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Panchatantra
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A Jain Recension of the Panchatantra The Panchatantra Leopard Delivering the Lion's Command: A 16th-Century Illustration from the Panchatantra
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A Jain Recension of the Panchatantra
A Jain Recension of the Panchatantra An illustration of a fable about the adventures of two traveling priests; from a circa 1700-1725 Jain recension of the Panchatantra, Panchakhyana.

Panchatantra

Indian literature
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Also known as: “Pancatantra”, “The Fables of Bidpai”
Written by
Urnesha Bhattacherjee
Associate Editor, Britannica India
Urnesha Bhattacherjee
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Last Updated: • Article History
Sanskrit:
“Five Books”
Also spelled:
Pancatantra
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Panchatantra, popular collection of Sanskrit beast fables composed about 200 bce, according to Sanskrit scholar Johannes Hertel. The work has been widely circulated and translated, both in India, its country of origin, and throughout the world. This collection was known in Europe as The Fables of Bidpai. The tales contained therein were supposedly narrated by an Indian sage, Bidpai—also referred to as Vishnuçarman, Pilpay, or Sendebar—to his king, with the intention of inculcating wisdom and virtue. The work appeared in western Europe only after it underwent rounds of translation into Pahlavi (Middle Persian), Syriac, Arabic, Greek, and Hebrew. At least ...(100 of 835 words)

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