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paras sannikarSas saMhitA

परः संनिकर्षः संहिता ONPANINI 14109

Maximum nearness is called saMhitA संहिता (connected speech).

A /pada (word) is "in connected speech" (/saMhitAyAm) when the next /pada is said inmediately after it. In other words, when it is not before a pause.

Being or not before a pause affects some grammar rules. As for instance, when the word vipras विप्रस् is before hasati हसति, with no pause in between, rule hazica applies —

viprohasati विप्रोहसति
"thepriestlaughs"

But when there is a pause, however short, between the two words, rule kharavasAn... applies —

vipraH विप्रः, (pause), hasati हसति
"thepriest, (pant!), laughs"

You are allowed to pause after any /pada. You are not allowed to pause anywhere else.

If I cannot pause in the middle of a word, does that mean that I must say the word girivaravindhyazirodhinivAsini गिरिवरविन्ध्यशिरोधिनिवासिनि in one breath?

I didn't say "word", I said /pada. The pieces of a compound are all /pada. Saying —

giri गिरि (pause) vara वर (pause) vindhya विन्ध्य (pause) ziraH शिरः (pause) adhinivAsini अधिनिवासिनि

is perfectly grammatical Sanskrit. It is just unnatural.

If I may pause after every /pada as you say, does rule svAdiSvasarv... allow me to say rAja राज (pause) bhiH भिः (pause) uktam उक्तम् instead of rAjabhiruktam राजभिरुक्तम्?

Good point there. Okay, correction. You may pause after every /pada, except the ones made by svAdiSvasarv....