The Panchatantram or Panchatantra is one of the earliest collections of fables, written in India more than two thousand five hundred years ago. The Panchatantra means “Five Principles”, it is known in Europe as the Fables of Bidpai. The original Panchatantram were in Sanskrit language and it is an ancient Indian organized collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a story format.
Some of the tales in the Panchatantra can be traced as far back as 1500 BC to the ancient Sanskrit text from the Rig Veda. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma.
