The Pancatantra of Vishnusharman (prescribed selections)

The Pancatantra ('Five Treatises' or 'Five Books') is the most famous collection of beast-fables in Sanskrit and one of the most widely translated books in the world. It is a niti-shastra - a treatise on niti, the practical wisdom of conduct, statecraft and worldly success - cast in the delightful form of animal stories. A framing tale (the Kathamukha, or 'preface') explains its origin: a king despairs of his three dull, idle sons, and the wise old brahmin Vishnusharman undertakes to make them masters of niti within six months by teaching them through a series of interwoven fables.

The work is divided into five books (tantras), each illustrating a branch of practical wisdom: I. Mitra-bheda ('The Separation of Friends'), in which a wicked, greedy jackal destroys the great friendship of a lion and a bull; II. Mitra-samprapti ('The Winning of Friends'), in which a crow, mouse, tortoise and deer survive by loyal friendship; III. Kakolukiya ('Of Crows and Owls'), on the conduct of enemies, war and peace; IV. Labdha-pranasha ('The Loss of What Has Been Gained'), in which a monkey outwits a crocodile; and V. Apariksita-karaka ('Ill-considered Action'), warning against rash deeds. Within each book, stories are nested inside stories ('emboxing'), and the morals are pointed by memorable verses.

The prescribed selection focuses on the frame story and the opening of Book I, the most celebrated of the five, which shows how slander and greed can poison even the strongest friendship.