The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit

LITERATURE INTRODUCTIONS

All Reading excerpts in this book were chosen from texts readily available through the Clay Sanskrit Library (New York: NYU Press/JJL Foundation, 2005–9).

The Pañcatantra (‘Five Chapters’ or ‘Five Principles’) is a collection of fables attributed to an author by the name of Viṣṇuśarma (of whom nothing, not even the period in which he lived, is known). The form of the text that we have today stems from the third to sixth centuries AD, but it is assumed that the roots of this collection go back much further. There are indications that these tales were originally used in the education of future rulers, then later in the education of children in general. The Pañcatantra was both popular and influential, thus being translated into Persian, and from there on into Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin and other languages. The stories are frequently summed up by sayings that encapsulate a moral teaching or doctrine. Many of the Pañcatantra readings in this book are such sayings.

The Hitopadeśa (hita-upadeśa- ‘Friendly Instruction’) is a collection of fables assembled within a narrative frame: a king, disappointed by his sons’ lack of manners and erudition, sends them to a sage, who tells them these stories, which are intended to simultaneously educate and entertain. As is stated in the introduction, the Hitopadeśa draws on ‘the Pañcatantra and other sources’. Next to nothing is known about the identity of the author mentioned in the text, Nārāyaṇa; as works that can be dated to the eighth century AD are mentioned, the Hitopadeśa must have been composed at some subsequent point (perhaps the ninth or tenth century).

The Rāmāyaṇa (Rāma-ayana: ‘Rāma's Travels’) is the shorter of the two major Indian epics, traditionally attributed to the poet Vālmīki (who gives his own name in the poem); its majority was probably composed in the fifth century BC. It describes the life of Rāma, his marriage to Sītā, her abduction by the demon Rāvaṇa, Rāma's (successful) efforts to get her back – efforts in which he is aided by Hanumān, a monkey deputed by the monkey king Sugrīva to help Rāma – and Rāma and Sītā's life after they have been reunited. In telling the tale of Rāma, the Rāmāyaṇa illustrates the character and actions of a virtuous man in all important situations in life.