Synopses & Reviews
Widely read and beloved for more than a thousand years, the
Hitopadesa (Book of Good Counsels) is an anthology of folk wisdom that offers humorous and profound reflections on human lives and loves, philosophies and follies. Drawing on traditional sources, Narayana presents classic tales as narrated by animals, resulting in a work that is a fascinating blend of fable and satire.
Synopsis
Composed between 800 and 950 AD, Narayana's Hitopadesa is one of the best-known of all works in Sanskrit literature. A fascinating collection of fables, maxims and sayings in verse, it combines a wide variety of writings from earlier authors in one volume - a 'garden of pleasing stories' created to provide guidance, wisdom and political advice to the reader. With elegance and great humour, Narayana weaves a framework for the classic tales, here narrated by animals who quote from and reflect on stories from the Pancatantra and other traditional sources. At once an anthology of folk wisdom and an original and satirical work in its own right, the Hitopadesa has been deeply admired and widely read for more than a thousand years for its humorous and profound reflections on human lives, loves, follies and philosophies.
About the Author
Narayana is thought to have lived in eastern India in the ninth century.
A.N.D. Haksar was educated at the universities of Allahabad and Oxford and has translated various classics from Sanskrit.