Panchatantra, the collection of animal fables, was composed by:

Correct Answer: Vishnu Sharma

Subject: history

Jataka tales author (anonymous)
Compiled in Puranas
Vishnu Sharma
From the Agamas

Explanation: Panchatantra was composed by Vishnu Sharma (around 3rd century BCE) in Sanskrit. It consists of 5 books (Pancha = five, Tantra = treatises/strategies) containing 84 stories/fables using animals as characters to teach principles of statecraft, human behavior, and practical wisdom (Niti). It was translated into Pahlavi (Persian) in the 6th century CE as 'Khilah wa Dimnah', then into Arabic as 'Kalila wa Dimna', then spread to Europe. The Jataka tales (Buddhist birth stories of Buddha) are different. The Hitopadesa is a later Sanskrit work derived from Panchatantra by Narayana Pandit.