<P> The Panchatantra (IAST: Pañcatantra, Sanskrit: पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story . The surviving work is dated to about 300 BCE, but the fables are likely much more ancient . The text's author is unknown, but has been attributed to Vishnu Sharma in some recensions and Vasubhaga in others, both of which may be fictitious pen names . It is likely a Hindu text, and based on older oral traditions with "animal fables that are as old as we are able to imagine". </P> <P> It is "certainly the most frequently translated literary product of India", and these stories are among the most widely known in the world . It goes by many names in many cultures . There is a version of Panchatantra in nearly every major language of India, and in addition there are 200 versions of the text in more than 50 languages around the world . One version reached Europe in the 11th century . To quote Edgerton (1924): </P>

The fables of bidpai which ancient work in europe