Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c13.94

c13.94

In Sanskrit and Pāli literatures the didactic fable occupies a high place as an instrument of ethical and political instruction. Charming fables occur in such early compositions as the Upaniṣads and the Mahābhārata. But it was the glory of Buddhist literary craftsmanship to have developed this branch of literature to its full extent. The Avadānas and the Jātakas rank among the glories of Indian lore. Jainas and Brāhmaṇas felt the impulse and from the fourth century A.D., if not earlier, commences a long line of story books which have never altogether ceased. Owing to the Hindu conception of the unity of life, animals play as large a part as human beings in the tales. There can be no doubt that these works were originally composed in the language in which they are preserved. The theory that the stories and even the epics had first been composed in some Prākṛit and were then turned into Sanskrit has now been shown to be wholly untenable. The Tantrākhyāyika, preserved in Kashmir and perhaps composed there, is in any case earlier than the 6th century and may go back to the 4th century A.D.² Its avowed purpose is Nīti instruction. It refers to Kauṭalya and shows traces of Arthaśāstra influence.³