I have both, The Panchatantra, and 1001 Arabian Nights. Much (or may be all) of the world's wisdom lies in there. What amazes me is how timeless these nuggets o

I have both, The Panchatantra, and 1001 Arabian Nights. Much (or may be all) of the world's wisdom lies in there. What amazes me is how timeless these nuggets of wisdom are. Great books, both. As a child, these were simply fun, entertaining reads. Now, I find myself going back to understand the lessons in there and just relishing the stories once again. To your question - the most popular ones are The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. Jataka Tales as someone has mentioned below. Also, Tales of Tenali Rama and Vikram & Betal are good reads too. While this doesn't fall under the category of myths, perhaps one of the most comprehensive works on finance, war strategies, and international relations (yes, this from ancient India) is Chanakya's Arthashastra. Another book by Chanakya, Nitishastra is about the ideal way of life. Look up Chanakya on Wikipedia.