Indian Folktales

Hey fellow adventurers! I love folktales! Some of the most creative and interesting stories are folktales. My favorite book as a girl was a kids’ version of One Thousand and One Nights (more commonly known as Arabian Nights). My favorite story being one of the lesser known “The Prince and the Tortoise.” However, even though Indian folktales influenced the Arabian Nights, maybe even slipped in to the books, that’s not what we’re talking about today. I’m going to talk about some of the more popular Indian folktales but I’m also going to leave out a lot of stories too. There are a lot of Indian folktales!

Jataka Tales

Originally written in Pali in 300 BCE, the Jataka Tales has since been translated and spread across the world. The stories were written to impart knowledge and morality on the reader. The tales mostly focus on the many births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form.

Panchatantra Tales

Originally written in Sanskrit and Pali, the Panchantantra Tales have been translated into multiple languages. These tales were compiled in the 200 BCE. It is believed that the stories were written by Vishnu Sharma and other scholars for the purpose of teaching moral values and governing skills to the young sons of the king. The tales consist of animal stories told in prose and poetry.

Hitopadesha Tales

The Hitopadesha Tales are a compilation of short stories composed by Narayana Pandit. Translated from Sanskrit, the stories are told in prose and poetry. A lot, if not all, of these stories are over 1,000 years old. The Hitopadesha Tales are often compared to the Panchatantra Tales. Unlike the Panchatantra Tales though, the Hitopadesha Tales was written for the common folk.

Ramayana

Translated from Sanskrit, “Ramayana” is an epic poem that narrates the life of Prince Rama. The story follows him as he gets banished from his kingdom, travels across India with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, rescues his wife with an army of monkeys after she was kidnapped by Rakshasa the demon king of Lanka, and then eventually returns to his kingdom to be crowned king. Considered by many to be one of the most important literary pieces of ancient India, this piece has been influencing art in Southeast Asia for centuries. This story has been retold in multiple different art forms countless times. Below is the story being told through dance.

Mahabharata

Also translated from Sanskrit, “Mahabharata” is made up of almost 100,000 (ten times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey combined), making it the longest epic poem known. The story follows the Kurukshetra War, the war between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, over the throne of Hastinapur. It was announced earlier this year that Dr. B. R. Shetty invested $150 million (American) to produce “Mahabharata,” making it the biggest Indian motion picture ever. It’s going to be directed by V. A. Shrikumar Menon and will come out in two parts. The first part is planned to be released in 2018 and the second part in 2020.

If you want to read some Indian folktales:

http://www.worldoftales.com/Indian_folktales.html

http://fairytalez.com/region/indian/

If there were any folktales that you believe deserve mention, please tell me in a comment below. I would love to read about it! Until our next adventure!

1,016 thoughts on “Indian Folktales”

  1. Attractive element of content. I just stumbled upon your
    web site and in accession capital to say that I
    acquire actually loved account your weblog posts.
    Anyway I’ll be subscribing for your feeds and even I fulfillment you get right of
    entry to persistently rapidly.

  2. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article author for your
    weblog. You have some really good articles and I feel
    I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off,
    I’d really like to write some material for your blog in exchange
    for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an e-mail if interested.

    Many thanks!

  3. Wonderful blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
    Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
    I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem
    to get there! Cheers

  4. wonderful post, very informative. I wonder why the opposite specialists of this sector don’t understand this.
    You should proceed your writing. I am sure, you have a great readers’ base already!

  5. Greetings, I think your site could possibly be having browser
    compatibility issues. Whenever I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine
    however when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues.
    I just wanted to provide you with a quick heads
    up! Other than that, great blog!

  6. Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading
    through this post reminds me of my previous room mate!

    He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him.
    Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for
    sharing!

  7. Hey would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with?
    I’m going to start my own blog in the near future
    but I’m having a difficult time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique.
    P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had
    to ask!

  8. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you happen to be
    a great author.I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will eventually
    come back in the foreseeable future. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a nice holiday weekend!

  9. wonderful submit, very informative. I wonder why the opposite experts of this
    sector don’t understand this. You must continue your
    writing. I’m confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!

  10. I’m curious to find out what blog platform you have
    been working with? I’m having some small security problems
    with my latest blog and I’d like to find
    something more safe. Do you have any solutions?

  11. excellent post, very informative. I wonder why the
    other experts of this sector do not understand this.
    You must proceed your writing. I am sure, you have a great readers’ base
    already!

  12. Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in reality was once a entertainment account it.

    Look advanced to more delivered agreeable from you! However, how can we communicate?

  13. It’s actually a great and useful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you just shared
    this useful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this.

    Thank you for sharing.

  14. When someone writes an post he/she retains the idea of a user in his/her brain that how a user
    can know it. So that’s why this piece of writing is outstdanding.
    Thanks!

  15. Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative.
    I’m going to watch out for brussels. I will be
    grateful if you continue this in future. A lot
    of people will be benefited from your writing.
    Cheers!

  16. It’s in reality a nice and helpful piece of information.
    I am satisfied that you shared this useful info with us.

    Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

  17. It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it’s time
    to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I want
    to suggest you few interesting things or advice.
    Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article.

    I wish to read even more things about it!

  18. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog.
    It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for
    me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out
    a designer to create your theme? Outstanding work!

  19. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and
    also with the layout on your blog. Is this a
    paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality
    writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *