Hitopadesha
It incorporates maxims, worldly wisdom and advice on political affairs in simple, elegant language,[2]: ix–xiv and the work has been widely translated.
[3] The oldest manuscript found in Nepal has been dated to the 14th century, and its content and style has been traced to the ancient Sanskrit treatises called the Panchatantra from much earlier.
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.
[2][page needed] 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).
[5] 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 book states that misinformation creates wedge between friends, as does a focus on disagreements, rash action without due investigation and a lack of communication.
[11] The fables in Book 4 state that it is always better to seek peace with seven types of people: the truthful, the virtuous, the just, the strong, the victorious, those with many brothers, and the self-destructing worthless.
[13][2]: 227–230 The text ends with the following, May peace forever yield happiness to all the victorious possessors of the earth, May just men forever be free from adversity, and the fame of those who do good long flourish, May prudence, like a glorious sun shine continually on your breasts, May the earth, with all her vast possessions, long remain for your enjoyment.
[2]: ix–xi Akbar (1542–1605) commended the work of translating the Hitopadesha to his own minister, Abul Fazl, with the suggestion that the poems which often interrupt the narrative should be abridged.
It was the first Sanskrit book to be printed in the Nagari script, when it was published by William Carey in Serampore in 1803–4, with an introduction by Henry Colebrooke.
