The Panchatantra, originally written in Sanskrit, has been described as the best collection of the most widely known stories in the world.

First Published in 1965, The Panchatantra is a reprint of Franklin Edgerton’s translation, first published in volume two of Panchatantra Reconstructed (1924), with some minor alterations. Probably no other work of Hindu literature has played so important a part in the literature of the world as the Sanskrit story collection called the Panchatantra. The title means ‘the five books’, and most of the older versions and translations keep this division, although the last two books are much shorter than the first three. All the ‘books’ contain at least one story, and usually more, which are ‘emboxed’ in the main story, called the ‘frame-story’. The original Sanskrit text is composed in a mixture of prose and stanzas of verse. The stories proper are told almost wholly in prose. This translation work is an important book for scholars and students of South Asian literature and Sanskrit studies.

First recorded 1500 years ago, but taking its origins from a far earlier oral tradition, the Pancatantra is ascribed by legend to the celebrated, half-mythical teacher Visnu Sarma. Asked by a great king to awaken the dulled intelligence of his three idle sons, the aging Sarma is said to have composed the great work as a series of entertaining and edifying fables narrated by a wide range of humans and animals, and together intended to provide the young princes with vital guidance for life. Since first leaving India before AD 570, the Pancatantra has been widely translated and has influenced a cast number of works in India, the Arab world and Europe, including the Arabian Nights, the Canterbury Tales and the Fables of La Fontaine. Enduring and profound, it is among the earliest and most popular of all books of fables.

The Panchatantra is a collection of folktales and fables claimed to have been authored in Sanskrit over 2500 years ago by the famous Hindu Scholar Pandit Vishnu Sharma. It provides insight into human behaviour despite the fact that all the characters are from the animal realm. The precise date of the composition of the Panchatantra is unknown and ranges between 1200 BCE and 300 CE. Some researchers date him to the third century BCE.

The Pañcatantra is the most famous collection of fables in India and was one of the earliest Indian books to be translated into Western languages. It teaches the principles of good government and public policy through the medium of animal stories, providing a window onto ancient Indian society. This new translation vividly reveals the story-telling powers of the original author, while detailed notes illuminate aspects of ancient Indian society and religion to the non-specialist reader.

Wisdom for Today from the Timeless Classic The Panchatantra, one of the world’s greatest collections of tales, was compiled in India by a learned Brahmin named Vishnusharman, more than 2,000 years ago. These stories were meant to impart worldly wisdom to the dull-witted sons of a king, and have since travelled the world, awakening intelligence in readers across centuries. Arthur Ryder, a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of California, translated the Sanskrit original into English in 1925. This re-write of the Ryder translation is aimed at today’s busy reader and the original interwoven stories are presented separately. Archaic English prose makes way for modern language. The “Principle” clearly and simply summarizes the wisdom imparted at the end of each story. Arthur Ryder’s brilliant introduction and charming verse translations remain untouched. This book is a rare coming together of simple format, rich poetry, practical wisdom and lofty ideals, a vehicle to transmit the simple and timeless truths of the Panchatantra in a concise manner to a modern audience.