Selected Stories From Panchatantra

Once upon a time, there stood a huge peepal tree on the outskirts of a small village. In this tree, there lived a pair of crows with their young ones. And at the root of the tree, there lived a big black serpent in a deep hole. Every time the corws laid their eggs, the […]

Once upon a time, there lived a stag in a dense forest. One day, he went to a nearby lake to quench his thirst. There, he saw his reflection in the water and said to himself, ‘I’ve got beautiful antlers, but my legs are ugly. I can’t understand why God has given me such thin

Once, a hunter was hunting in a forest. After sometime, he felt hungry. He saw a wild boar coming. He shot an arrow at the boar. The arrow pierced the boar’s neck and protruded at its back. But the boar, before falling on the ground, killed the hunter with his pointed tusks. Soon both the

There was a washerman. His name was Shuddhapata. He had a donkey. The donkey had an insatiable appetite for food, but was least interested in doing his master’s work. Shuddhapata was very poor. It was not possible for him to feed his ever hungry and lazy donkey. Therefore, as a result, the donkey became lean

There lived a troop of monkeys in a hilly region. When winter fell, the monkeys began to shiver with cold. They had no place to protect themselves. One of the monkeys suggested that they should go to the nearby village and take shelter in the houses of human beings till the winter lasted. His suggeston

Once a fox was wandering in a forest. He saw a beautiful peacock sitting on the branch of a tree at a considerable height. ‘How can I have this peacock for my meal,’ thought the fox to himself. He knew he could not climb up the tree to kill the peacock. Applying his stratagem, the

There lived a brown snake by the name of Mandvishya near a pond. The pond was full of frogs—big and small. They all were leading a happy life under the good rule of their king frog. The big brown snake had become old and weak, and could no more catch his prey easily for his

There lived a golden goat in a deep forest. He was as big as a pony and as strong as a bull. He had two pointed horns. His golden hair shone like burning flames in the bright sunlight. Even lions and tigers were afraid of facing this goat.Once, a lion saw the goat on the

Long, long ago, there was a big banyan tree in a dense jungle. In this banyan tree, there lived a crow’s family happily, with its nestlings. They had a beautiful and strong nest on a thick and sturdy branch of the tree.There was also a huge monkey living in the banyan tree. He had no

There lived a huge elephant in a dense jungle. He was cruel and arrogant by nature. He roamed freely in the jungle, pulling down small trees and branches. Those animals who lived in the trees were very much afraid of this elephant. When he pulled down the trees and tore off the branches, many a

Once upon a time, there lived a big bull in a village. The village was situated near a lake. One day, when the bull felt thirsty, he started walking towards the lake.There was a tiny mouse living in the same village. The mouse was sitting by the side of the lake and basking in the

There lived two big bulls in a village. The village was situated near a thick forest. Once on some issue, the bulls began fighting fiercely on the outskirts of the village. They would keep their horns locked with each other for hours together. Then, they would walk back a little and again run into each

Once upon a time, there lived a sparrow on a tree. He was very happy to have a beautiful and comfortable nest of his own. The sparrow used to fly to far-off places to pick at grains from so many fields, full of crops. At sunset, he would return to his perch.One day, the sparrow

Once upon a time, there lived a poor Brahmin in a village. His name was Swabhavakripna. He had neither relatives nor friends. He used to beg for his living. Whatever food he got as alms, he kept in an earthen pot and hung it beside his bed. Whenever he felt hungry, he took out some

Long, long ago, there lived three fish with their families in a pond. Their names were Anagatavidhata, Pratyutpannamati and Yadbhavishya. Anagatavidhata was very practical. She always planned her actions in advance. Pratyutpannamati too was practical and always tendered good pieces of advices to her elder sister Anagatavidhata. Yadbhavishya, the youngest of them all, loved to