months before the board exam. It describes the questions rather than reproducing them; download the paper itself from the link above.
The paper at a glance
| Section | Questions | What they are | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| क अपठितावबोधनम् | 1 | An unseen passage | 10 |
| ख रचनात्मककार्यम् | 2 to 4 | Letter, picture or paragraph, translation | 15 |
| ग अनुप्रयुक्तव्याकरणम् | 5 to 11 | The seven grammar topics | 25 |
| घ पठितावबोधनम् | 12 to 18 | The textbook: prose, verse, drama and related tasks | 30 |
| Total | 18 | Three hours | 80 |
The general instructions add one rule that matters more than it looks: every answer is written in Sanskrit. An answer in Hindi, however correct, does not earn the mark.
Section क: the unseen passage, 10 marks
A short prose passage followed by four kinds of question: one-word answers (any two of three, 2 marks), full-sentence answers (any two of three, 4 marks), a title for the passage (1 mark), and three multiple-choice language questions (3 marks): a word with the same meaning as one given, the noun a pronoun stands for, and the subject of a verb.
The marking scheme allows words with the same meaning in place of the passage's own, but takes off part of the mark if the case or number is wrong. A full-sentence answer is best built from the passage's own sentence, adjusted to the question.
Section ख: composition, 15 marks
- Question 2, the letter (5 marks): a choice of two, one formal and one informal, each with a word box. The sample paper's pair is a request to the municipal president about mosquitoes and uncleanliness, and a letter congratulating a friend on coming first in Class 10 in the state.
- Question 3, picture or paragraph (5 marks): five sentences about a picture (the sample shows a busy railway platform), or a paragraph of at least five sentences on a topic (the sample's is the importance of sport), each with a word box.
- Question 4, translation (5 marks): five sentences, each printed in Hindi and in English, to be put into Sanskrit.
For formats, model letters and worked translations, see Class 10 Sanskrit composition, with models.
Section ग: grammar, 25 marks
| Question | Topic | In the sample paper | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Sandhi | Join or split four underlined words, written; a choice of two sets. Each set has one vowel, one consonant and two visarga sandhis | 4 |
| 6 | Samāsa | Choose the compound or its expanded form for four words, multiple choice | 4 |
| 7 | Pratyaya | Join or split root and suffix, multiple choice: one feminine suffix, two taddhita, one kṛt | 4 |
| 8 | Vācya | Fill each blank with the word the voice needs, multiple choice | 3 |
| 9 | Samaya | Complete a day's timetable by writing four clock times in Sanskrit words | 4 |
| 10 | Avyaya | Fill three blanks with indeclinables from a word box | 3 |
| 11 | Error correction | Choose the right form for an underlined wrong word, multiple choice, and rewrite the sentence | 3 |
Two things worth noticing. The sandhi and pratyaya splits match the syllabus's 1 + 1 + 2 and 1 + 2 + 1 marks exactly, so a student can plan for a vowel, a consonant and two visarga sandhis, and for one kṛt, two taddhita and one feminine suffix. And the time question is set as a timetable, so the four times are written inside sentences. Every topic is worked through in CBSE Class 10 Sanskrit grammar.
Section घ: the textbook, 30 marks
Questions 12 to 18 come from the prescribed chapters: a prose passage, a verse passage and a drama passage, each with one-word and full-sentence answers and language tasks (picking an adjective's noun, a word's opposite, a verb's subject); framing questions for underlined words; completing the prose order (अन्वयः) or the meaning of a verse; completing a story from a lesson with a word box; and choosing a word's meaning in context. The chapters and their marks are in the Class 10 Sanskrit syllabus post.
Six marking rules worth knowing
The marking scheme opens with general instructions to examiners. In plain words:
- The answers given are examples. Other answers that fit the context also earn the mark.
- Extra answers are judged in the student's favour. If a question asks for two of three and a student writes all three, the best are counted. A picture description of seven sentences is marked on its best five, not its first five. The scheme says the same rule applies in Class 9.
- In comprehension, words of the same meaning are accepted, but a wrong case or number costs part of the mark.
- Spelling and grammar errors cost part of the mark, not all of it.
- Partly right answers earn part marks.
- In composition, building correct sentences matters, not style. Partly correct sentences earn part marks.
How to use the sample paper
- Do it once, timed, early. Three hours, no book, in December, to find the weak sections while there is time to fix them.
- Mark it with the marking scheme, strictly. Half marks where the scheme gives half marks.
- List every lost mark by type: a case ending, a verb form, a sandhi, a translation. That list is the revision plan.
- Do it again in January, and compare.
A plan for the three hours: fifteen minutes to read the paper, then the grammar first while the mind is fresh (it is the most predictable 25 marks), then composition, the textbook, and the unseen passage, with ten minutes at the end to check case endings and verb forms. Any order works if every answer starts with the right question number, as the instructions require.
The sample paper, marked by a teacher
Ms. Ishita Parikh holds an MA in Sanskrit from the Central Sanskrit University and taught the CBSE and ICSE Sanskrit syllabus in Mumbai classrooms for five years. In school tuition the sample paper is done under timed conditions, marked to the scheme, and the lost marks become the revision plan.
School Sanskrit tuition, Classes 1 to 12, or book the free first class and bring the attempted paper.
Questions people ask
Has CBSE released the Class 10 Sanskrit sample paper for 2026-27?
Yes. CBSE has published the 2026-27 sample question paper and its marking scheme for Sanskrit, code 122, on cbseacademic.nic.in. Communicative Sanskrit, code 119, has its own sample paper on the same page.
Has the Class 10 Sanskrit paper pattern changed for 2026-27?
No. Every page of the sample paper carries CBSE's note that there is no change in the design of the paper or the method of evaluation for 2026-27. It is 80 marks in three hours, in four sections: unseen passage 10, composition 15, grammar 25 and textual comprehension 30.
Do all answers in Class 10 Sanskrit have to be written in Sanskrit?
Yes. The sample paper's general instructions say that all questions are to be answered in Sanskrit. Translation is the one task that starts from Hindi or English, and its answer is in Sanskrit too.
How is the picture description marked in Class 10 Sanskrit?
Five sentences, one mark each: half a mark for the idea and half for grammatical correctness. The word box is a help, not a requirement, and its words can be used in a different case. If a student writes seven sentences, the best five are counted.
What happens if I answer more questions than asked in the Sanskrit paper?
CBSE's 2026-27 marking scheme says the decision is made in the student's favour: where a question asks for any two of three and a student answers all three, the best answers are counted, not simply the first ones.