Wisdom of the Animal Stories.
Of Rulers, Life, Teachers, and Children.
A reader in the chat threads asked me about the ‘Panchatantra,’ or the beloved ancient animal stories of India.
These stories were communicated orally through the centuries and are now traced in written form as far back as 200 CE, though they are believed have originated earlier than that period. A Persian written version of the tales has been traced to 500 CE.
The authorship is attributed mostly to a person named Vishnu Sharma, though the collection may have been expanded by others as well through the ages.
They are considered ‘niti’1 stories - niti being the Sanskrit term for conduct, behavior, or action.
Many children learn them at home, from grandparents, extended families or through comic books.
Interestingly, modern schools do not carry these stories as part of the curriculum - though they have ‘moral science’ classes.
Now, animation videos and digital storytelling has made these stories more accessible to kids.2
How did these stories originate?
The most commonly accepted origin story3 is this: A king had three foolish sons who spent their time immersed in the ancient equivalent of streaming, gaming, aimlessly spending, and idling their time on unproductive activities.
They did not show any inclination or interest in learning the ropes of running the kingdom or handling their responsibilities.
The wise king despaired of his sons.
He tried every known method and brought various teachers to educate his sons and reform their ways, to no avail.
After many teachers gave up hope of educating the three sons, one of his advisors suggested a man named Vishnu Sharma, who was reputed to be wise and naturally gifted as a teacher.
The king was desperate to try anything by this time.
So he met the teacher and shared his sorrow of having such unworthy sons.
He pleaded with the teacher to help his sons amend their ways and handle their future roles wisely.
The teacher listened attentively and then offered to take up the job, on the condition that the king leave his sons with him for a year and not interfere or connect with them in any way.
The sons would be boarded in the ashram and had to do everything the teacher said.
On completion of their education and training, the teacher would send word to the king.
The king, surprised, agreed.
Despite the protests of the foolish sons, taken from their comfortable dwellings and daily luxuries, they were escorted to the teacher’s ashram and instructed to remain there for as long as the teacher wished.
The sons assumed the posture of rebellious teenagers, bristling at this unseemly treatment of princes.
In the forest, there was no staff, no help, no one to treat them royally, no friends, and no other distractions.
But the teacher did not instruct them in any scientific or formal teaching.
Instead, every day under the open sky, beneath the trees in the lush forest, he told them stories.
The rest of the time they had to do the chores assigned to them by the teacher, and were treated no differently than any other student that the teacher may have had.
The stories they heard were tales of animals who could speak as humans, of friendships between different species, of bonds that were formed, betrayed and protected, of the wise and foolish ways among humans and animals, and mostly of animals.
Each story had a theme, a relevance, a practical lesson, and a moral takeaway.
Through these stories, the teacher showed the sons how to live, survive, and thrive and answered their questions.
Gradually, the stories became enchanting in themselves, and the sons started to lose their laziness.
They eagerly looked forward to the time spent with the teacher, and listening to the fulsome stories.
After all, who doesn’t love a good talking animal story?
A year passed.
The king eagerly anticipated being sent word by the teacher.
When it arrived, he rushed, though with trepidation, as his expectations were low.
When he reached the ashram, the teacher had him be seated and called for the king’s three sons.
In place of the foolish children he had sent to the teacher, three mature teenagers came at the teacher’s calling and stood by him.
They bowed to the king and sought his pardon.
The teacher then posed to the three sons different philosophical, administrative, and life questions and scenarios and asked for their views.
Each teen answered the questions with practical wisdom and an understanding that would never have been attributable to them earlier.
The king was overjoyed and embraced his three sons.
He thanked the teacher profusely and took his sons back to the kingdom.
In time, the eldest came to rule the kingdom, ably assisted by his brothers.
So, the Panchatantra was born.
In Sanskrit - ‘Panch’ = Five; ‘Tantra’ = Philosophy, Treatise, Principles, etc.
The five themes under which the stories are collated are:
Differences Among Friends
Gain Through Friends
Of Crows and Owls
Losing What You Gained
Ill-thought Actions
Each of the themes has tens to hundreds of stories that have continually evolved and remain popular.
I am sharing one of my favorites today - I hope you like it!
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A friendly monkey lived in the trees by the banks of a river, fortunate to have access to the beautiful environs and a large mango tree with the sweetest tasting mangoes4 found anywhere.
The monkey swung from the trees playfully, enjoyed a mango or two when desired, and spent his time exploring his surroundings.
One day, a crocodile5 slinked onto the bank of the river near the mango tree.
He watched silently as the monkey ate a mango sitting high on a low branch.
After a while, the kind monkey felt conscious of his stare and offered to share the tree’s bounty.
The crocodile beamed and accepted the offer.
The monkey threw him a mango, and the crocodile gobbled it up greedily.
Once the fruit was shared, a friendship was born.
The monkey on its tree at first, and the crocodile on the river bank, talked of several things under the sun - of topics peculiar to their species, their surroundings, and whatever took their fancy.
Soon, the crocodile made it a habit to visit the monkey often and enjoying the day more.
Over time, the friendship blossomed as the monkey learned to trust the crocodile and came down from the tree, even getting free rides on the crocodile's back for short distances.
They were happy in each other’s company.
One day Mrs. Crocodile began to quiz the crocodile who seemed altogether too happy without cause for such may be the influence of a good friend.
Gradually, she learned of the sweet mangoes, the lunchtime hangouts, and the monkey.
Now, the wife wanted to eat the sweet mangoes too.
So the crocodile promised to bring her some the next day.
Off he went excitedly to meet his new friend and shared his wife's wish.
The monkey was happy to share, and given that this was his friend’s wife, he shared extra, sending with the crocodile the best and juiciest fruits.
Mrs. Crocodile loved the mangoes.
She wholeheartedly agreed with her husband on how sweet they were.
After finishing the set of mangoes the monkey had sent, that night, when both were sleeping, the wife began to think.
Over the next few days, she said nothing, enjoying the mangoes daily.
Finally, she hinted to the crocodile the question uppermost on her mind, "If the mangoes of this tree are this sweet, can you imagine how much sweeter the monkey’s heart must be since he has been feeding on them for so long?"
The crocodile was unsure what she meant.
His wife explained, "I must have his heart to taste its sweetness, this thought consumes me. If you love me, dear husband, bring me his heart, or I shall die."
The crocodile at first tried to dissuade his wife over many days from desiring to eat his friend’s heart.
But the wife was adamant: "It is me or your friend, choose."
Faced with this ultimatum, the crocodile had no more arguments to make.
The next day, a rather glum crocodile swam slowly to the tree to meet his friend.
The monkey welcomed him and asked why he was glum.
The crocodile said his wife was unhappy with him because he had spoken so much of their friendship but had not introduced his friend to her.
His wife was eager to meet the monkey and offer their hospitality.
The monkey laughed, "That’s all? Sure, come on, let’s go now."
So saying, he hopped onto the crocodile’s back, and the animal swam across the wide river, seemingly to go to his house.
At first, the monkey enjoyed the ride atop the crocodile and talked of many things.
The crocodile kept silent, but as they entered the middle of the river, where it was deeper, the crocodile thought it prudent to explain to the monkey the real reason for his wife’s invitation.
It was only fair, he thought.
A bit regretfully, he spilled the entire story ending in the ultimatum issued by her - either the monkey’s heart or her life.
Hearing this, the monkey got alarmed. His friend intended to kill him.
Outwardly calm, he laughed. "My heart? But of course, your wife is right, my heart is indeed very sweet. But my friend, why did you not tell me this earlier? I would have brought it with me."
The crocodile paused mid-stream. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Do you really think I carry my heart everywhere? I am a monkey and my body is different than yours. My heart, I keep safely in the same mango tree you see me on daily. Why else do you think I live there?”
I am glad to be of service to you and your wife, but if you want to please your wife, we need to go back and get my heart to take her. “
The crocodile was pleased to hear the monkey's honesty.
He said, "I am sorry, dear friend. I am glad you wish to help me," and turned course to take the monkey back to the river bank.
As soon as the edge of the waters neared, the monkey jumped off the crocodile's back and clambered up the mango tree as fast and as high as he felt was safe.
The crocodile waited patiently by the tree. "Dear monkey, when will you bring me your heart? It is getting late."
The monkey laughed, "Foolish creature, do you really think my heart is outside my body in this tree? To think that I trusted you. You were willing to kill me for the sake of your wife. You do not deserve my friendship. Be on your way; you shall not find me again."
The monkey swung from the branches far away from the bank.
The tricked crocodile lost a valued friendship, the monkey’s trust, and access to the sweet mangoes.
Takeaways? Whatever seems right to you. But mostly:
Be careful of your friends - some may be easily persuaded to do you harm.
Be careful who you befriend - unnatural friendships may not last.
When in trouble, stay calm and use your wits.
Bestow friendship wisely, not every one is deserving of it.
Do you have a favorite story or takeaway ?
Pronounced ‘neeti.’ Know any Indians by this name? :-)
There are some variations to this story, but the essence remains the same. I have taken slight liberties in my retelling.
Any edible fruit works in this context.
So much wisdom here in these stories Jayshree. I read your work to a little East Indian girl whose grandparents come from India, just to give her a taste of her culture.
And interesting yesterday, both you and Melissa Petrie discuss animal folklore in posts yesterday! Reinforcing each others ideas. 💖💖💖 I love those moments!
https://substack.com/home/post/p-145237806
Again a lovely tale of the three sons and words of wisdom and a warning in the monkey and the crocodile.
Thank you, Jayshree, for sharing this with us 💙🙏💫