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Indian culture is full of
wonderful surprises and one of the shining jewels among them is Indian
Mythology. It is not only unique but is also comprised of richest
elements. Different stories in Indian mythology have been passed from
one generation to another through scriptures, fables and word of mouth.
Some of the best stories imparting moral values among the children as
well as adult population of India are beautifully contained in
“Panchatantra”. Written by a sage known as Vishnu Sharma, the
Panchatantra was written on the request of a king who wanted to implant
governing skills and moral values in his three young sons. Panchatantra
was written and composed in the 2nd century B.C.
Stories from Panchatantra have
acted as the perfect guide for Indian parents because each story in the
book has a moral lesson in its end. The combination of two words,
‘Pancha’ (five) and ‘Tantra’ (principle) formed the basis of the book
Panchatantra. Sanskrit was the original language used in writing the
book.
The five principles explained
in the book are
Mitra Bhedha (Loss of Friends),
Mitra Laabha (Winning of Friends),
Suhrudbheda (Causing discord between Friends),
Vigraha (Separation) and
Sandhi (Union).
Panchatantra kahaniya are considered as one of the oldest collected work
of tales, fables and parables. The stories in the book are entertaining
and educative and that explains why this grand assortment is loved by
people of all age groups. Because the actual stories were written in
ancient Sanskrit text, many authors and scholars have tried to make
these fables readable by a layman.
Short stories of Panchatantra
have been translated into no less than 50 languages like Persian,
Hebrew, Latin, Greek etc. However, Hindi Panchatantra is definitely the
most widely read transcription of the original book.
Panchatantra books are available in many Indian regional languages.
Immensely popular amongst all the children irrespective of region,
language and culture, authors have translated this immortal book of
fables in other widely spoken regional languages. Apart from Hindi,
Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, English and Marathi Panchatantra books are
also available in many places.
The popularity of Panchatantra books is evident from large number of
copies sold every year. Now a day, one can also find
Panchatantra stories online. Many
readers like to read the tales on sites dedicated to these mythological
tales. Who wouldn’t like to read stories of humans, talking animals and
mesmerising plants teaching us important lessons of life?
The five chapters of the book contain lessons pertaining to every aspect
of our lives. Seeing the popularity of the book, many children focussed
and established websites have also uploaded Panchatantra stories videos.
These videos are in great demand especially among the kids.
All five volumes of the book contain numerous stories and it’s not
really possible to list the most popular ones. Yet, some of the
frequently read stories available on internet are,
The gold giving serpent
The bird with two necks
The Brahmin’s gift
The monkey and the crocodile
The three fishes
The moon lake
The day dreaming priest
The blue jackal
The foolish lion and the clever rabbit
The swan and the owl
Bird with Two heads
Girl who married a snake
Heron and the crab
Musical donkey
To sum it up, Panchatantra influence has continued its impressive run
since centuries and going by the eternal moral values inherent in the
book, its popularity will only increase further.
Continued :
Panchatantra stories
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