The Panchatantra is an ancient Sanskrit collection of stories, probably first composed around 300 CE (give or take a century or two),[1] though some of its component stories may be much older. The original text is not extant, but the work has been widely revised and translated such that there exist "over 200 versions in more than 50 languages."[2] The actual content of these versions sometimes differs greatly.
The lists of stories in a few notable versions are compared below.
In addition to the stories listed below, many versions begin with a prelude in which a king bewails the stupidity of his sons, and the wise Vishnu Sharma[6] (the Panchatantra's reputed author) bets that he can teach them statecraft in a mere 6 months; the tales constitute his lesson. (Of the versions tabulated below, only Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara lacks this "master frame" — an unsurprising omission, since the Panchatantra section is placed within the "master frame" of the Kathasaritsagara itself.)
Story | A-T | Edge[7] | Durg[8] | Soma[9] | Purn[10] | Nara[11] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
On causing dissension among allies: The jackals Karataka and Damanaka | I.Frame | I.Frame | 84 | I.Frame | II.1; II.3; II.7; II.9; II.10 | |
The story of the evil King Kachadruma | I.1 | |||||
The monkey that pulled the wedge | I.1 | I.2 | 84A | I.1 | II.2 | |
The jackal that tried to eat a drum | I.2 | I.4 | 84B | I.2 | ||
Merchant and sweeper | I.3 | |||||
The adventures of an ascetic | I.3a | I.4a | ||||
The ascetic and the rogue | I.3a | I.5 | I.4a | |||
How the battling rams killed the greedy jackal | I.3b | I.5.1 | I.4b | |||
The unfaithful wife Tantuvayika | I.5.2 | |||||
A weaver cuts the nose of a bawd | I.3c | I.4c | II.6 | |||
The crow that killed a snake | I.4 | I.6 | I.5 | II.8; II.9 | ||
The crab cuts off the heron's head | I.5 | I.7 | 84C | I.6 | IV.7 | |
The hare that outwitted the lion | I.6 | I.8 | 84D | I.7 | II.9 | |
Weaver as Vișṇu | I.8 | |||||
The monkey who died by giving shelter to a hunter | I.9 | |||||
Grateful beasts and thankless man | I.9.1 | I.9 | ||||
How the louse got killed trying to be nice to a bug | I.7 | I.11 | 84E | I.10 | ||
The watersnakes and a cobra | I.11.1 | |||||
The swan that died due to a screech-owl | I.11.2 | |||||
The Blue Jackal | I.11 | III.8 | ||||
Goose and owl | I.12 | |||||
How the lion's servants killed the camel | I.8 | I.12 | 84F | I.13 | IV.11 | |
Lion and carpenter | I.14 | |||||
The sandpiper that defeated the ocean | I.9 | I.14 | 84G | I.15 | II.10 | |
The turtle and the geese | I.10 | I.14.1 | 84GG | I.16 | IV.2; IV.4 | |
The Brahmin Devadatta, the story teller, and the ogre | I.14.1.1 | |||||
The lady who didn't listen to her daughter-in-law | I.14.1.2 | |||||
The fate of three fish: Far-sighted, Quick-witted, and Inevitable | I.11 | I.14.2 | 84GGG | I.17 | IV.3; IV.4 | |
Sparrow and elephant | I.18 | |||||
Goose and fowler | I.19 | |||||
Lion and ram | I.20 | |||||
Jackal outwits lion | I.21 | |||||
King and ascetic | I.22 | |||||
Girl who married a snake | I.23 | |||||
Indra's parrot and the god of death | I.24 | |||||
The bird that tried to advise a monkey | I.12 | III.3 | 84H | I.25 | III.2 | |
Two friends and betrayed trust | 613[12] | I.13 | I.15 | 84I | I.26 | |
How the mongoose ate the heron's chicks | I.14 | I.15.1 | 84J | I.27 | IV.5 | |
The iron-eating mice | 1592[12] | I.15 | 84K | I.28 | ||
Twin parrots | I.10 | I.29 | ||||
Noble robber saves the lives of his victims | I.30a | |||||
Faithful but foolish monkey kills the king | 1586[12] | I.31b | ||||
The monkeys that died due to a ram | I.16 | |||||
(12 additional stories) | 85-96 | |||||
On securing allies: The crow, rat, tortoise, and deer that became friends | II.Frame | V.Frame | 97 | II.Frame | I.1; I.2; I.4; I.7; I.9 | |
How mouse cut the net that imprisoned the pigeons | (II.Frame) | V.1 | (II.Frame) | |||
The bird with two necks and one stomach | II.1 | |||||
How pigeons escaped the net by pretending to be dead | V.1.1 | |||||
How a mouse freed an elephant | V.2 | |||||
How a dead Brahmin became alive again by his pet crab | V.3 | |||||
The ascetic and the mouse | II.1 | V.4 | 97A | II.2 | I.5; I.6 | |
The woman who traded sesame for sesame | II.2 | 97AA | II.3 | |||
How the greedy jackal died eating a bowstring | II.3 | V.4.1 | 97AAA | II.4 | I.7 | |
The man who got what was coming to him | II.5 | |||||
The weaver's options: to be generous or stingy | II.6 | |||||
The jackal waits for the bull's testicles to fall | 115[12] | II.7 | ||||
The mice who rescued the elephant | II.8 | |||||
How the deer Chitranga got caught in a trap | II.4 | V.5 | II.9 | |||
(23 additional stories) | 98-120 | |||||
On war and peace: The enmity between crows and owls | III.Frame | III.Frame | 121 | III.Frame | IV.1 | |
How owls started to hate crows | III.1 | |||||
The owl is elected king of the birds | III.2 | III.3 | 121B | III.1 | ||
The hare that fooled an elephant | III.3 | 121BB | III.2 | III.4 | ||
Partridge and hare take their case to the cat | III.4 | III.1.1 | 121BBB | III.3 | I.4 | |
The ascetic and the bad world | III.1.1.1 | |||||
How Shishupala died in the hands of Krishna | III.2 | |||||
Three rogues who fooled a Brahmin | III.5 | I.13 | 121C | III.4 | IV.10; IV.11 | |
How ants killed the snake | III.5 | |||||
The snake that gave gold | 285D[12] | III.6 | ||||
The inhospitable golden geese | III.7 | |||||
The dove that sacrificed itself | III.4 | III.8 | ||||
The old merchant and his young wife | III.6 | 121D | III.9 | I.6 | ||
The thief, the ogre, and a Brahmin | III.7 | III.5 | 121E | III.10 | ||
The snake in the prince's belly | III.11 | |||||
How the unfaithful wife tricked her foolish husband | III.8 | 121F | III.12 | III.7 | ||
The marriage of a mouse that turned into a girl | 2031C | III.9 | III.7 | 121G | III.13 | |
The sage who changed his pet dog into different animals | III.7.1 | |||||
The bird who dropped golden turds | III.14 | |||||
The talking cave | I.3 | III.15 | ||||
The frogs that went for a ride on the back of a snake | III.10 | III.8 | 121H | III.16 | IV.12 | |
The Brahmin catches his wife's lover | III.8.1 | III.17 | ||||
(13 additional stories) | 122-132 | |||||
On losing what you have gained: The friendship between a crocodile and a monkey | IV.Frame | IV.Frame | 133 | IV.Frame | ||
The foolish frog invites a snake to his well | IV.1 | |||||
The ass without ears or a heart | 52 | IV.1 | IV.1 | 133A | IV.2 | |
The potter is mistaken for a warrior | IV.3 | |||||
The jackal that was raised by a lion | IV.4 | |||||
The Brahmin and his ungrateful wife | IV.5 | |||||
Henpecked husbands | IV.6 | |||||
The ass in a leopard's skin | III.1 | 121A | IV.7 | III.3 | ||
The adulterous wife is tricked by her lover | IV.8 | |||||
The monkey and the pesky sparrow | IV.9 | III.2 | ||||
The smart jackal gets elephant meat | IV.10 | |||||
The dog that went abroad | 112[12] | IV.11 | ||||
(6 additional stories) | 134-139 | |||||
The barber who killed the monks | V.2 | II.2 | V.Frame | III.10; IV.13 | ||
The three proverbs which stopped king from killing his own wives | II.2.1 | |||||
On hasty actions: Killing a mongoose in haste | 178A[12] | V.Frame | II.Frame | 140 | V.1 | |
The four treasure-seekers | V.2 | |||||
The foolish scholars bring a lion back to life | III.6 | V.3 | ||||
Thousandwit, hundredwit, and singlewit; or two fish and a frog | 105[12] | V.4 | ||||
The singing ass | V.5 | |||||
The weaver gets two extra hands and a head | 750A[12] | V.6 | ||||
The dreamy beggar; or building castles in the air | 1430[12] | V.1 | II.1 | V.7 | IV.8 | |
The ape with foresight | V.8 | |||||
The credulous ogre | V.9 | |||||
The three-breasted princess | V.10 | |||||
The Brahmin and the ogre | V.11 | |||||
The old pious lady Gautami | II.3 | |||||
(6 additional stories) | 141-146 | |||||
The deer, the crow, and the jackal | I.3 | |||||
The merchant's bride | I.8 | |||||
The cat who became superfluous | II.4 | |||||
The canny procuress | II.5 | |||||
War (frame) | III.1 | |||||
The swan and the crow | III.5 | |||||
The crow and the quail | III.6 | |||||
The faithful servant | III.9 | |||||
The hermit and the mouse | IV.6 | |||||
The two ogres | IV.9 |
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Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of Panchatantra stories.
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