Panchatantra TalesThe Panchatantra is a legendary collection of short stories from India. Originally composed in the 2nd century B.C, Panchatantra is believed to be written by Vishnu Sharma along with many other scholars. The purpose behind the composition was to implant moral values and governing skills in the young sons of the king. The ancient Sanskrit text boasts of various animal stories in verse and prose. During all these centuries, many authors and publishers worked hard to make these fables accessible and readable by a layman. The grand assortment has extraordinary tales that are liked, perhaps even loved by people of every age group. 

The Panchatantra is the best guide to enroot moral values in children since its each tale has a moral lesson in its end. The Panchtantra is a great book where plants and animals can speak and converse with human beings too. The etymology of term ‘Panchatantra’ suggests that it is a combination of two words, ‘Pancha’ (five) and ‘Tantra’ (practice/ principle). So, the five principles or practices illustrated by Panchatantra are ‘Mitra Bhedha’ (Loss of Friends), ‘Mitra Laabha’ (Gaining Friends), ‘Suhrudbheda’ (Causing discord between Friends), ‘Vigraha’ (Separation) and ‘Sandhi’ (Union). Here are provided some of the popular tales from Panchatantra.

http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-folktales/panchatantra-tales/index.html

The Ass Has No BrainsThis is one more interesting story from the album of Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there lived an old lion. The lion, the king of the forest had grown old. He became frail and due to this, he could not hunt for his food. Many a times, he didn’t get even a single animal to eat. With each passing day he became more and more weak. He realized that like this he could not live for long. Somehow, he had to manage for the food, otherwise he would definitely die. He thought that how could he arrange for his food? After much of the thought process, ultimately he decided that he should have an assistant.

The lion thought that a fox would be the best person to handle this position. He summoned the fox and said, “Dear friend, I have always liked you because you are intelligent and clever. I want to appoint you as my minister and advise me on all the affairs of the forest”. The old lion also asked the fox, that he was the king of the forest; so he should not have to hunt for his food. In respect to this, the fox’s first duty as minister was to bring him an animal to eat everyday.

The fox didn’t trust the lion, but he could not even refuse the king. The fox said, “Your Majesty, I am happy, that you have chosen me to serve you. I accept your offer”. The lion was pleased to hear such words. After the conversation, the fox went out to find an animal for the lion. On the way, he met a fat ass. The fox went to the ass, “Friend, where have you been all these days? I have been looking for you for the past many days”. 

The ass asked, “Why? What happened? Is everything alright?” The fox replied, “I have got good news for you. You are very lucky. Our king, the lion has chosen you to be his chief minister. He asked me to meet you and inform you about his decision.” Ass was scared of the lion and said, “I am afraid of the lion. He might kill me and eat me up. Why has he chosen me as his chief minister? I don’t even fit enough to be a minister. “

The clever fox laughed and said, “Dear, you don’t know your great qualities. You have a special charm of your own. Our king is dying to meet you. He has chosen you because you are wise, gentle, and hard working. You must not lose your greatest chance in life. Now, come with me and meet our great king. He will be really happy to see you”. So, the poor ass was convinced and got ready to go along with the fox. 

As soon as they reached the lion’s den, the ass got scared and refused to move forward. At this, the fox said to the lion, “Your majesty, the chief minister appears to be very shy and hesitates to come near you”. The lion himself came forward and said, “I like such modesty”. He limped towards the ass. The ass got so scared that he ran to save his life. The lion became angry and shouted at the fox, “You have played a trick on me. I was so hungry that I wanted to eat him at once. Go and bring that ass back. If you don’t, I will kill you.”

The fox replied,” Your Majesty, you were in a hurry. You should have left it to me, to bring him near enough. But I will try again”. The fox went back to the ass and said, “You are a funny fellow. Why did you run away like that?” The ass replied, “I was too scared. I thought that the lion was going to kill me”. 

The fox said, “What a fool you are? If the king wanted to kill you, he would have done so. You could not have escaped by running away. The thing is, the king wanted to tell you a secret about the kingdom and he did not want me, to hear it. Now, what will he think about you? Doesn’t matter, Come with me and apologize for your mistake. You don’t realize that by serving the king, you will be the second most powerful animal of our forest. Imagine, all the other animals will respect you and seek favors from you.”

In this way, the fox managed to attract the ass to go back to the lion. When the fox and the ass approached, the lion was hungrier than ever. But this time he kept a smiling face and said, “Welcome, my dear friend. It was unkind of you to have run away like that. Come near me. You are my chief minister.” As and when the ass came closer, the lion pounced on him and killed him instantly. The lion thanked the clever fox and was happy to get the food. 

As the lion sat down to take his meal, the fox said, “Your Majesty, I know you are very hungry and it is time for your dinner, but the king must take a bath before his meal”. The lion thought it was a good idea and said, “You are right. I should go and bathe first. You keep a watch on the carcass of the ass”.

The fox silently sat down to keep a watch of the ass. He was very hungry and thought to himself, “I took all the trouble of getting the ass here. It is I who deserve the best portion of the meal”. Thus, the fox cut open the head of the ass and ate up the whole brain. When the lion returned and looked at the ass, he felt that something was missing. He found that the head of the ass had been cut open. He inquired from the fox, “Who came here? What happened to the head of the ass?”

The fox pretended to be innocent and reminded the lion, “Your Majesty, You have given a powerful blow on the head of the ass when you killed him”. The lion was satisfied with the answer and sat down to take his meal. Suddenly, he shouted,” What happened to the ass’ brain? I wanted to eat the brain first”. The fox smilingly replied, “Your Majesty, Asses have no brains. If this had any, he would not have come here a second time”.

The Bird with Two HeadsHere is another story from the album of Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there lived a strange bird named Bharunda. He lived on a banyan tree near the banks of a river. The strangeness of the bird lies in the fact, that he had two necks, but shared a common stomach. One day, the bird was wandering on the banks of the lake and found a red-golden fruit, which appeared delicious at the first sight. One of the two heads mumbled, “Oh what a fruit. I am sure the heavens have sent it for me. I am so lucky.” He started eating the fruit with immense pleasure and claimed that it was the most delicious fruit he had ever eaten.

Hearing this, the other head said,” O dear, let me also taste the fruit you are praising so much”. The first head laughed and replied "You know that we've only one stomach, whichever head eats, the fruit will go to the same stomach. So, it makes no difference whether I eat it or you eat it. Moreover, I'm the one who found this fruit. So I've the first right to eat it". The other head became silent and disappointed after hearing the first head. This kind of selfishness, on the part of the first head pinched him very much.

Later one day, the other head found a tree bearing poisonous fruits. He took the poisonous fruit and told the first head, “You deceitful fellow. I will eat this poisonous fruit and avenge your insult which you have done to me”.

The first head yelled, "Please don't eat this poisonous fruit. If you eat it, both of us will die, because we've a common stomach to digest it." The other head replied, “Shut up! As I have found this fruit, I have the every right to eat it.” The first head started crying, but the other head didn’t bother and ate the poisonous fruit. In the consequence of this action, both of them lost their lives.

Moral: Sharing of a good thing with others is always good.

The Brahmin's GiftHere is one more interesting tale from the album of Panchatantra. Once, there lived a pious Brahmin in a small village, by the name of Mitra Sharma. He used to perform religious rituals. On one occasion, he was rewarded with a goat for his services by a wealthy man. The Brahmin was happy to get a goat as the reward. He happily slung the goat over his shoulder and began the journey towards his home. On the way, three cheats (Thugs) saw the Brahmin taking the goat.

All of them were lazy and wanted to cheat the Brahmin so that they could take away the goat. They said,” This goat will make a delicious meal for all of us. Let's somehow get it”. They discussed the matter amongst themselves and devised a plan to get the goat by befooling the Brahmin. After deciding the plan, they got separated from one another and took different hiding positions at three different places on the way of the Brahmin.

As soon as, the Brahmin arrived at a lonely place, one of the cheats came out of his hiding place and asked Brahmin in a shocking manner, “Sir, what are you doing? I don't understand why a pious man like you needs to carry a dog on his shoulders?" The Brahmin was surprised to hear such words. He screamed, “Can't you see? It's not a dog but a goat, you stupid fool". The cheat replied,” Sir, I beg your pardon. I told you what I saw. I am sorry, if you don’t believe it.” The Brahmin was annoyed at the discrepancy, but started his journey once again.

The Brahmin had barely walked a distance, when another cheat came out of his hiding place and asked the Brahmin, “Sir, why do you carry a dead calf on your shoulders? You seem to be a wise person. Such an act is pure stupidity on your part." The Brahmin yelled, "What? How can you mistake a living goat for a dead calf?" The second cheat replied, ""Sir, you seem to be highly mistaken in this regard. Either you don’t know how does goat look like or you are doing it knowingly. I just told you what I saw. Thank you". The second cheat went away smiling. The Brahmin got confused, but continued to walk further.

Again the Brahmin had covered a little distance when the third cheat met him. The third cheat asked laughingly, "Sir, why do you carry a donkey on your shoulders? It makes you a laughing stock”. Hearing the words of the third thug, the Brahmin became really worried. He started thinking, “Is it really not a goat? Is it some kind of a ghost?" 

He thought that the animal he was carrying on his shoulders might really be some sort of a ghost, because it transformed itself from goat into a dog, from dog into a dead calf and from dead calf into a donkey. The Brahmin got frightened to such an extent that he hurled the goat on the roadside and ran away. The three tricksters laughed at the gullible Brahmin. They caught the goat and were happy to feast on it.

Moral: One should not be carried away by what others say.

The Girl Who Married a SnakeHere is another interesting story from the Panchatantra album. Once upon a time, there lived a Brahmin with his wife in a village. Both of them were sad, as they had no children. Every day, they prayed to God in the hope, that one day they would be blessed with a child. Ultimately, the god blessed them with a child. The Brahmin’s wife gave birth to a baby, but the child came to be a snake. Everyone was shocked and advised them to get rid of the snake as soon as possible.

The Brahmin’s wife remained firm and refused to listen to any one. She loved the snake as her son and didn’t care that her infant was a snake. She brought up the snake with love and care. She fed him with the best food she could arrange for. She made a comfortable bed in a box and made him sleep on it. The snake grew up and his mother loved him all the more. On one occasion, there was a wedding in the neighborhood; the Brahmin’s wife began to think of getting her son married. But the question aroused, which girl would marry a snake? 

Although, she had a belief that she would definitely get a girl for her son. One day, when the Brahmin returned home, he found his wife in tears. He asked her, “What happened? Why are you crying? “She didn’t answer and kept on crying. TheBrahmin asked again, “Tell me what hurts you so much?" Finally, she said, “I know you don’t love my son. You are not taking any interest in our son. He is grown up. You don’t even think to get him a bride”. The Brahmin was shocked to hear such words. He replied, “Bride, for our son? Do you think any girl would marry to a snake?”

The Brahmin’s wife didn’t respond, but she kept on crying. On seeing her crying like that, the Brahmin decided to go out in search of a bride for his son. He traveled to many places, but found no girl who was ready to marry a snake. At last, he arrived in a big city where one of his friends lived. As the Brahmin had not met him for a long time, he decided to meet him. 

Both of the friends were happy to see each other after a long time and spent a good time altogether. During the conversation, the friend happened to ask the Brahmin that why he was traveling round the country. The Brahmin said,” I am looking for a bride for my son”. The friend told him not to go any further and promised his daughter’s hand in marriage. The Brahmin was shocked and said, “I think, it would be better if you see my son before deciding this”. 

His friend refused saying that he knew him and his family, so it was not necessary to see the boy. He sent his daughter with the Brahmin in order to get married with his son. The Brahmin’s wife was happy to know this and quickly started making preparations for the marriage. When the villagers heard about this, they went to the girl and advised her not to marry the snake. The girl refused to hear to them and insisted that she had to keep her father’s word.

Accordingly, the marriage between the snake and the girl took place. The girl started living with her husband, the snake. She was a devoted wife and looked after the snake like a good wife. The snake slept in his box at night. One night, when the girl was going to sleep, she saw a handsome young man in the room. She was frightened and was about to run for help. The young man stopped her and said, “Don’t fear. Didn’t you recognize me? I am your husband”.

The girl didn’t believe him. The young man proved himself by entering into the snake’s skin and then came out of it once again as the young man. The girl was really happy to find her husband in a human form and fell at his feet. From that night onwards, every night the young would come out of the snake’s skin. He used to stay with his wife till daybreak and then would slip back into the snake’s skin.

One night, the Brahmin heard voices from his daughter-in-law’s room. He kept a watch and saw the snake turning into a young man. He rushed into the room, seized the snake’s skin and threw it into the fire. The young man said, “Dear Father, thank you very much. Due to a curse, I had to remain a snake until somebody without asking me, destroy the snake’s body. Today, you have done it. Now, I am now free from the curse." Thus, the young man never became snake again and lived happily with his wife.

The Talkative TortoiseThis is one more interesting story from Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there was a tortoise by the name of Kambugriva and two geese by the name of Sankata and Vikata. The tortoise lived in a pond and he made friends with two geese who used to come and visit him at the pond. All of them were happy for the past many years.

Once they faced a drought that lasted for several months. Due to this, all the rivers, lakes and ponds went dry. There was not a drop of water to drink for the birds and the animals. They began to die of thirst and scorching heat. Many of them decided to migrate to some fertile lands. 

The three friends also decided to leave the pond and to go to some distant lake, full of water, to settle down there for ever. But it was quite difficult to shift at a distant place. Although, was quite easy for the geese as they could fly but the problem was for tortoise. The poor tortoise could not fly and to cover that distance on foot was really difficult.

All of them had a conversation, as to what could be a possible solution for this problem. The geese suggested a plan, according to which, tortoise would have to hold a piece of stick by his mouth and which would be carried slowly while holding its two ends by them. The only condition was that the tortoise should not speak; otherwise he would fall and die spontaneously. The geese were worried because they knew that tortoise was very talkative and it was difficult for him to keep his mouth shut. The tortoise got the logic and promised not to open his mouth during the entire journey.

Before starting their journey, the geese again cautioned their friend not to open his mouth in any case. With this instruction, the geese held the stick ends in their beaks and the tortoise held the stick in the middle with his teeth. Thus, they started their journey. They flew higher and higher, over hills, valleys, fields and plains. Ultimately, they flew over a town. 

The people of the town were surprised to see such a strange scene. They started laughing and clapping, to see the geese carrying tortoise like that. The people’s shouting and laughing annoyed the tortoise. He thought why these people were making such a noise. Unable to control his anxiety, he opened his mouth to speak. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he lost his grip on the stick and fell

to his death. So, the poor tortoise got killed because of his stupidity and impatience.

Moral: Always listen to friendly advices.

Ramayana: Summary

The Ramayana is one of the two great Indian epics,the other being the Mahabharata. The Ramayana tells about life in India around 1000 BCE and offers models in dharma. The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of dharma; in fact, that was why Indian consider him heroic. When Rama was a young boy, he was the perfect son. Later he was an ideal husband to his faithful wife, Sita, and a responsible ruler of Aydohya. "Be as Rama," young Indians have been taught for 2,000 years; "Be as Sita."

The original Ramayana was a 24,000 couplet-long epic poem attributed to the Sanskrit poet Valmiki. Oral versions of Rama's story circulated for centuries, and the epic was probably first written down sometime around the start of the Common Era. It has since been told, retold, translated and transcreated throughout South and Southeast Asia, and the Ramayana continues to be performed in dance, drama, puppet shows, songs and movies all across Asia.

From childhood most Indians learn the characters and incidents of these epics and they furnish the ideals and wisdom of common life. The epics help to bind together the many peoples of India, transcending caste, distance and language. Two all-Indian holidays celebrate events in the Ramayana. Dussehra, a fourteen-day festival in October, commemorates the siege of Lanka and Rama's victory over Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Divali, the October-November festival of Lights, celebrates Rama and Sita's return home to their kingdom of Ayodhya

Prince Rama was the eldest of four sons and was to become king when his father retired from ruling. His stepmother, however, wanted to see her son Bharata, Rama's younger brother, become king. Remembering that the king had

once promised to grant her any two wishes she desired, she demanded that Rama be banished and Bharata be crowned. The king had to keep his word to his wife and ordered Rama's banishment. Rama accepted the decree unquestioningly. "I gladly obey father's command," he said to his stepmother. "Why, I would go even if you ordered it."

When Sita, Rama's wife, heard Rama was to be banished, she begged to accompany him to his forest retreat. "As shadow to substance, so wife to husband," she reminded Rama. "Is not the wife's dharma to be at her husband's side? Let me walk ahead of you so that I may smooth the path for your feet," she pleaded. Rama agreed, and Rama, Sita and his brother Lakshmana all went to the forest.

When Bharata learned what his mother had done, he sought Rama in the forest. "The eldest must rule," he reminded Rama. "Please come back and claim your rightful place as king." Rama refused to go against his father's command, so Bharata took his brother's sandals and said, "I shall place these sandals on the throne as symbols of your authority. I shall rule only as regent in your place, and each day I shall put my offerings at the feet of my Lord. When the fourteen years of banishment are over, I shall joyously return the kingdom to you." Rama was very impressed with Bharata's selflessness. As Bharata left, Rama said to him, "I should have known that you would renounce gladly what most men work lifetimes to learn to give up."

Later in the story, Ravana, the evil King of Lanka, (what is probably present-day Sri Lanka) abducted Sita. Rama mustered the aid of a money army, built a

causeway across to Lanka, released Sita and brought her safely back to Aydohya. In order to set a good example, however, Rama demanded that Sita

prove her purity before he could take her back as his wife. Rama, Sita and Bharata are all examples of persons following their dharma. 

This lesson focuses on how the Ramayana teaches Indians to perform their dharma. Encourage students to pick out examples of characters in the epic who

were faithful to their dharma and those who violated their dharma. Mahatma Gandhi dreamed that one day modern India would become a Ram-rajya.

Main Characters of the Ramayana

Dasaratha -- King of Ayodhya (capital of Kosala), whose eldest son was Rama. Dasaratha had three wives and four sons -- Rama, Bharata, and the twins

Lakshmana and Satrughna.

Rama -- Dasaratha's first-born son, and the upholder of Dharma (correct conduct and duty). Rama, along with his wife Sita, have served as role models

for thousands of generations in India and elsewhere. Rama is regarded by many Hindus as an incarnation of the god Vishnu.

Sita -- Rama's wife, the adopted daughter of King Janak. Sita was found in the furrows of a sacred field, and was regarded by the people of Janak's kingdom as

a blessed child.

Bharata -- Rama's brother by Queen Kaikeyi. When Bharata learned of his mother's scheme to banish Rama and place him on the throne, he put Rama's

sandals on the throne and ruled Ayodhya in his name.

Hanuman -- A leader of the monkey tribe allied with Rama against Ravana. Hanuman has many magical powers because his father was the god of the wind.

Hanuman's devotion to Rama, and his supernatural feats in the battle to recapture Sita, has made him one of the most popular characters in the

Ramayana.

Ravana -- The 10-headed king of Lanka who abducted Sita.

Kaushlaya -- Dasaratha's first wife, and the mother of Rama.

Lakshmana -- Rama's younger brother by Dasaratha's third wife, Sumitra. When Rama and Sita were exiled to the forest, Lakshmana followed in order to

serve.

Ramayana: A Summary

1. Dasharatha, King of Aydohya, has three wives and four sons. Rama is the eldest. His mother is Kaushalya. Bharata is the son of his second and favorite wife, Queen Kaikeyi. The other two are twins, Lakshman and Shatrughna. Rama and Bharata are blue, perhaps indicating they were dark skinned or originally south Indian deities.

2) A sage takes the boys out to train them in archery. Rama has hit an apple hanging from a string.

3) In a neighboring city the ruler's daughter is named Sita. When it was time for Sita to choose her bridegroom, at a ceremony called a swayamvara, the princes were asked to string a giant bow. No one else can even lift the bow, but as Rama bends it, he not only strings it but breaks it in two. Sita indicates she has

chosen Rama as her husband by putting a garland around his neck. The disappointed suitors watch.

4) King Dasharatha, Rama's father, decides it is time to give his throne to his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest to seek moksha. Everyone seems pleased. This plan fulfills the rules of dharma because an eldest son should rule and, if a son can take over one's responsibilities, one's last years may be spent in a search for moksha. In addition, everyone loves Rama. However Rama's step-mother, the king's second wife, is not pleased. She wants her son, Bharata, to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before, she gets the king to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to crown Bharata, even though the king, on bended knee, begs her not to demand such things. Broken-hearted, the devastated king cannot face Rama with the news and Kaikeyi must tell him.

5) Rama, always obedient, is as content to go into banishment in the forest as to be crowned king. Sita convinces Rama that she belongs at his side and his brother Lakshman also begs to accompany them. Rama, Sita and Lakshman set out for the forest.

Bharata, whose mother's evil plot has won him the throne, is very upset when he finds out what has happened. Not for a moment does he consider breaking the rules of dharma and becoming king in Rama's place. He goes to Rama's forest retreat and begs Rama to return and rule, but Rama refuses. "We must obey father," Rama says. Bharata then takes Rama's sandals saying, "I will put these on the throne, and every day I shall place the fruits of my work at the feet on my Lord." Embracing Rama, he takes the sandals and returns to Aydohya.

6) Years pass and Rama, Sita and Lakshman are very happy in the forest. Rama and Lakshman destroy the rakshasas (evil creatures) who disturb the sages in their meditations. One day a rakshasa princess tries to seduce Rama, and Lakshmana wounds her and drives her away. She returns to her brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka (Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon), and tells her brother (who has a weakness for beautiful women) about lovely Sita.

Ravana devises a plan to abduct Sita. He sends a magical golden deer which Sita desires. Rama and Lakshman go off to hunt the deer, first drawing a protective circle around Sita and warning her she will be safe as long as she does not step outside the circle. As they go off, Ravana (who can change his shape) appears as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita steps outside the circle to give him food, Ravana grabs her and carries her off the his kingdom in Lanka.

7) Rama is broken-hearted when he returns to the empty hut and cannot find Sita. A band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita. Ravana has carried Sita to his palace in Lanka, but he cannot force her to be his wife so he puts her in a grove and alternately sweet-talks her and threatens her in an attempt to get her to agree to marry him. Sita will not even look at him but thinks only of her beloved Rama. Hanuman, the general of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind, and Hanuman flies to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove, comforts her and tells her Rama will soon come and save her.

8) Ravana's men capture Hanuman, and Ravana orders them to wrap Hanuman's tail in cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman hops from house-top to house-top, setting Lanka afire. He then flies back to Rama to tell him where Sita is.

9) Rama, Lakshman and the monkey army build a causeway from the tip of India to Lanka and cross over to Lanka. A might battle ensues. Rama kills several of Ravana's brothers and thenRama confronts ten-headed Ravana. (Ravana is known for his wisdom as well as for his weakness for women which may explain why he is pictured as very brainy.) Rama finally kills Ravana.

10). Rama frees Sita. After Sita proves here purity, they return to Ayodhya and Rama becomes king. His rule, Ram-rajya, is an ideal time when everyone does his or her dharma and "fathers never have to light the funeral pyres for their sons."

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