Who is Vishnu Sharma?
Posted by kathavarta on June 26, 2008
Vishnu Sharma was the author of the anthropomorphic political treatise called Panchatantra.
Vishnu Sharma lived in Varanasi (a city in the present day state of Uttar Pradesh) in the 3rd century BC. He was a Sanskrit scholar and the official Guru of the then prince of Kashi. He wrote the Panchatantra to teach political science to his royal young disciples. The Panchatantra is one of the oldest collections of Indian fables surviving today.
Legend
According to a legend, Vishnupriya was a royal instructor, who used to live in a city called Mahilaropaya in southern India. The ruler of Mahilaropaya was Amarashakti, whose minister Sumati suggested appointment of Acharya Vishnu Sharma as the official instructor for the princes. Vishnu Sharma was known to be a savant in all the Shastras and the theory of politics and diplomacy. Acting on the suggestion, the king called Acharya Vishnu Sharma and declared that if he is able to make his sons into able administrators, he would gift him a hundred villages and gold without bound. Vishnu Sharma laughed and replied, “Oh King! I do not sell my education. I have no desire of any gift. You have called me with respect and deference; therefore I pledge to make your sons into able administrators within 6 months. If I fail to fulfil my pledge, I would change my name.”
The king happily gave the responsibility of the three princes to him and continued with his work. Vishnu Sharma, however, realized that it was more difficult than he had thought to teach his new students through conventional means, and there was a need of a creative way of teaching. Therefore he made many short stories, each with a lesson, and tied them in 5 parts, called tantras. This collection, that has attained fame over centuries, is called Panchatantra.
The five tantras(ideas) in the book are:
(1) Mitra Bhedha (The Loss of Friends),
(2) Mitra Laabha (Gaining Friends),
(3) Sandhi (Union),
(4) Vigraha (Separation) and
(5) Suhrud Bhedha (Causing Dissension Between Friends).
After listening and working on these stories, all the three princes became completely educated in politics and became able administrators.
