Who is traditionally regarded as the author of the Panchatantra?
- A.Narayana Pandita
- B.Vishnu Sharma
- C.Somadeva
- D.Kalidasa
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Vishnu Sharma. The Panchatantra, a collection of animal fables in Sanskrit arranged in five books, is traditionally said to have been composed by Vishnu Sharma to teach practical statecraft to the dull witted sons of a king. Option A, Narayana Pandita, is the author of the Hitopadesha, a later collection in four books that draws on the same stock of stories; the two works are the commonest pair of options in this question. Option C, Somadeva, compiled the Kathasaritsagara in Kashmir, an ocean of tales that contains the Vetala stories, and is therefore a different kind of story collection. Option D, Kalidasa, is the great Sanskrit poet and dramatist of Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghadutam and Raghuvamsham, and wrote no fable collection at all.
Read the full article: Children's Literature and Fables: Authors and Collections
Practice Questions
View allThe Jataka tales are stories of
- A.the earlier births of the Buddha
- B.the exploits of King Vikramaditya
- C.the adventures of the Pandavas
- D.the childhood of Mahavira
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The Jataka tales form part of the Buddhist canon in Pali and number over five hundred.
Read the full explanation →The Panchatantra reached Europe mainly through an Arabic version titled
- A.Kalila wa Dimna
- B.Alf Layla wa Layla
- C.Kitab al-Hind
- D.Shahnama
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The Panchatantra was first rendered into Middle Persian, and from that version it was turned into Arabic as Kalila wa Dimna, the two names being those of the jackals of the first book.
Read the full explanation →International Children's Book Day is observed on 2 April to mark the birthday of
- A.the Brothers Grimm
- B.Hans Christian Andersen
- C.Lewis Carroll
- D.Rudyard Kipling
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The Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen was born on 2 April, and the International Board on Books for Young People chose that date for International Children's Book Day; the same body gives the Hans Christian Andersen Award, often called the little Nobel of children's literature.
Read the full explanation →Mowgli, Baloo and Shere Khan are characters created by
- A.Rudyard Kipling
- B.Robert Louis Stevenson
- C.Roald Dahl
- D.Kenneth Grahame
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Mowgli the boy raised by wolves, Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther, Kaa the python and Shere Khan the tiger are the characters of The Jungle Book, written by Rudyard Kipling and set in the forests of central India.
Read the full explanation →Which Indian writer for children received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra?
- A.R. K. Narayan
- B.Ruskin Bond
- C.Sudha Murty
- D.Anant Pai
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Ruskin Bond, who has lived in Mussoorie for most of his life, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for the collection Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra.
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