Crows and Owls Panchatantra
Panchatantra (Five Chapters) in Sanskrit is perhaps the oldest collection of stories in the world and has been translated into more than 50 languages. Each of its 'Chapters' contains a string of stories one emerging from the other, with each designed to lead to a precept for proper practical conduct for a thinking person in the real world. The characters are taken from the whole gamut of living beings including humans and animals in the wild. In a way the unity of life is stressed by assigning the sentiments, emotions and thoughts of human beings to animals as well.
In this collection, an old crow advises recourse to duplicity to his colony harassed by owls. Faking injury, he takes refuge with the owls. He proceeds step by step to destroy the owls. Monkeys trying to light a fire with fire-flies do not heed advice of a bird to give up the futile effort. A caravan camel left in a jungle joins the group made of a lion, leopard, jackal and crow. When the lion is hurt and they face starvation, the other three feign to offer themselves for consumption, making the camel follow suit. This Panchatantra collection is a treasure house of a variety of such stories.
Pandit Vishnu Sharma found an ideal teaching tool – tales from a collection he called the Panchatantra. Gently guiding his pupils towards a life of honour and nobility, his fables provided joyful entertainment as well. They are read even today, 2,000 years later, by peoples of diverse cultures in various languages. All that is foolish as well as unkind in the human character is starkly revealed, together with some useful advice: pick your friends wisely!
Trust not even a close friend Who earlier was your enemy.
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About Amar Chitra Katha Amar Chitra Katha, our flagship brand, was founded in 1967 and is a household name in India. It is synonymous with the visual reinvention of the quintessentially Indian stories from the great epics, mythology, history, literature, oral folktales and many other sources. With more than 400 comics in 20+ languages that have sold 90+ million copies to date, Amar Chitra Katha is a cultural phenomenon. With a national distribution across all major book retailers, hundreds of small bookstores and thousands of vendors, the titles remain immensely popular in the classic illustrated format. With more than 1.5 million copies sold every year, it is the bestselling children's publication in India. Amar Chitra Katha is also launching these stories in animated, live-action and gaming formats for all screens - television, film, mobile and online. |
