The Panchatantra

A RAT THAT ATE IRON. A BIRD WITH TWO HEADS. FOUR GREEDY TREASURE-SEEKERS. A DOG THAT WENT TO FOREIGN LANDS TO FIND FOOD. These are only a few of the colourful stories that long, long ago – it is said – a sage told three princes so that they could learn to live wisely. Instead of giving them boring lessons, the learned tutor told them fables alive with animals and human characters faced with difficult situations about friendship, cooperation, quarrels and ambition. The tales told by Pandit Vishnu Sharma about 2,500 years ago offer a map of how to make one’s way through life in a moral and wise manner. These stories of friends and enemies, cruelty and deceit, honour and humility, foolishness and cunning, deception and honesty, tell us about the choices we have and how to find a solution to tough questions of right and wrong. This all-colour, beautifully illustrated edition contains stories retold from all five books of the Panchatantra and is designed to make it easy for readers to move from story to story, and across stories within stories – making it a must-have for readers young and old.