Panchatantra Punches Part 12

56. Where the family, fame and wealth is the same, marriage or friendship is secure, but not between the rich and the poor.

57. Ambition and greed for reward blinds one to danger. Men avoid the easy good and place too much confidence in rogues.

58. Like a fruit-laden tree whose branches bend low, the peacock whose proud feather makes his walk sluggish and slow, speedy horse which is tied and fed, so also the god discover that their own good is their enemy.

59. A man is great because of his virtues is no longer true, for the world takes little or no note of a brave deed.

60. By gifts, by self denial, by sacrifices, some slowly go to heaven, but to the one who dies in a heroic battle, the entry is immediate.

Panchatantra Punches Part 11

51. A truly kind man saves you from vice, 
      A true wife shares your mind, 
      True actions keep you free from blame,
      True joy keeps you away from shame of greed,
      True wisdom wins the praise of saints,
      True friends show no restraint,
      True glory knows no arrogance &
      True men are cheerful even in distress.

52. The fool who does not know his own strengths and weakness is his own enemy. Whoever spurns a pleading enemy, disrespects the Holy Trinity - Brahma, Shiva  & Vishnu.

53. 5 kinds of people are dead even while alive: -

• The poor
• The chronically sick
• The fool
• Those living in exile
• The servants or slaves of king.

54. Women befriend rogues, money goes to the miserly, rain to the mountains and the seas, and kings with rascals.

55. False friends are worse than useless. Friends who compliment you on your face, but speak ill of you behind your back are like a jug of poison with milk cream on top.

Panchatantra Punches Part 10

45. No rogue ever gives a reason for dishonesty, and no saint for his compassion - No matter how much kindness you show to a rascal, he will remain a rascal.

46. Lost is a gift which does not fit, lost is a service when it is lavished on idiots, lost in ingratitude is the kindest advice and lost is courtesy on one who is not a gentle man.

47. A perfume on a corpse, shouting to the deaf, or applying sense to fools, brings no rewards.

48. Whether it be friend, relative. teacher or even the king, they must be kept within their limits, when they have evil designs.Otherwise they will make you bend to their will.

49. Rest your head in fire, have snakes for pillow, but do not put up with friends who knowingly commit wrong or stabs a knife on your back with a smile.

50. 3 things in life is worth living for : Virtue, money and love.

Panchatantra Punches Part 9

39. Where brute force fails, a shrewd scheme might work.
 Also when you allow a petty enemy to grow, he grows like a disease, until he goes out of control. Even gods befriend a man who chooses to climb heights of determination.

40. Whether it is broken silver or a loose tooth or a treacherous friend, relief comes only when we pull them out root and all.

41. A king should never delegate to one man all the powers of state for soon he grows in pride, plots to unseat the ruler, to occupy the seat himself.

42. His actions may be hard to bear,
      his speech harsh to hear,
     the heart though clings delighted to a person truly dear.

43. Why wear the dazzling earrings, if they cut your ear.

44. A man fat / lean can better serve the king than the proud and the mightiest elephant.

Panchatantra Punches Part 8

36. Rulers may be honored gentlemen, they may be devoted, still servants leave a ruler who does not pay the salary.They are like birds that desert a withered tree.

37. Due to a sudden madness, a king embraces a vice, it is the duty of the servants to check him and make him nice.

38. 5 main dangerous vices:

Deficiency or Non existence: Due to absence of a ruler, adviser, people, friends, border fortification, wealth & power to punish

Corruption: When people become restless

Attachment:  Under love comes Drink, women, hunting, gambling. Under hatred comes anger, greed, cruelty.

Destruction: 8 kinds - An act of god, fire, water, disease, epidemic, panic, famine and floods.

Wrong policies - One makes a wrong use of 6 means - peace, war, base, change of base, alliance and duplicity.

Panchatantra Punches Part 7

Panchatantra or better known as "codes of conduct" is considered one of the oldest and best work of literature in the Indian history. Though the original information was shared to the world in Sanskrit, it has been translated to simple words in English, Hindi , Tamil and many other languages.Packed with words of wisdom, letters of virtue and characters of charm , it is definitely a treasure of knowledge.

Moving on to Part 7 of Panchatantra Punches:

31. Whatever a fellow desires, sees, hears, or does in broad daylight, haunts him in his sleep.

32. Whatever secret a man keeps hidden in his bosom, he gives it away when he is in drunk or talks in his sleep.

33. A woman is true only when she has no chance, no dark corner and no man to entice. The idiot who thinks that his lover truly loves him is like a tame bird, always in the woman's power.

34. Whom does not fortune render proud, and whom does not death lay low - whoever has heard indeed a truthful word from a gambler or a king who keeps a friendship permanently.

35. No matter how foolish low or idiotic a king's servant might be, he will act with a vengeance when his honor has been dented.

Panchatantra Punches Part 6

Below is a gang of characters involved in Panchatantra stories which I have forgotten to mention in my previous blog posts:

• Birds such as crows, cranes, swans, owls, eagles etc.
• Reptiles such as crocodiles, snakes etc.
• Rest of them include frogs, crabs etc.

Let us continue to Part 6:

26. The earth, the seas and the mountains all have their limits, but the deep thoughts of a king have no boundaries.

27. Straight, sturdy, fully tested and polished should the pillars be for a house as well. as the state

28. 4 things are like nectar: Milk sweets, a fire in cold weather, a honor granted by a king and lovers coming together.

29. Whoever is too arrogant to show the king's attendants due honor,
will lose the monarch's good will.

30. Do not waste your time planning angry shameless schemes of revenge,
unless you have the capacity to do it. An angry chick pea, hopping up and down can hardly hurt the frying pan.

Panchatantra Punches Part 5

Animation films like Ice Age series and Ratatouille are under my favorite animation movie list. I would wonder what clicks those movies to be a tremendous reach to the entire audience of the world. It is like every main character from the movie delivers a message to our minds or brains. For example, message from Ratatouille would be that sentence "Any body can cook". 

It keeps us thinking,keeps us busy, keeps us entertaining,keeps us laughing, keeps us sit and watch them till the movie ends and keeps us to watch them over and over again at any time.So the fundamental aspects from the movie are sense of humor and thoughts. It is the same feeling I had while reading Panchatantra or some children fairy tales. Though some may tease like still you are reading kid's stories or watching kid's movies, for them I would say enjoy the humor and thought process from anybody - no matter it comes from a 3 year old kid or 80 year old grandpa.

So today's panchatantra punches continues as below:

21. The good servant at his lord's command fears nothing on hand.He crosses uncharted seas and gladly steps into a fire, if his master wishes so.

22. A servant who has been spurned by a king, though born and brought up by him, will still be eager to destroy him.

23.The trustful strong men are caught easily by their weaker enemies, while the careful strong men stays safe even from their deadliest enemies.

24. Just as the healthy man has no use for medicines to restore him to good health. so also does a king, free from troubles, no use for advisers.

25.Whoever speaks even small untruths to a king, invites certain ruin on his gods and on his teacher too. So always speak the truth to the loyal who in turn expects loyalty from you.

Panchatantra Punches Part 4

Let us sharpen our skills smart as sharp as an eagle's eye.
If you just start reading thought provoking stories try to learn the positive message it delivers to your real life. No matter whether it is from a school kid's English text book or from a science fiction fantasy novel or historical fiction article or spy thriller blogs. 

Now let us roll our sleeves and get back to Punches Part 4:

16. You find relief amidst great disaster in telling things to a powerful master, honest servant, a faithful friend or a wife who loves you till the end.

17. Water breaks the dams, love disappears when bad feelings enter, secrets vanish when people start babbling and simple words melt even cruel hearts.

18. Wisely move one foot, while the other holds firmly, for until assured of some new home, do not desert the old.

19. If you are brave and bold, no matter how fierce the enemy, no defeat or sorrow would touch you. Brave hearts do not fear even threats from heavens.

Let me make the next point as a puzzle from the same panchatantra story book. Let me see how many sharp eagles can give an answer to it.

20. "I thought at first it was full of fat,
        I crept within,
        There I did not find a thing,
        Except some wood and skin". What is it?

Answers are expected within 1 week from today. If not , It will be added as comment by myself.

Panchatantra Punches Part 3

Most of the stories from panchatantra will have some specific characters like Jackals, wolves and foxes coming under the category of cunning and trickier beings, camels, bulls, oxen, cows, donkeys under the honest , dumb or ignorant category and the lions, tigers, leopards or elephants playing the brave, majestic and commanding roles. We can compare those behavioral pattern mapping of these characters in real life too.Let us continue on to Part 3 of the punches:

11. A good servant will give master good or bad news and then help him in the decision making process with a touch of humor. The man who does not want his master's fall will advise him, though uninvited.

12. To clean a tooth or scratch an ear, a straw may serve a king, but a man of speech & action is a higher kind of thing.

13. The usefulness of a horse,book,sword,woman, flute or word depends entirely on the quality of the user.

14. Does not gold come from a stone?
      Does not water lily spring from mud?
      Does not lotus bud sprout from cow dung?
      So men of distinction become so by their attainments, not by birth.

15. The wise who have mastered the universal law, do not care either for money or position. They are like the bull which cannot be restrained by an chain when it is in rage.