India
Explore stories associated with Indian traditions, including the Panchatantra, Jataka narratives and regional collections. A tale’s setting, the place where a version was recorded and the history of its publication are different kinds of evidence. Read the source note for the connection supported on each page.
219 stories are in this region right now.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Jackal at the Ram-Fight
A greedy jackal licks blood between two fighting rams and is crushed, while the monk who laughs at him is being robbed by his own disciple.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 3-5
The Jackal and the Drum
A hungry jackal hears a great booming noise on an old battlefield, and instead of running away, he creeps closer to find out what is making it.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The King and the Foolish Monkey
A king makes his pet monkey his sword-bearer, and when a bee lands on the sleeping king, the monkey’s foolish swing ends in disaster.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Story of the Blue Jackal
A hungry jackal falls into a dyer’s indigo vat, rules the forest as a blue king, then howls with his own kind and is torn to pieces.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Tale of Three Fishes
Three fish overhear fishermen planning to net their lake, and each one meets the danger differently: one swims off, one keeps calm, and one does nothing.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 6-8
Meeting a New Friend
A crow flies his friend the mouse to meet an old tortoise, and while the mouse tells how he lost his treasure, a frightened deer comes running out of the trees.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Brahmin’s Wife and the Sesame Seeds
A poor Brahmin warns his wife against hoarding with the tale of a greedy jackal, but when she sets out her sesame seeds to dry, a stray dog spoils the lot.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 6-8
The Crow-Rat Discourse
A crow watches a mouse gnaw a whole flock of pigeons free from a fowler's net, and decides that this is the one friend he must have.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Mice That Set Elephants Free
An elephant king spares the mice of a ruined town, and when hunters trap his herd, thousands of mice gnaw through the ropes to set them free.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 6-8
The Hermit and the Mouse
A kind hermit turns a little mouse into a cat, then a dog, then a tiger to keep it safe, but the proud tiger cannot bear to be reminded where it came from.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 6-8
The Rescue of a Deer
When their friend the deer is caught in a hunter's noose, a crow, a mouse and a slow old tortoise all hurry to save him, and then the tortoise needs saving.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Unlucky Weaver
A weaver impersonates Vishnu to marry a princess, and a threatened war draws the real deity into protecting his own reputation.