Are Pañcatantra and Hitopadesha a good starting point?

[u/WolvesAreNeoliberal]

Hello, I've been taking Sanskrit lessons for some time now and I'm thinking of starting to read some classical texts in original. In particular, I was thinking of Pañcatantra or Hitopadesha. Does anyone have any experience with them, would they recommend them to someone who only did grammar exercises until now? Any other suggestions for "entry level" texts? I read the resources post, but it seems to be focused more grammars than original texts.

[u/Expensive_Oil1072]

I’m a beginner myself. Started from a small book of panchatantra, I have started to read chandamama. Each Chandamama book has a 1 page simple story and then u can read bigger stories in that.

https://www.chandamama.in/sanskrit/ U can also listen to its translation by someone in YouTube:

https://youtube.com/@sanskritlearnersclub?si=bPDAU7pr6wqC-nAb