Hitopadeśaहितोपदेश
Fables that teach worldly wisdom. 1 passage in the chapters come from it.
- What it is
- Prose fables with verse maxims, in four books
- Composed
- Between the 9th and 14th centuries CE
- By
- Nārāyaṇa, writing for a king named Dhavalacandra
- References on this site
- Book.verse; editions number the verses differently.
“Good counsel”: animal fables told to teach princes nīti, the practical wisdom of getting on in the world, drawn largely from the older Pañcatantra. Its four books are on winning friends, losing them, war and peace. Its verse maxims, spoken by the characters, have long circulated on their own as proverbs. It was among the first Sanskrit works translated in Europe; Charles Wilkins' English version appeared in 1787.
Read it in full
- Edwin Arnold's The Book of Good Counsels (1861), in Hindu Literature (1900), at Project Gutenberg (free, opens another site)
Translations in print
- Judit Törzsök, Friendly Advice (Clay Sanskrit Library, 2007)
Names with marks such as ā, ṣ or ṛ are explained in how to read the names and terms.
The passage the chapters quote
- My viewUnit 2 · Groups, Teams and Leadership
Joined effort towards one result and small things joined
Read it in its chapter“Even small things, when joined, can accomplish a task; elephants in rut are bound by ropes made of grass.” अल्पानामपि वस्तूनां संहतिः कार्यसाधिका । तृणैर्गुणत्वमापन्नैर्बध्यन्ते मत्तदन्तिनः । alpānām api vastūnāṃ saṃhatiḥ kārya-sādhikā; tṛṇair guṇatvam āpannair badhyante matta-dantinaḥ. Hitopadeśa 1.35
Cite this page
- APA
Veda Verse. (2026, October 25). Hitopadeśa: what it is, and the passages we quote. https://myvedaverse.in/learn/texts/hitopadesha
- MLA
“Hitopadeśa: what it is, and the passages we quote.” Veda Verse, 25 Oct. 2026, myvedaverse.in/learn/texts/hitopadesha.
- Chicago
Veda Verse. “Hitopadeśa: what it is, and the passages we quote.” Last modified October 25, 2026. https://myvedaverse.in/learn/texts/hitopadesha.
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