Kalilah and Dimnah: Fables of Virtue and Vice

Kalīlah and Dimnah is a collection of fables from the Sanskrit Panchatantra and Mahabharata, adapted, augmented, and translated into Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ in the second/eighth century. It is a "mirror for princes" that inculcates virtues and discernment in rulers and warns against flattery and deception. The animals in the book represent ministers counseling kings, friends advising friends, or wives admonishing husbands.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 04 April 2023
Publisher: New York University Press

Like Aesop's Fables, Kalīlah and Dimnah is a collection designed not only for moral instruction, but also for the entertainment of readers. The stories, which originated in the Sanskrit Panchatantra and Mahabharata, were adapted, augmented, and translated into Arabic by the scholar and state official Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ in the second/eighth century. The stories are engaging, entertaining, and often funny, from "The Man Who Found a Treasure But Could Not Keep It," to "The Raven Who Tried To Learn To Walk Like a Partridge" and "How the Wolf, the Raven, and the Jackal Destroyed the Camel."

Kalīlah and Dimnah is a "mirror for princes," a book meant to inculcate virtues and discernment in rulers and warn against flattery and deception. Many of the animals who populate the book represent ministers counseling kings, friends advising friends, or wives admonishing husbands. Throughout, Kalīlah and Dimnah offers insight into the moral lessons Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ wished to impart to rulers—and readers. An English-only edition.

Dimension: 210 x 140 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479825776