A History of Sanskrit Literature c17.19

c17.19

A similar collection of fables is the celebrated *Hitopadeça*, or "Salutary Advice," which, owing to its intrinsic merit, is one of the best known and most popular works of Sanskrit literature in India, and which, because of its suitability for teaching purposes, is read by nearly all beginners of Sanskrit in England. It is based chiefly on the *Panchatantra*, in which twenty-five of its forty-three fables are found. The first three books of the older collection have been, in the main, drawn upon; for there is but one story, that of the ass in the tiger's skin, taken from Book IV., and only three from Book V. The introduction is similar to that of the *Panchatantra*, but the father of the ignorant and vicious princes is here called Sudarçana of Pāṭaliputra (Patna). The *Hitopadeça* is divided into four books. The framework and titles of the first two agree with the first two of the *Panchatantra*, but in inverted order. The third and fourth books are called "War" and "Peace" respectively, the main story describing the conflict and reconciliation of the Geese and the Peacocks.