Pancatantra The Book of India's Folk Wisdom

by Olivelle, Patrick

• ISBN13: 9780192832993
• ISBN10: 0192832999
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-01-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Pancatantra is the most famous collection of fables in India and was one of the earliest Indian books to be translated into Western languages. No other work of Indian literature has had a greater influence on world literature, and no other collection of stories has become as popular in India itself. Patrick Olivelle presents the Pancatantra in all its complexity and rich ambivalence, examining central elements of political and moral philosophy alongside the many controversial issues surrounding its history. 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.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix	(37)
Sources, Author, and Date	x	(4)
Structure and Content	xiv	(7)
The Characters of the Pancatantra	xxi	(10)
The Political and Moral Philosophy of the Pancatantra	xxxi	(9)
Versions and Translations	xl	(6)
Note on the Translation	xlvi	(2)
Bibliography	xlviii	(3)
Guide to the Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words	li
PANCATANTRA	1	(159)
THE PRELUDE TO THE STORY	3	(2)
BOOK I: ON CAUSING DISSENSION AMONG ALLIES	5	(66)
Story 1: The Monkey That Pulled the Wedge	8	(10)
Story 2: The Jackal That Tried to Eat a Drum	18	(4)
Story 3: The Adventures of an Ascetic	22	(5)
Sub-Story 3.1: The Ascetic and the Rogue	22	(1)
Sub-Story 3.1.1: How the Battling Rams Killed the Greedy Jackal	22	(1)
Sub-Story 3.2: A Weaver Cuts the Nose of a Bawd	23	(4)
Story 4: How the Crows Killed the Snake	27	(3)
Sub-Story 4.1: The Crab Cuts Off the Heron's Head	28	(2)
Story 5: The Hare That Outwitted the Lion	30	(7)
Story 6: How the Louse Got Killed Trying to be Nice to a Bug	37	(9)
Story 7: How the Lion's Servants Got the Camel Killed	46	(4)
Story 8: How the Sandpiper Defeated the Ocean	50	(10)
Sub-Story 8.1: The Turtle and the Geese	51	(1)
Sub-Story 8.2: The Fate of Three Fish: Far-sighted, Quick-witted, and Inevitable	52	(8)
Story 9: The Bird That Tried to Advise a Monkey	60	(2)
Story 10: Two Friends and Betrayed Trust	62	(4)
Sub-Story 10.1: How the Mongooses Ate the Heron's Chicks	64	(2)
Story 11: The Iron-Eating Mice	66	(5)
BOOK II: ON SECURING ALLIES	71	(34)
Story 1: The Ascetic and the Mouse	81	(17)
Sub-Story 1.1: The Woman Who Traded Sesame for Sesame	83	(1)
Sub-Story 1.1.1: How the Greedy Jackal Died Eating a Bowstring	84	(14)
Story 2: How Citranga Got Caught in a Trap	98	(7)
BOOK III: ON WAR AND PEACE: THE STORY OF THE CROWS AND THE OWLS	105	(41)
Story 1: The Ass in a Leopard's Skin	112	(1)
Story 2: The Owl is Elected King of Birds	113	(9)
Sub-Story 2.1: The Hare Bluffs the Elephant	114	(4)
Sub-Story 2.2: Partridge and Hare Take their Case to the Cat	118	(4)
Story 3: How the Rogues Tricked the Brahmin	122	(4)
Story 4: The Old Merchant and his Young Wife	126	(1)
Story 5: The Thief, the Ogre, and the Brahmin	127	(2)
Story 6: How the Unfaithful Wife Tricked her Foolish Husband	129	(2)
Story 7: The Mouse That Turned into a Girl	131	(6)
Story 8: Frogs Go for a Ride on the Back of a Snake	137	(9)
BOOK IV: ON LOSING WHAT YOU HAVE GAINED	146	(9)
Story 1: The Ass without Ears or a Heart	152	(3)
BOOK V: ON HASTY ACTIONS	155	(5)
Story 1: Building Castles in the Air	156	(2)
Story 2: The Barber Who Killed the Monks	158	(2)
Appendices	160	(5)
I: Concordance of Stories	160	(2)
II: Stories in Other Pancatantra Versions	162	(3)
Explanatory Notes	165	(6)
Glossary of Names	181	(6)
Index	187