“Not of An Age but for All Times”: Panchatantra Re-visited

Abstract

Panchatantra is a widely acclaimed icon of ancient Indian literature and culture, believed to have been composed in the 3rd Century BCE by a Kashmiri scholar par excellence, Vishnu Sharma, who produced this timeless masterpiece to make five significant treatises encapsuled in simple language and narratives, to enable the sons of his King to face Life with confidence, and be winners. Written centuries ago, though misrepresented and oftentimes branded as ‘children’s literature’, this book has been read by countless generations across time, space and cultures. In contemporary society, the treatises of Vishnu Sharma are more relevant than ever, as is recognised by international agencies such as BBC and UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register. It is common now to find people flaunting life mantras and life coaching for survival in a new world that is witnessing changes more rapid than humans are able to process, whereas this ancient scholar had already encoded all the fundamental wisdom that is essential for survival in any civilization. This paper is an attempt to examine how the life mantras wrapped in the simplicity of language and narratives stand the test of time, and are still relevant, nearly 100 generations later.