Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.802

c7.802

HITOPADEŚA. A book written in Sanskrit on the basis of the Pañcatantra. It is a collection of forty-three stories, and twentyfive of the stories are found in the Pañcatantra. There is also not much difference in the stories, about the origin of the two books. The author of Hitopadeśa is considered to be one Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita, a dependant of King Dhavalacandra. Of the manuscripts available of the book, the oldest one is dated 1373 A.D. It has been surmised that the book was written somewhere between the 10th and 12th centuries A.D.