Amar Chitra Katha  -  Set of 10 books :Hitopadesha and Panchatantra

Amar Chitra Katha - Set of 10 books :Hitopadesha and Panchatantra

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Author: Anant Pai
Arvind Mandrekar/Luis M Fernandes
Editor(s): Anant Pai
Publisher: India Book House
Year: 2003-04-01
Language: English
Pages: 340
ISBN/UPC (if available): 817508 et. Al

Description

1. HITOPADESHA - How Friends are Parted

VOL- 620

The Hitopadesha is a collection of fables in Sanskrit. This work, attributed to Narayana (11th or 12th century, A.D.), is based on the more famous Panchatantra which was written by Vishnu Sharma more than a thousand years earlier.

Narayana has divided his work into four sections; Mitralabha (Gaining Friends), Suhrudhheda (Causing Dissension Between Friends), Vigraha (Separation) and Sandhi (Union). The tales retold in this Amar Chitra Katha are taken from the Suhrudbheda.

2. PANCHATANTRA - THE DULLARD AND OTHER STORIES

VOL- 585

The Panchatantra, written by Vishnu Sharma, is perhaps the best known collection of tales from ancient India. There are several versions of its. One of them, by Vasubhaga Bhatta, is lost. Fortunately the Karnataka Panchatantram, in Kannada, by Durgasimha (12th C) is available. It contains over twenty tales not found in Vishnu Sharma Panchatantra. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on stories from Durgasimha’s Panchatantra.

3. PANCHATANTRA - THE GREEDY MOTHER-IN-LAW

VOL- 583

The Panchatantra, written by Vishnu Sharma, is perhaps the best known collection of tales from ancient India. There are several versions of its. One of them, by Vasubhaga Bhatta, is lost. Fortunately the Karnataka Panchatantram, in Kannada, by Durgasimha (12th C) is available. It contains over twenty tales not found in Vishnu Sharma Panchatantra. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on stories from Durgasimha’s Panchatantra.

4. PANCHATANTRA - THE BRAHMIN AND THE GOAT AND OTHER STORIES

VOL- 562

The original Sanskrit text of the Panchatantra was probably written about 200 B C by the great scholar, Vishnu Sharma. But some of the tales must have been in circulation much earlier. In course of time, travellers took these tales with them to Persia and Arabia and finally, through Greece, they reached Europe. So far the Panchatantra has been translated into 50 or more languages of the world.

The study of the theories of philosophy, psychology and statecraft became engrossing when Vishnu Sharma drove the moral home through the mouths of talking animals and their escapades.

5. PANCHATANTRA - CROWS AND OWLS AND OTHER STORIES

VOL- 561

The original Sanskrit text of the Panchatantra was probably written about 200 B C by a great Hindu scholar, Pandit Vishnu Sharma. But some of the tales themselves must be much older, their origin going back to the period of the Vedas and the Upanishads (1500 B C to 500 B C). In course of time, travellers took these tales with them to Persia and Arabia and finally, through Greece, they reached Europe. So far the Panchatantra has been translated into 50 or more languages of the world.

The Panchatantra is a rare book, for in no book can one find philosophy, psychology, politics, music, astronomy, human relations, etc. all discussed together in such a simple yet elegant style. This is exactly what Pandit Vishnu Sharma had in mind – to give as much knowledge to the princes in as uncomplicated a manner as possible. And no doubt not only the princes but also millions of listeners and readers for the last 2,200 years have benefited from his most unique book.

6. PANCHATANTRA - HOW THE JACKAL ATE THE ELEPHANT AND OTHER STORIES

VOL- 560

The original Sanskrit text of the Panchatantra was probably written about 200 B C by the great scholar, Vishnu Sharma. But some of the tales must have been in circulation much earlier. In course of time, ravelers took these tales with them to Persia and Arabia and finally, through Greece, they reached Europe. So far the Panchatantra has been translated into 50 or more languages of the world.

The study of the theories of philosophy, psychology and statecraft became engrossing when Vishnu Sharma drove the moral home through the mouths of talking animals and their escapades.

The morals which the Panchatantra seeks to teach continue to be relevant to this day and the stories themselves have not lost their novelty even two thousand year after they were first told.

7. Hitopadesha – Choice of Friends and Other Stories

VOL- 556

Panchatantra was written by Pandit Vishnu Sharma between the second and third centuries BC but Hitopadesha came much later. Narayana, the author of Hitopadesha, drew most of his material from Panchatantra. He reconstructed the first three tantras and added about fifteen new tales. The raison d’etre of both books remains the same.

A certain Indian king was perturbed that his three sons were averse to any kind of learning. Taking the advice of his counselors, the king sends the princes to one Vishnu Sharma, who was not only a learned Brahmin but was also a remarkable teacher. Within a short period of six months, the pandit instructs the princes in the art of politics and wordly wisdom, by telling them stories about bird, beast and man. Each character in his stories becomes a vehicles of some precept, either directly or indirectly.

In Panchatantra these stories are divided into five books. Narayana’s work, however, has only four-Mitralabha, Suhridbheda, Vigraha and Sandhi. Our Amar Chitra Katha has been adapted from the first book-Mitralabha or winning of Friends.

8. PANCHATANTRA - THE JACKAL AND THE WAR DRUM AND OTHER STORIES

VOL- 540

The original Sanskrit text of the Panchatantra was probably written about 200 B C by a great Hindu scholar, Pandit Vishnu Sharma. But some of the tales themselves must be much older, their origin going back to the period of the Vedas and the Upanishads (1500 B C to 500 B C). In course of time, travellers took these tales with them to Persia and Arabia and finally, through Greece, they reached Europe. So far the Panchatantra has been translated into 50 or more languages of the world.

It attempts to teach us, how to understand people, how to choose reliable and trustworthy friends, how to meet difficulties and solve problems through tact and wisdom, and how to live in peace and harmony in the face of hypocrisy, deceit and many pitfalls in life.

9. ANGULIMALA
VOL-521

Having realized the cause of human suffering and remedy thereof, Lord Buddha wandered from place to place to enlighten the people. His teachings concern the forces that cause bondage and the means by which salvation can be achieved. He was received with respect wherever he went.

This Amar Chitra Katha is an adaptation of the story of Angulimala from the Buddhist text, PARAMATTHADIPANI of Dhammapala.

10 Buddha

VOL- 510

Hinduism, like any other living religion, produced its share of free thinkers. Prince Siddhartha who became Gautama the Buddha was the most noteworthy of them all. The Hinduism that Siddhartha saw, had lost much of its primal energy and its pristine purity.

He refused to subscribe to the caste system which had ceased to be Dharma and had become a tool of oppression. He would not accept the power-drunk priests as sole agents of God. He questioned the authority of the Vedas. And he was convinced that penance and meditation as mere rituals without the accompanying sincerity and contemplation were futile.

So he set out alone to seek the ultimate truth. His search led him to the enlightenment that liberated him as he pondered under a Bodhi tree. He returned to preach what he had known and experienced and he did this out of compassion for his fellow beings as converting them was never his aim.

Today, he has followers all over the world but the largest numbers are concentrated in the far-eastern countries.