The five tantras in Panchatantra
Stories always remind me of my grandma, she always narrated new stories every day and we were very excited to listen to her stories. In the past before the invention of electronic devices, our grandmas were the ones who always kept us entertained by telling our own stories. Panchatantra is a collection of ancient short stories, which is believed to have been written by Vishnu Sharma a great Indian scholar and an author during the establishment of the Gupta era. Animal characters are used to narrate the stories of Panchatantra, which are very interesting for the children. These stories were used to teach children hand-down values and customs, even now these stories are very popular to inculcate moral values in a child.
Panchatantra is a Sanskrit work which is based on the five principles:
- Mitra Bhedha-losing friends.
A very first tantra, which shows that losing a friend for our selfish behaviour, the bull and the lion.
- Mitra Laabha-gain friends.
The second tantra, says how to gain one’s friendship or how one can be a friend.
- Suhrudbheda-conflict between friends.
The third tantra is all about an enemy who can never be trusted in any state of life.
- Vigraha-segregation.
The fourth tantra explains that you may lose what you have gained if you become too greedy.
- Sandhi-alliance.
The very last tantra describes the ill effects of taking rash action without deliberating on the consequences.
The reason for the success of the Panchatantra is its ability to imply moral value by mentioning that the method of learning is interactive, voluntary, reflective, and open which stays in children’s minds for a long time. Based on these five tantras there are some beautiful short stories which are very interesting and loved by all the children. The stories are not only interesting but also have some moral values which are very important for the children. Yes, it is very difficult for a child to inculcate moral values but not impossible. To bring change in the child it is very important to be assured of what the child sees around. These Panchatantra help you to mould the child’s emotions and inherit some moral values.
At National Public CBSE School in Sarjapur Road, we do enforce the child to read stories during their free hours. Reading the story at bedtime is the best practice where the child improves their reading skills and develops their cognitive skills.
The stories like Foolish lion and a clever Rabbit, Gold Giving Serpent, Little Mice and Big Elephants are all based on the five tantras of Panchatantra.
These short stories of Panchatantra have good vocabulary and are very interesting to read. National Public School near Sarjapur Road has a very good library with a lot of informative books and novels to read.
At National Public CBSE School in Sarjapur Road during the co-curriculum class, we use these types of moral stories to be enacted to spread the value in every child and learn better. The curriculum of the National Public CBSE School in Sarjapur Road is so well designed with some activities where children learn through narrative learning which is one of the methods of teaching during the Vedic age. National Public CBSE School is the best CBSE school on Sarjapur Road as we understand every child’s needs and interests.
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