নীতিশিক্ষা: হিতোপদেশের লোকায়ত দর্পণে
Special Issue June 2023
Volume-XI, Special Issue, June 2023 | ||
Published Online: 30.06.2025 | Page No: 56-63 | |||
নীতিশিক্ষা:
হিতোপদেশের লোকায়ত দর্পণে
ড.
মৃন্ময় চক্রবর্ত্তী,
রাজ্য সাহায্যপ্রাপ্ত কলেজ শিক্ষক, সংস্কৃত বিভাগ, পাঁচমুড়া
মহাবিদ্যালয়, বাঁকুড়া, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত | |
Moral Instruction: A Folk Reflection in Hitopadesha Dr. Mrinmoy Chakraborty, State-Aided College Teacher, Department of Sanskrit, Panchmura Mahavidyalaya, Bankura, West Bengal, India | |
19th-century Indologists attributed the text to Vishnu Sharma, a narrator and character that
often appears in its fables. Upon the discovery of the oldest known manuscript of the text in
Nepal, dated to 1373, and the preparation of a critical edition, scholars generally accept
the authority of its two concluding verses. These verses mention Narayana as the author
and a king called Dhavala Chandra as the patron of the text. But as no other work by this
author is known, and since the ruler mentioned has not been traced in other sources, we
know almost nothing of either of them. Dating the work is therefore problematic. There are
quotations within it from 8th century works and other internal evidence may point to an
East Indian origin during the later Pala Empire (8th-12th century).
Narayana says that the purpose of creating the work is to encourage proficiency in
Sanskrit expression (samskrita-uktishu) and knowledge of wise behaviour (niti-vidyam).
This is done through the telling of moral stories in which birds, beasts and humans interact.
Interest is maintained through the device of enclosed narratives in which a story is
interrupted by an illustrative tale before resuming. The style is elaborate and there are
frequent pithy verse interludes to illustrate the points made by the various speakers. On
account of these, which provide by far the greater part of the text, the work has been
described as an anthology of (sometimes contradictory) verses from widespread sources
relating to statecraft.
The Hitopadesha is quite similar to the ancient Sanskrit classic, the Panchatantra,
another collection of fables with morals. Both have an identical frame story, although the
Hitopadesha differs by having only four divisions to the ancient text's five. According to
Ludwik Sternbach's critical edition of the text, the Panchatantra is the primary source of
some 75% of the Hitopadesha's content, while a third of its verses can be traced to the
Panchatantra. In his own introductory verses, Narayana acknowledges that he is indebted
to the Panchatantra and 'another work'. The latter is unknown but may possibly be the
Dharmasastras or some other.
The Hitopadesha is organized into four books, with a preface section called Prastavika.
The opening verse expresses reverence to the Hindu god Ganesha and goddess There are several versions of the text available, though the versions are quite
similar unlike other ancient and medieval era Hindu texts wherein the versions vary
significantly. The shortest version has 655 verses, while the longest has 749 verses. In the
version translated by Wilkins, the first book of Hitopadesha has nine fables, the second and
third each have ten, while the fourth has thirteen fables. |