[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975) › c8.1750 # Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.1750 Purāṇic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Purāṇic Literature c8.1750 - **Language:** English ### [c8.1750](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.1750) 2) A general idea of the book. The book contains five divisions each division illustrating one tantra (tact, diplomacy) by several stories. It contains prose and verse. The first tantra is called Mitrabheda. Stories under this head explain the philosophy of "Divide and rule" in politics. The main characters in these stories are two foxes named Karaṭaka and Damanaka. Stories under Mitrabheda relate to how these sly foxes enjoy themselves in breaking the intimacy between a lion and an ox using slander against each other. 'Mitralābha' is the theme of the next tantra. It is an advice that you should select your friends with care selecting them only after studying them in detail properly. The author has selected as characters in his stories for this purpose a tortoise, a deer, a crow and a rat. The third tantra is called Kākolūkīya. This deals with the evils behind an intimacy between born enemies. The main characters in the stories relating to this are a crow and an owl. The fourth tantra is called Labdhapraṇāśa. It describes how a man loses what has come into his possession by his foolishness. A monkey and a crocodile are the characters in this story. The fifth tantra is Aparikṣitakāraka. It deals with the bad side of not looking into all the possible aspects of what you hear. Several stories are there to illustrate this point. - [Previous: c8.1749](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.1749) - [Next: c8.1751](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.1751) - [Up: c8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.1750](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.1750) · Pramāṇa