Panchatantra

The Panchatantra is a collection of folktales and fables that were believed to have been originally written in Sanskrit by Vishnu Sharma more than 2500 years ago. This collection of stories features animal characters which are stereotyped to associate certain qualities with them. The origins of the Panchatantra lie in a tale of its own when a King approached a learned pandit to ask him to teach the important lessons of life to his ignorant and unwise sons. This learned scholar knew that the royal princes could not understand complex principles in an ordinary way. So he devised a method wherein he would impart important knowledge in the form of simple and easy-to-understand folktales.Thus the Panchatantra came into origin. It is one of the most popular collection of Indian tales and has influenced literature all over the world since the time of its conception. This particular version of the Panchatantra was translated by G L Chandiramani who has also translated the Hitopadesha. Panchatantra comes from the individual words ‘ pancha’ and ‘ tantra’ . While pancha refers to the number five tantra refers to ways/strategies related to inner fulfilment.The stories in this book aim to impart the deeper wisdom of life through the simple portrayal of animal characters. The story of two geese and an tortoise is dedicated to the moral of heeding a trusted friend’ s advice. Another story deals with a wise old rabbit and an angry lion who can’ t control his impatience.This paperback version of the Panchatantra was published in 1991 by Rupa & Co.

Believed to be original author of the Panchatantra, Vishnu Sharma belonged to the Kashmir region going by the kind of animals he featured in his stories. His magnum opus, the Panchatantra was translated into Pahlavi in 570 AD, Arabic in 750 AD, and by the 16th century, appeared in German, Greek, Czech, Latin, etc. He is considered to be one of the most-widely translated authors in history who authored non-religious books.