Evergreen Stories of Panchatantra

There was a herd of elephants that roamed in the forest with their king. They were big and strong. So, most animals kept out of their way.Once there was no rain, so the lakes and rivers began to go dry. The elephants were worried. They needed a lot of water and so did their calves. […]

There was a poor Brahmin who lived in his hut in a small town. He performed rituals and sacrifices in and around the town for other people. They gave him a little money or some gifts. Sometimes they gave him food. Very often, he went to sleep hungry.One day, it was cool and cloudy. He

In a town far away, a rich merchant decided to build a temple. He got beautiful plans made. Then he brought skilled workers from all over the land to do the work of building the temple. There were masons and stone cutters, sculptors and carpenters.The whole area hummed with people and their work. Everyone was

A pair of sparrows made a nest on a tree in a forest. They were happy and contented. They were waiting for the eggs to hatch.It was extremely hot. There was an elephant who was so upset with the heat that he went slightly mad. He ran through the forest pulling up trees, trampling bushes,

It was a beautiful lake with still blue waters and trees all around. Two swans and a turtle lived there and were great friends. They spent most of their time swimming or sitting together on the banks and sharing the stories of the lake and the forest, and of the sages in the forest too.The

A merchant’s son lived in a town where his father and forefathers had also lived earlier. However, the merchant’s son lost all his wealth and became very poor. Unable to earn anything in his town, he decided to go somewhere else and work till he got some money to start his business again.Now the merchant’s

In a kingdom far away there was a very foolish king. He was, however, very proud and thought he was extremely intelligent.He had a problem. He could never sleep in peace, because there was a fly that always worried him whenever he lay down to rest. One night, he told his Queen, “My dear, I

A lion was the king of a jungle. He had many animals who followed him. The lion would hunt and after he had taken his share, the rest was given to his followers. Among his followers were a jackal and a crow. They were happy to follow the lion because they were always sure of

There was a beautiful lake in the heart of a forest. Lots of fish and birds and other creatures lived there, in the lake and around it. A heron also lived there. He was old now and too weak to catch fish. Often he had to sleep hungry; so he became more and more weak.

Near a village there was a huge banyan tree. A pair of crows made their nest in it. The husband and wife lived there happily, and soon they had little nestlings hatching out of the eggs. But there was a great tragedy in their life.A big black cobra lived in a hollow at the bottom

In a forest, many animals lived together in peace. There were hares, antelopes, boars, bears, elephants, foxes, monkeys, buffaloes, etc. But there was a wicked lion in the forest. All animals were afraid of him. He attacked and killed them even when he was not really hungry.The animals were frightened and fed up. They could

Long, long ago, in south India, there was a city called Mahilaropyam. It had a wise and learned king named Amarshakti. But he was a very unhappy man.He had three sons and all of them were very foolish. No amount of effort had made them either wise or intelligent. This worried the king immensely. Finally,