Yagyadatta A poor man. His name means ‘one who has been given by or at a sacrifice’.
PART 2: THE GAINING OF FRIENDS
Brihatsphik An ascetic, and a friend of Tamrachuda. His name means ‘one who has a large bottom’.
Chitragriva King of the pigeons. His name means ‘one who has a bright or speckled neck’.
Chitranga A deer. His name means ‘one who has a spotted or bright body’.
Guptadhana A miserly merchant who lived in the city of Bardhaman. His name means ‘secret or hidden wealth’.
Hiranyaka A mouse. His name means ‘one who is the colour of gold’.
Karman A strange and fearsome being that Somilaka the weaver overheard in the forest in conversation with Karta. The name means ‘an act or a deed that has been done’.
Karta A strange and fearsome being that Somilaka the weaver overheard in the forest in conversation with Karman. The name means ‘doer’.
Laghupatanaka A crow. His name means ‘light-winged’ or ‘swift-flying’.
Mantharaka A turtle. His name means ‘one who moves slowly’.
Somilaka A weaver.
Tamrachuda A mendicant. His name means ‘one with a coppery red topknot’.
Upabhuktadhana A profligate merchant who lived in the city of Bardhaman. His name means ‘wealth that is enjoyed’.
PART 3: OF CROWS AND OWLS
Anujivi A crow, minister to Meghavarna. His name means ‘one who lives dependent on another’, or ‘follower’.
Arimardana King of the owls. His name means ‘the crusher of foes’, or ‘the destroyer of enemies’.
Chaturadanta An elephant chief. His name means ‘the one who has four tusks’.
Chiranjivi A crow, minister to Meghavarna. His name means ‘one who lives forever’.
Chitraratha A king, owner of the lake of lotuses. His name means ‘one with a bright chariot’.
Dadhipuchchha A jackal. The literal meaning of his name is ‘one with a curd tail’, which most probably refers to the white colour of his tail; thus, his name can be taken to mean ‘the one with a tail as white as curd’.
Devashakti A king. His name means ‘divine strength’.
Diptaksha An owl, minister to the owl king Arimardana. His name means ‘one with blazing eyes’.
Drona A poor brahmin. His name means ‘a wooden vessel or trough’.
Haridatta A poor brahmin. His name means ‘the gift of the god, Hari’.
Hemvarna A golden bird. His name means ‘gold-coloured’.
Jalapada A great big frog, chief of the frogs in his pond. His name means ‘one with webbed feet’.
Kapinjala A sparrow. His name means ‘yellow or gold-coloured’.
Kharanakhara A lion. His name means ‘sharp claw’.
Krikalika A bird who works as a spy for the owls. The word means ‘partridge’, but it is not clear in the story whether this is used as a proper name for the character, or as a general name to indicate the kind of bird.
Krurakarma A thief. His name means ‘cruel actions’, or ‘evil deeds’.
Kruraksha An owl, minister to the owl king Arimardana. His name means ‘one with cruel eyes’.
Lambakarna A clever rabbit. His name means ‘one with long ears’.
Mandavisha A wily old snake. His name means ‘one with weak venom’.
Meghavarna King of the crows. His name means ‘cloud-coloured’, or ‘dark like the rain clouds’.
Mitrasharma A brahmin. His name means ‘the joy or delight of friends’.
Prajivi A crow, minister to Meghavarna. His name means ‘one who lives independent of any other’.
Prakarakarna An owl, minister to the owl king Arimardana. His name means ‘one with ears like ramparts’.
Raktaksha An owl, the only wise minister of the owl king Arimardana. His name means ‘one with red eyes’.
Sanjivi A crow, minister to Meghavarna. His name means ‘one who restores the dead to life’.
Satyavachan A pishach (a fierce and malignant spirit, said to haunt cremation grounds and graveyards). His name means ‘true statement’, or ‘truth-speaking’.
Sindhuka A magical bird whose droppings would turn to gold as soon as they touched the ground. The meaning of his name is not certain—it could refer to the shrub Vitex negundo, known as sambhalu in Hindi, the leaves of which are used for medicinal purposes, or it could mean ‘born of the ocean’.
Sthirajivi A crow, minister to Meghavarna. His name means ‘one who lives a long life’.
Tikshadanta A cat. His name means ‘sharp-toothed’.
Ujjivi A crow, minister to Meghavarna. His name means ‘one who can come to life again’.
Vakranasa An owl, minister to the owl king Arimardana. His name means ‘one with a curved or crooked beak’.
Vijayadatta King of the rabbits who lives on the moon. His name means ‘one who is the gift of victory’.
Yagyavalkya A rishi, chief of a hermitage on the banks of the river Ganga.
PART 4: THE LOSS OF GAINS
Chitranga A dog. His name means ‘one with a spotted or dappled body’.
Dhusara A jackal, follower of the lion Karalakesara. His name means ‘grey’, or ‘of a dusty-white colour’.
Gangadatta King of the frogs. His name means ‘the gift of the river Ganga’.
Karalakesara A lion. His name means ‘one with a formidable or large mane’.
Karalamukha A crocodile. His name means ‘one who has a terrifying face with formidable and protruding teeth’.
Lambakarna A foolish donkey. His name means ‘one with long ears’.
Mahachaturaka A very clever jackal. His name means ‘one who is extremely cunning or shrewd’.
Priyadarshana A big, black serpent. His name means ‘pleasing to the sight’, or ‘handsome’.
Raktamukha A monkey. His name means ‘red-face’.
Shuddhapata A washerman. His name means ‘clean clothes’.
Ujjwalaka A chariot-maker. His name means ‘a simple and respectable man’.
Yamunadatta A frog, son of Gangadatta, king of the frogs. His name means ‘gift of the river Yamuna’.
Yudhishthira A potter. His name means ‘one who is firm in battle’. It is also the name of the eldest of the Pandava princes in the Mahabharata, the personification of righteousness and the one who never told a lie.
PART 5: UNCONSIDERED ACTIONS
Bhairavananda A yogi. His name means ‘one who finds bliss in Lord Bhairava’.
Chakradhara The man with the wheel upon his head. His name means ‘one who bears a wheel’.
Chandra A king. His name means ‘the moon’.
Devasharma A brahmin. His name means ‘one whose joy or refuge is the gods’.
Ekabuddhi A frog. Literally, ‘one knowledge’, his name can be interpreted to mean one who has limited intelligence or understanding.
Manibhadra A merchant. His name means ‘excellent or precious jewels’.
Mantharaka A weaver. His name means ‘one who moves slowly’.
Padmanidhi A Jain monk about whom the merchant Manibhadra had a dream. His name refers to one of the nine treasures belonging to Kubera, the god of wealth.
Sahastrabuddhi A clever fish. Literally, ‘thousand knowledge’, his name can be interpreted to mean one who is extremely clever and learned.
Shatabuddhi A clever fish. Literally, ‘hundred knowledge’, or one who is clever and learned.
Somasharma The name of the imaginary son of the miserly brahmin. His name means ‘one whose joy is the moon’.
Subuddhi One of four friends. His name means ‘one who has good sense, or is wise’.
Suvarnasiddhi One of the four friends, who found a mine of gold. His name means ‘he who has found gold’.
Uddhata A donkey. His name means ‘one who is rude and conceited’.
* You can find the illustration at: http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Kalila-wa-Dimna_7a.jpg
* M.R. Kale, trans. and ed., Pancatantra of Visnṇuśarman, second edition (
Varanasi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1969).
† Shyamacharan Pande, trans. and ed., Panchatantram, first edition (Varanasi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1975).
‡ Arthur William Ryder, trans., Panchatantra, sixth impression (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1955). The four additional tales that I have included in my translation are: The Story of the Tiger, the Monkey, the Snake and the Man; The Story of the Wild Goose and the Owl; and The Story of the Wild Geese and the Bird Catcher, in Part 1; and The Story of the Elephants and the Mice in Part 2.
Read More in Puffin Classics
Listen, O King!
Five-and-Twenty Tales of Vikram and the Vetal
SIVADASA
Translated from the Sanskrit and retold by Deepa Agarwal
‘If you know the answer and do not respond, your head will shatter into pieces!’
In a land of glorious kings, bloodthirsty demons and talking spirits was born the lore of Vikram and the vetal. After a series of mysterious events, King Vikramaditya carries the vetal, a witty ghost, on a long journey through Death’s playground. The vetal narrates the most fascinating tales and asks the most puzzling riddles, leaving Vikram completely stumped.
An ascetic who brings his beloved back from the dead, a giant bird that journeys to the underworld to fetch the elixir of life, a servant who sacrifices his life for his ruler, and a woman too beautiful to marry a king are some of the amazing characters that await you within these pages.
Deepa Agarwal’s beautiful adaptation brings age-old wisdom alive through the vetal’s wondrous tales of glory, love and honour that are bound to captivate and confound readers even today.
Read More in Puffin Classics
Chandrakanta
Devakinandan Khatri
Translated from the Hindi and retold by Deepa Agarwal
Chandrakanta’s eyes grew wide when she discovered a huge stone crane right in the middle of the ruins. The moment she drew closer, the bird opened its mouth. Alarmed, Chandrakanta moved away, and accidentally stepped on a stone slab. Immediately, the crane swung around, opened its beak and swallowed Chandrakanta!
The dashing Prince Virendra of Naugarh is madly in love with the breathtakingly beautiful Princess Chandrakanta of Vijaygarh. But there are obstacles galore in the paths of the lovers. There are evil ministers with sinister magicians at their beck and call, enemy kings only too happy to go into battle, masters of disguise who can fool the cleverest of spies, and magic all around. Then Chandrakanta gets trapped in a fantastic maze, from which only Virendra can rescue her. But will he be able to decipher the clues, follow the trail correctly and get to her before it is too late? And will their friends, Tej Singh, Chapla and the others, help them adequately with their deep knowledge of the art of divination and disguise?
A rollicking story of fantasy and adventure, Chandrakanta has been read and loved since 1888, when the book was published serially in short chapters. The first mystery novel in Hindi, and the biggest popular bestseller of its age, Chandrakanta was a trailblazer. This modern translation and retelling of a gem from Indian literature is sure to mesmerize a new generation of readers.
THE BEGINNING
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This collection published 2017
Copyright © Rohini Chowdhury 2017
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ISBN: 978-0-143-33433-0
This digital edition published in 2017.
e-ISBN: 978-9-386-49543-3
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Panchatantra Page 25