Karaka
/ˈkɑːrəkə/noun
In Sanskrit grammar, a karaka is a semantic relationship between a verb and one of its participants, such as an agent, object, or instrument.
Did you know?Pāṇinian grammar classifies six major karakas, treating language as a precise map of how actions move through the world.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷer-
“To do, make, or bring about; the reconstructed root traditionally connected with Sanskrit kṛ.”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
kṛṇóti
“He or she does, makes, or performs.”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
kāraka
“An agent, cause, or factor in an action; in grammar, a participant connected with a verb.”
5th–4th Century BCE
Sanskrit
kāraka
“A technical grammatical category in the analytical tradition associated with Pāṇini and later Sanskrit grammarians.”
19th–20th Century
English
karaka
“An English scholarly loanword for this Sanskrit grammatical concept.”