Hitopdesh

Hitopadesh are didactic stories influenced by the Indian public mind and environment. The stories of Hitopadesh are very simple and understandable. Stories based on various animals and birds are its specialty. The author has created a story-craft through these animals and birds, which has ended with some instructive point. The animals are shown talking about the policy. All the stories seem to be related to each other. Author Narayan Pandit is the author of Hitopadesh. Based on the last verses of the book, the name of its author is known as "Narayan". नारायणेन प्रचरतु रचितः संग्रहोऽयं कथानाम् Narayan created this book called Hitopadesha with the help of Panchatantra and other policy texts. Narayan ji himself has accepted- पञ्चतन्त्रान्तथाडन्यस्माद् ग्रन्थादाकृष्य लिख्यते। The name of its patron is Dhavalchandra. Dhavalchandraji was the Mandalik king of Bengal and Narayan Pandit was the royal poet of King Dhavalchandraji. Narayan's special faith in Shiva is revealed by the invocation and the concluding verse. Composition Period Panchatantra has the first place in the proverbs. Based on the various available translations, its composition is determined around the third century. Panchatantra is the basis of the composition of Hitopadesh. Based on the analysis of the evidence obtained from the stories, some believes that its creation period should be around the 11th century. The Nepali manuscript of Hitopadesh dates back to 1373 AD. Vachaspati Gairola ji has considered its creation around 14th century. In the stories of Hitopadesh, places like Arbudachal (Abu), Pataliputra, Ujjayini, Malwa, Hastinapur, Kanyakubj (Kannauj), Varanasi, Magadha Desh, Kalingadesh etc. are mentioned, in which the origin of the creator and composition is influenced by these places only.

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