Niti Shastras forms a part of Smritis. It can be classified under two groups:- (i) the regular, moral and ethical teachings strung together in verse as a complete guide to conduct; (ii) the numerous beast fables and stories found in Hindu literature which drive home a moral.
Most of the verses that constitute Niti Shastrass attribute to great scholars like those of Chanakya or Bhartrihari.
Of the fiction part of the Niti Shastrass, it may not be wrong to hold that the invention of animals and birds as characters in moral tales originated in India.
The well-known works classed under Niti Shastrass are Nitisara by Kamandaki, Sayings of Bartriliri, Vridha-Chanakya or Rajniti Sastras and Sarangadhara-paddhati.