When the teachers failed to impart knowledge to the frivolour princes, Pandit Vishnu Sharma promised the king that he could put sense into them through moral stories. He did it and the princes became astute Youngman.

That is the background of the creation of Panchatantra. It proves that the teacher knew the basic principles of education and was well versed with child psychology. He taught the princes wisdom and common sense through a series of engaging stories featuring birds and animals which later became famous all over the world. The stories make several volumes. The stories became an inspiration and the models fro thousand of other stories created later on.

The stories are simple but the message is sublime and they touch the heart in a very natural way.

When the herd the elephants would pass that way thousands of rats would get crushed under their hooves.

The king of rats requested to the king of elephants to change his route. He said that may be some day he would be about to pay back kindness in some way if he was obliged.

The elephant king obliged and changed the route of his herd.

Some time later, the hunters laid traps for elephants. The king elephant got trapped. The king rat heard the cry and realized that ht elephant was in trouble. He gathered his rat army and raced to the trapped elephant king. They gnawed away the ropes of ths trap and greed the elephants.

Don't ignore someone because of his size. No one knows when you will require the help of whom.

Foreword

Living is an art. One who knows how to live never faces any defeat in life. For him a defeat becomes a rung of the ladder of success. The philosophy of life is to know the basic rulers and prepare one to face adverse conditions and situations. That is why for a worldly wise one the word impossible is meaningless. Fate is the alibi of cowards and idlers.

One ancestors were masters in simplifying a complex matter. Panchatantra is the best example of it. They devised a simple way of explaining the complicated situations through the stories of animals and birds. The stories are endearingly simple yet they reveal a great philosophical depth. That is their real beauty.

Whatever wisdom the stories pass on to the listeners or the readers enables them to apply it in their own lives in similar situations. Then, one really appreciates the value of these stories.

These fascinating stories click into the minds of the young readers and educate them while entertaining. The adults also find them as interesting and educative as they were when they read them in their childhood.

Panchatantra stories are truly for ever and for all.