    vishnu sharma (sanskrit: à¤µà¤¿à¤·à¥à¤£à¥à¤¶à¤°à¥à¤®à¤¨à¥ / à¤µà¤¿à¤·à¥à¤£à¥à¤¶à¤°à¥à¤®à¤¾) was an indian scholar and author who is believed to have written the panchatantra collection of fables. the exact period of the composition of the panchatantra is uncertain, and estimates vary from 1200 bce to 300 ce. some scholars place him in the 3rd century bce., introduction, page xv; , translator's introduction, quoting hertel: "that the original work was composed in kashmir, about 200 b.c. at this date, however, many of the individual stories were already ancient." vishnu sharma is one of the most widely translated non-religious authors in history. the panchatantra was translated into pahlavi in 570 ce by borzÅ«ya and into arabic in 750 ce by persian scholar abdullah ibn al-muqaffa as kalÄ«lah wa dimnah (). in baghdad, the translation commissioned by al-mansur, the second abbasid caliph, is claimed to have become "second only to the qu'ran in popularity."{{citation | title=human drama: world history: from 500 to 1450 c.e., volume 2 | author=jean johnson, donald james johnson | publisher=markus wiener publishers, 2005 | isbn=978-1-55876-220-6 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jzs1fn7qimoc | quote=... reached al-mansur, the second abbasid caliph ... he ordered it translated into arabic ... some claim it 
Ancient_Indian_writers Fabulists Indian_writers People_from_Varanasi Sanskrit_scholars