Panchatantra
The Great Panchatantra Tales
Long ago, in the southern Indian city of Mahilaropya, there lived a fair-minded king named Amarashakti. His three young princes were kind…
1. The Loss of Friends
The first book of the Panchatantra shows how fear, incomplete information, and poor advice can divide even good companions. Its frame story…
1.1 The Monkey And The Wedge
A merchant was having a small temple built in his garden. Every morning, masons set stones in place while carpenters cut and shaped heavy…
1.2 The Jackal And The Drum
Beneath the banyan tree, the lion Pingalaka was still thinking about the unknown bellow he had heard across the Yamuna. Damanaka said, “Your…
Merchant Strong-Tooth and the Careless Whisper
In a busy place called Growing City lived a merchant known as Strong-Tooth. He was trusted not only with his shops and caravans, but also…
Godly and the Pretend Disciple
Long ago, in a quiet corner of the countryside, there stood a small monastery beneath a spreading banyan tree. A holy man named Godly lived…
The Jackal Between the Rams
One warm afternoon, the holy man Godly rested beneath a broad tree beside a riverside meadow. He was traveling to a nearby village with his…
The Weaver's Wife
In a busy weaving village lived a skilled weaver and his wife. Their home was modest, but they were known for offering food and rest to…
The Crow-Hen's Clever Plan
In a great banyan tree beside a river lived a crow-hen and her husband. Their nest rested safely in the fork of a high branch, woven from…
The Crab Who Saw Through the Heron's Trick
In a peaceful lotus pond at the edge of a forest lived a lively community of fish. Silver fish flashed beneath the water, golden fish darted…
The Rabbit Who Outwitted Numskull
In a wide forest of sal trees and flowering grass lived deer, wild oxen, boars, monkeys, rabbits and many other animals. Clear streams…
The Weaver Who Loved a Princess
In Sugarcane City lived a gifted young weaver and his closest friend, a clever carpenter. The weaver could make cloth shimmer like water…
The Kind Traveler and the Broken Promise
Long ago, in a small town beside a wide forest, lived a gentle Brahmin named Yajna. He earned very little, and some days there was hardly…
Leap, Creep, and the Broken Rule
Long ago, in the palace of a kindly king, there stood a magnificent bed. Its carved wooden posts shone like honey, its cotton mattress was…
Fierce-Howl and the Borrowed Crown
Long ago, a jackal named Fierce-Howl lived in a rocky cave at the edge of a great forest. Beyond the trees stood a busy city, and whenever…
Passion and the Owl's Untimely Call
At Lotus Lake lived Passion, a graceful swan admired for his gentle manners. One evening, when the water shone silver beneath the moon, a…
Ugly and the Broken Promise
A merchant once crossed the forest with many camels. One camel, named Ugly because of his uneven knees, grew tired beneath an overloaded…
The Lion and the Carpenter
Trust-God was a carpenter who entered the forest each morning with his wife to choose fallen wood. They carried flatbread, rice, vegetables…
The Plover Who Fought the Ocean
Sprawl and Constance, two little plovers, made their nest in a hollow above the line of wet sand. Constance worried that the tide might…
Shell-Neck, Slim, and Grim
Shell-Neck the tortoise lived in a lotus pond with his best friends, two ganders named Slim and Grim. For many seasons they swam, talked and…
The Three Fish
In a clear lake surrounded by reeds and flowering trees lived three fish who had been friends for many years. The first was Forethought. He…
The Elephant and the Sparrow's Team
A little sparrow nested on a strong branch deep in the forest. One blazing afternoon, a tired elephant pushed beneath the tree searching for…
The Shrewd Old Gander
A flock of geese lived in a tall fig tree. The oldest gander noticed a thin vine curling around the trunk. ‘We should pull it up now,’ he…
The Lion Who Misjudged the Ram
A ram once wandered away from his flock and found a meadow beside the forest. His fleece was thick, his horns curled like two polished…
Smart the Jackal's Cleverness Trap
Thunder-Fang the lion injured his paw while defending the forest from a wild elephant. Until he healed, his court had little food. With him…
The Monk Who Left His Body Behind
King Fine-Chariot welcomed scholars, travellers and holy people to his court. He enjoyed hearing about distant places, but he did not…
The Bride and the Serpent Prince
In Palace City lived a kind Brahmin couple who longed for a child. In time, a baby came to them in the form of a small green serpent…
Poor Blossom
In Indra’s bright celestial garden lived a green parrot named Blossom. He was beautiful, clever and loved by everyone in the court. One day…
The Unteachable Monkey
On a cold winter evening, a troop of monkeys found a firefly glowing among dry leaves. “A spark!” cried one monkey. They piled grass around…
Right-Mind and Wrong-Mind
Two merchant friends, Right-Mind and Wrong-Mind, found a pot of coins while travelling. They agreed to share it fairly, taking a little home…
A Remedy Worse Than the Disease
Beside a lotus pond stood an old banyan tree. A family of herons nested high in its branches. They loved the cool shade and the sparkling…
The Mice That Ate Iron
Before travelling abroad, a merchant named Naduk left his heavy ancestral balance beam with Merchant Lakshman. When Naduk returned, Lakshman…
The Results of Education
Two young parrot siblings were separated during a storm. One found shelter near a noisy hunters’ camp. The other was cared for at a peaceful…
The Sensible Enemy
A prince, a merchant’s son and a scholar’s son travelled to Climbing Mountain. Each found a precious gem and wrapped it carefully for the…
The Foolish Friend
A king loved his pet monkey and trusted him as a constant companion. The monkey was loyal and eager to help, but he often acted before…
The Winning of Friends: The Doves and the Mouse
Near an ancient Indian city stood a great banyan tree. Its branches sheltered birds, its shade cooled travelers, and its roots formed little…
The Four True Friends
After Hiranyaka the mouse freed Chitragriva's flock from the hunter's net, Swift the crow could not stop thinking about what he had seen. “A…
Two headed bird
There was a two-headed bird named Bharund. One day he received a golden fruit. The first head started eating that golden fruit. He found…
Gold's Gloom
Gold the mouse once lived with a large family beneath a small forest shrine. Near their burrow lay an old jar of forgotten coins. The coins…
Mother Shandilee's Bargain
During the rainy season, a travelling scholar stayed with a kind Brahmin and his wife, Mother Shandilee. One morning the Brahmin said…
Self-Defeating Forethought
Deep in a forest, a hunter startled a great wild boar beside a rocky path. The boar charged. The hunter leapt aside, his bow flew from his…
Mister Duly
A merchant named Ocean had a thoughtful son. At a book market the young man spent one hundred coins on a slim volume containing a single…
Soft, the Weaver
In a busy town lived a weaver named Soft. His cloth was smooth, colourful and beautiful enough for a palace, yet he earned only what his…
Hang-Ball and Greedy
A strong bull named Hang-Ball wandered freely through a green forest. An old harness still circled his broad shoulders, and two round feed…
The Mice That Set Elephants Free
In the ruins of an old city lived a joyful community of mice. Cracked courtyards became playgrounds, empty rooms became homes and every…
Spot's Captivity
When Spot was a young deer, he loved racing ahead of the herd and waiting proudly for everyone to catch up. The older deer had taught him…
Crows and Owls
Near the city of Earth-Base stood a vast banyan tree. King Cloudy and his flock of crows lived among its branches. In a mountain cave nearby…
How the Birds Picked a King
One season, birds from every corner of the forest gathered beneath an ancient fig tree. They felt that their distant king, Garuda, was too…
The Elephants and the Hares
Many years ago, a great herd of elephants lived in a forest in ancient India. Their leader was Chaturdanta, a wise and powerful elephant…
The Cat’s Judgment
A partridge lived in a hollow beneath a tree, beside the nest of his friend, an old crow. One day the partridge flew to distant rice fields…
The Brahman’s Goat
Mitra Sharma, a village scholar, was given a strong young goat to care for. As rain began to fall, he lifted it onto his shoulders and…
The Snake and the Ants
A large black snake named Haughty lived beside an old anthill. He believed every small creature should move aside whenever he passed. One…
The Snake Who Paid Cash
A hardworking farmer often rested beneath a tree beside an anthill. One summer he noticed a hooded snake there and decided to treat the…
The Unsocial Swans
King Gay-Chariot protected a beautiful place called Lotus Lake. Golden swans lived there and offered one fallen tail feather to the palace…
The Self-Sacrificing Dove
A bird catcher walked through the forest with a net and a small wicker cage. Among the birds he caught was a female dove. Before he reached…
The Brahman, the Thief, and the Ghost
A poor but gentle scholar received two little calves. He fed them with great care until they grew healthy and strong. A thief decided to…
The Snake in the Prince’s Belly
A young prince grew weaker each day, and no healer could discover why. He left his palace and travelled quietly until he reached a distant…
The Gullible Carpenter
A skilled carpenter often noticed that his best tools and special sweet cakes disappeared whenever he worked in another village. His spouse…
Mouse-Maid Made Mouse
Beside the River Ganga, a sage named Yajnavalkya found a tiny female mouse that had fallen from a hawk’s beak. He rescued her and, through a…
The Bird with Golden Dung
On a mountain tree lived an unusual bird. Whenever its droppings touched the earth, they changed into small golden pebbles. An elderly…
The Cave That Talked
Rough-Claw the lion wandered all day without finding food. At sunset he discovered a large cave and hid inside, hoping its owner would…
The Frogs That Rode Snakeback
An elderly snake named Slow-Poison found hunting difficult. Near a pond full of frogs, he lay sadly on the bank and waited for someone to…
The Butter-Blinded Brahman
Theodore, a village scholar, noticed that much of the family’s butter and sugar disappeared each week. His spouse said the rich cakes were…
Loss of Gains: The Monkey and the Crocodile
Book IV of the Panchatantra is called Loss of Gains. It teaches that a person may lose something precious by listening to flattery, greed…
Handsome and Theodore
In an old stone well lived a large family of frogs. Their king, Theodore, often quarrelled with a group of proud relatives who mocked his…
Flop-Ear and Dusty
A lion named Fierce-Mane once injured his paw and could not hunt. His jackal helper, Dusty, searched for an animal the lion might catch…
The Potter Mistaken for a Warrior
A potter named Fight-Firm worked in a courtyard crowded with clay jars. One evening he stumbled over a broken pot and cut his forehead. The…
The Jackal Cub Raised by Lions
A lion and lioness lived in a forest with their two young cubs. One evening the lion found a tiny jackal cub alone on the path. He carried…
King Joy and Secretary Splendor
King Joy was admired across his land, and his secretary Splendor was famous for thoughtful advice. Yet both men had one weakness: when…
The Donkey in the Tiger Skin
A laundryman named Clean-Cloth owned a donkey who had grown thin because there was little fodder near the town. While walking at the forest…
The Sparrow and the Shivering Monkey
A sparrow and his wife had woven a snug nest on a strong forest branch. One unseasonably cold day, hail rattled through the leaves. A monkey…
How Supersmart Won His Feast
A jackal named Supersmart found an elephant that had died naturally in the forest. It could feed him for many days, but its hide was far too…
The Dog Who Went Abroad
A long dry season left very little food in Spot’s town. Hungry and worried, the brown village dog decided to travel to a distant city where…