Karak (Case)

What is कारक (karak)?

The relationship that a noun or pronoun has with the verb in a sentence is called कारक (karak), and the markers that express this relationship (ने, को, से, के लिए, का, में, पर — ne, ko, se, ke liye, ka, mein, par) are called विभक्ति (vibhakti) (case-markers). Hindi grammar recognises eight कारक (karak) (cases) — कर्ता (karta) (nominative/agent), कर्म (karm) (accusative/object), करण (karan) (instrumental), संप्रदान (sampradan) (dative), अपादान (apadan) (ablative), संबंध (sambandh) (genitive), अधिकरण (adhikaran) (locative) and संबोधन (sambodhan) (vocative).

Of these, करण (karan) and अपादान (apadan) both use the marker ‘से (se)’, but with a different sense. In करण (karan) कारक (karak), ‘से (se)’ expresses the means or instrument of an action (what was used to do it) — as in ‘वह कलम से लिखता है (vah kalam se likhta hai)’ (he writes with a pen). In अपादान (apadan) कारक (karak), ‘से (se)’ expresses separation, comparison, or distance from something — as in ‘पेड़ से पत्ता गिरा (ped se patta gira)’ (a leaf fell from the tree, separation) or ‘विशु रोहन से फुर्तीला है (Vishu Rohan se furtila hai)’ (विशु (Vishu) is more agile than रोहन (Rohan), comparison).

The most reliable way to identify a कारक (karak) is to ask the right question of the verb in the sentence — for example, asking ‘who did it?’ gives you the कर्ता (karta) (nominative); ‘to whom/whom?’ gives the कर्म (karm) (accusative); ‘with what/by whom (means)?’ gives the करण (karan) (instrumental); ‘for whom?’ gives the संप्रदान (sampradan) (dative); ‘from what (separation/comparison)?’ gives the अपादान (apadan) (ablative); ‘whose?’ gives the संबंध (sambandh) (genitive); and ‘where/when?’ gives the अधिकरण (adhikaran) (locative). This question-based method is especially useful when the case-marker has dropped out (zero marker) or when the same marker is appearing across several different cases.

Keep in mind that कारक (karak) and विभक्ति (vibhakti) are not the same thing — कारक (karak) is the relationship between the noun/pronoun and the verb, while विभक्ति (vibhakti) (ने, को, से, का, आदि — ne, ko, se, ka, etc.) is merely the marker that shows that relationship. Sanskrit traditionally teaches six cases, whereas Hindi adds संबंध (sambandh) and संबोधन (sambodhan) to make eight. When no clear case-marker appears with the कर्ता (karta) or कर्म (karm) (as in ‘राम पढ़ता है (Ram padhta hai)’, राम (Ram) reads), it is called a zero (शून्य (shoonya)) विभक्ति (vibhakti), and even in such situations, the correct कारक (karak) can be identified by asking the appropriate question of the sentence.

This question-based method gets stronger with practice, so build a daily habit of taking 4-5 sentences from any passage and checking the कारक (karak) of every underlined word this way. This strengthens your ability to correctly identify the कारक (karak) even in new, unseen sentences in the exam.

When ‘ने (ne)’ appears with the कर्ता (karta) कारक (karak), and when it doesn’t

The कर्ता (karta) कारक (karak)’s marker ‘ने (ne)’ does not always appear — this is a rule-based usage that often trips people up in REET. Generally, with a transitive verb (one that takes an object) in the past tense, ‘ने (ne)’ appears with the कर्ता (karta), as in ‘राम ने पत्र लिखा (Ram ne patra likha)’ (राम (Ram) wrote a letter). But with an intransitive verb (one with no object), or in most present/future tense forms, ‘ने (ne)’ does not appear with the कर्ता (karta) — as in ‘राम सोता है (Ram sota hai)’ (राम (Ram) sleeps, present, intransitive) or ‘राम पत्र लिखेगा (Ram patra likhega)’ (राम (Ram) will write a letter, future). This is why the कर्ता (karta) कारक (karak) is sometimes identified with ‘ने (ne)’ and sometimes without it (zero marker).

The eight cases, their markers, and examples

Note: both करण (karan) and अपादान (apadan) use ‘से (se)’, and both कर्म (karm) and संप्रदान (sampradan) can use ‘को (ko)’ — the correct कारक (karak) is decided by the sense (means/separation, or object/purpose), not the marker alone.

Telling करण (karan)-अपादान (apadan) and संप्रदान (sampradan)-कर्म (karm) apart

Both करण (karan) and अपादान (apadan) use ‘से (se)’, so it’s essential to look at the sense in the question — if ‘से (se)’ points to a means/instrument (what was used to do it), it’s करण (karan); if it points to separation, distance or comparison (separated from what, compared to what), it’s अपादान (apadan). Similarly, both संप्रदान (sampradan) and कर्म (karm) can use ‘को (ko)’ — if ‘को (ko)’ tells you that something is being given/sent for someone’s benefit (for whom), it’s संप्रदान (sampradan); if ‘को (ko)’ marks the direct receiver of the verb’s action (to whom something was done), it’s कर्म (karm) कारक (karak).

करण (Karan) कारक (karak) has another use in passive-voice sentences, where the original subject/agent is marked with ‘के द्वारा (ke dwara)’ or ‘से (se)’ to function like the instrument — for example, when ‘मोहन ने पत्र लिखा (Mohan ne patra likha)’ (active voice) is converted to the passive voice, it becomes ‘मोहन के द्वारा पत्र लिखा गया (Mohan ke dwara patra likha gaya)’ (the letter was written by मोहन (Mohan)), where ‘मोहन के द्वारा (Mohan ke dwara)’ is used as करण (karan) कारक (karak). This links directly to the upcoming topic of वाच्य (vaachya) (voice), so it’s worth studying both together.

Using this in the classroom

Questions asked in REET 2024 (solved)

Practice questions

Frequently asked questions

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