Pancatantra (Aparikshitakarakam)

Description

Pancatantra The history of Indian culture may be taken to be the history of Sanskrit literature itself, which is quite ancient. If we want to know the history of our country as also of the world, it is necessary for us to study the history of Sanskrit literature. Much before the alphabet had come into existence in the other countries of the world, India had already created its own world of literature. All this literature is in Sanskrit, which is one of the foremost languages of the world. Sanskrit literature is quite vast and in many cases unique.

This literature was and still continues to be, the moving force in shaping human values, ideas, customs, traditions, manners and even day today routines of all Indians. The wealth of knowledge available in Sanskrit literature is quite limitless. The Vedic literature which possibly is the most extant literature in the world, is in Sanskrit language. Literary works comparable to the best in the world, are also to be found in Sanskrit language.

A unique characterstic feature of Sanskrit literature is the “Sutra” (सूत्र) literature which explains universal truths in pithy and terse sentences or groups of words. Classics like the Rāmāyaņa, Mahābhārata, Bhagavata, the Purāņas, Subhāshitas as also the different literary forms like prose, poetry, champu, etc., are all in Sanskrit language. In addition, source material on such subjects as Medicine, (आयुर्वेद), Astronomy, Architecture, Economics, Political Science.