Panchatantra Tantrakhyayika

This document is the preface and table of contents for Volume XIV of the Harvard Oriental Series, published in 1915. This volume is titled The Panchatantra: A Collection of Ancient Hindu Tales in its Oldest Recension, the Kashmirian, Entitled Tantrakhyāyika, and it contains the original Sanskrit text, an "editio minor" (a smaller edition), reprinted from a more comprehensive critical edition. The work is attributed to Dr. Johannes Hertel, a professor from Döbeln, Saxony.

Here's a breakdown of the key information and content:

The Work and Its Significance:

• Title: The volume presents the Sanskrit text of the Tantrakhyāyika, which is identified as the oldest extant form of the Panchatantra.
• Meaning of Titles:
  • "Panchatantra" means "The five (pañca) cases-of-good-sense" and refers to the five books the work is divided into. Hertel translates "tantra" as "case-of-good-sense" or "Klugheitsfall" (case of wisdom).
  • "Tantrakhyāyika" is translated by Hertel as "[Manual] consisting of tales of cases-of-good-sense" or, in German, as "Aus Erzählungen von Klugheitsfällen bestehendes [Lehrbuch]."
• Importance: The Panchatantra is described as a work of unparalleled literary influence, originating in India and spreading across the globe for over fifteen hundred years. It's considered the oldest extant work of Hindu artistic fiction and a foundational text for the study of fables, significantly influencing figures like Theodor Benfey. Its journey through translations influenced major literary works in Southwest Asia and Europe, including the Old Syriac Kalilag and Damnag, Arabic Kalila and Dimna, and eventually English translations like Sir Thomas North's version of Doni's "La filosophia morale."

Origin, Author, Date, and Purpose:

• Place of Origin: Most likely Kashmir.
• Author: A Vishnuite Brahman, whose name and exact date are unknown. The work is presented as being composed by an octogenarian Brahman sage named Vishnuśarman.
• Language: Sanskrit, the language of educated court circles at the time.
• Purpose: To train young princes in discreet and wise behavior (klugem Handeln) in both private and political life. It also served to teach them Sanskrit through a flawless model.
• Time Limits:
  • Earliest: Approximately 300 B.C., due to a reference to Chāṇakya, whose Arthaśāstra the author knew and used. Chānakya was the prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya (321-297 B.C.).
  • Latest: Approximately 570 A.D., based on the date of the Pahlavi translation commissioned by King Chosrau Anōsharwān (531-579 A.D.).
• Dating Nuances: The presence of the word "dināra" (coins) suggests a date not earlier than the second century A.D., although Keith argues Indian works with this feature aren't necessarily later than the start of the Common Era. The Tantrakhyāyika was already an old work by the time of Chosrau, indicating significant antiquity.

Dr. Johannes Hertel's Contributions:

• Professor Hertel is highly praised for his fifteen years of dedicated study of Indian narrative literature, particularly the Panchatantra.
• The preface lists several of his major works on the Panchatantra, including critical editions of different recensions (Kashmirian, Southern, Pūrṇabhadra's) and translations.

Contents of the Volume (Tantrakhyāyika - Kashmirian Recension):

The volume contains the Sanskrit text of the Tantrakhyāyika, divided into five books (Tantras), each with a frame-story and several embedded tales:

• Book I: The Estranging of Friends (Mitra-bheda):

  • Frame-story: The lion (Pingalaka) and the bull (Saṁjivaka), and the two jackals, Karataka and Damanaka.
  • Tales: Includes sixteen tales (Tale i: Ape and wedge; Tale ii: Jackal and drum; Tale iii: Monk and swindler; Tale iv: Crows and serpent; Tale v: Heron, fishes, and crab; Tale vi: Lion and hare; Tale vii: Louse and flea; Tale viii: Blue jackal; Tale ix: Lion's retainers outwit camel; Tale x: Strand-bird and sea; Tale xi: Two geese and tortoise; Tale xii: Three fishes; Tale xiii: Jackal outwits camel and lion; Tale xiv: Ape, glow-worm, and officious bird; Tale xv: Good-heart and Bad-heart; Tale xvi: Heron, serpent, and mongoose; Tale xvii: How mice ate iron).

• Book II: The Winning of Friends (Mitra-lābha):

  • Frame-story: The dove, mouse, crow, tortoise, and deer.
  • Tales: Includes five tales.

• Book III: The War of the Crows and the Owls (Kākolūkīya):

  • Frame-story: The war of the crows and the owls.
  • Tales: Includes eleven tales.

• Book IV: The Loss of One's Gettings (Labdha-nāśa):

  • Frame-story: The ape and the crocodile.
  • Tales: Includes two tales.

• Book V: The Fruits of Rashness (Aparyavekshitakāritva):

  • Frame-story: The Brahman and the faithful mongoose.
  • Tales: Includes two tales.

• Appendices: Contains four additional tales, likely supplementary material or variations found in manuscripts.

Typographical Devices Explained:

The preface details the unique typographical features of the volume designed to aid readers, especially beginners:

• Head-lines and Page/Line Numbers: Clearly marked for easy navigation.
• Emboxments (Nested Stories): Vertical wavy lines are used to distinguish frame-stories from embedded tales. Different degrees of nesting are indicated by varying the wavy lines and font size. The Table of Contents helps visualize the structure.
• Vertical Straight Black-Faced Lines: Used to mark passages taken from a different manuscript (recension β) due to lacunae in the primary manuscript (recension α).
• Paragraph Citation: Frame-stories are divided into numbered "Abschnitte" (sections) for easy referencing.
• Citation Methods: Specific conventions are explained for citing tales (e.g., I.viii for Book I, Tale viii) and stanzas or paragraphs.

Missing Elements and Editorial Decision:

• Due to Dr. Hertel's call to military service during World War I, the promised introduction and notes for this specific volume (editio minor) could not be included.
• The editor, Charles R. Lanman, decided to publish the volume with only the indispensable preliminary matter, expressing hope that Hertel might later provide the missing components.

Acknowledgments:

• Thanks are extended to the printing-house of G. Kreysing in Leipzig for their excellent work.
• Gratitude is expressed to the Royal Society of Sciences at Göttingen for publishing Hertel's more comprehensive "editio major," which serves as the basis for this reprint. The "editio minor" is intended to be more affordable and accessible to students.

In essence, this Harvard Oriental Series volume is a scholarly presentation of the oldest known Sanskrit version of the Panchatantra, crucial for understanding the work's origins, evolution, and profound cultural impact, despite the unfortunate circumstances preventing the inclusion of a full scholarly apparatus.