Visnu Sarma - The Panchatantra

Vowels:

The line on top of a vowel indicates that it is long.

a (short) as the u in but

(long) as the a in far

i (short) as the i in sit

(long) as the ee in sweet

u (short) as the u in put

(long) as the oo in cool

r with a dot is a vowel like the i in first or u in further

e is always a long vowel like a in mate

ai as the i in pile

o is always long as the o in pole

ow as the ow in owl

Consonants:

k, b and p are the same as in English

kh is aspirated

g as in goat

gh is aspirated

is ch as in church or cello

h is aspirated as in chhota

j as in jewel

jh is aspirated

t and d are hard when dotted below as in talk and dot

tt is the aspirated sound

dd is aspirated

n when dotted is a dental; the tongue has to curl back to touch the palate.

n as in king

t undotted is a th as in thermal

th is aspirated

d undotted is a soft soundthere is no corresponding English sound, the Russian da is the closest.

dh is aspirated

ph and bh are aspirated

The Sanskrit v is an English w

There are three sibilants in Sanskrit: S as in song, as in shover and a palatal which is in between, e.g. iva.

The authorship, dates and provenance of ancient Sanskrit texts have always been problematic. The Panatantra is no exception. And in this case the problem is further complicated by the fact that the work belongs to the age-old oral tradition of which storytelling is an important part.

Storytelling has its origins in pre-literate societies of the distant past, where it was a communal activity. No story is ever told the same way twice; no song is ever sung the same way twice. Names and dates are difficult to pin accurately and securely to works in the oral tradition.

The author of the Panatantra is a storyteller of hoary antiquity, an almost legendary figure like Vysa (a word that literally means compiler or editor) whom tradition declares to be the author of the Mahbhrata. In fact we know a little more about the author of the Mahbhrata than we do about the author of the Panatantra. Tradition ascribes this fabulous work to one Visnu arma. But we know nothing about this gifted author who, judging from the artistry displayed in the text he is credited with having composed, brought storytelling to such heights of sophistication; who in fact created a literary genre of storytelling; who had many imitators over the centuries, none of them his equal.

Sometimes the name Visnu arma is given as one of the names of Visnugupta nakya (son of anaka), the author of the Arthastra. But there is no evidence to show that the author of the Arthastra also wrote a Nitistra, the term used to describe the Panatantra; there is nothing to prove the contrary either.

Who then is Visnu arma? His name occurs in the Preamble to the text, nowhere else. He is a celebrated teacher living in Mahilropya, a place unidentified except by H. H. Wilson who suggests that it might be Mayilpura, Peacock City, now part of the capital of Tamil Nadu. As he says of himself, he is eighty years of age, has no worldly desires and concerns; and he is successful in educating three very refractory princes in six months time through storytelling, so that they become expert in the art of government. Then he fades away leaving behind an impersonal voice. This is not much to go upon. And what little there is about Visnu arma is all in the text; it is part of the story-book world.

We are therefore left with two possibilities to consider in relation to the identity of the author of the Panatantra. Visnu arma might have been the name of the storyteller/author who had the imagination and the artistry to first shape a floating body of talespopular and moral tales, fairytales and folkloreinto the artistic whole with the complex and unique structure and well-defined purpose that the