Kalile va Dimne (eBook)
- $9.95
- Product Code: 004
- Availability: In Stock
- eISBN: 978-1-925716-12-2
This version of Kalile va Dimne, or Kalileh and Demneh in English, is a translation from Farsi, the language of Persia (modern day Iran), which was based on the Arabic version of the work. Indeed, this book has almost as many names, versions and tales about its own existence as the number of stories it contains. It left India as the Panchatantra and reached Persia as Mirrors for Princes. It then went to Arabia as Kalile va Dimne, then finally arrived in the West as the Fables of Bidpai.
Written in India around 280 CE, Kalile va Dimne was a ‘guidebook’ for prospective kings, and as such was read only by princes. It was smuggled from the treasury of the Indian king to Persia during the reign of the Persian emperor Shah Khosrow Anooshirvan (531–79 CE).
It is said that the Shah sent his advisor Borzuya to Hindustan (India) to bring back a herb that bestowed eternal life, but when Borzuya went to Hindustan and asked the king there about this herb, the king said that there was no such herb in his kingdom. The Hindi king said that while they didn’t have a herb that could make the Shah live forever, they did have something to make his kingdom last forever. And so Borzuya took the Panchatantra text back to Persia, where it would become Kalile va Dimne.
Over the next 500 years, the Islamic world spread, grew and prospered. In addition to the spread of Islam, this period encouraged learning, the search for knowledge, and the pursuit of wisdom—both worldly and spiritual.
Kalile va Dimne is said to be a product of the mystic thought of this period, commonly known as ‘Sufism’. At the outset, the stories seem simple and without great depth. Yet they are full of answers to the greatest challenge to existence—human nature. Kalile va Dimne allows the reader a glimpse of the esoteric knowledge of the time, a knowledge that is still relevant to the human condition today.
| Product Info | |
| eISBN | 978-1-925716-12-2 |
| About the book | |
| Table of Contents | Introduction v Chapter 1: The Story of the Lion and the Cow 1 Chapter 2: The Continuation of the Story of the Lion and the Cow 17 Chapter 3: The Friendship of the Pigeon, the Crow, the Mouse, the Turtle, and the Deer 43 Chapter 4: The Story of the Crows and the Owls 69 Chapter 5: The Story of the Monkey and the Turtle 107 Chapter 6: The Story of the Hermit and the Weasel 125 Chapter 7: The Story of the Cat and the Mouse 133 Chapter 8: The Story of a King and a Bird named Fenreh 145 Chapter 9: The Story of the Lion and the Jackal 155 |
| Pages | 176 |
| Trim | 152 x 229 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Publish Date | 2022 |
| About the authors | |
| Author 1 | Dr Gholamhossein Mahdavi Tootkaboni has been translating classic works from Farsi to English, and from English to Farsi, for over 35 years. His sole focus throughout this period has been to reproduce the works with their original essence and not his interpretation of them. This allows the reader to form their own understanding of the work, which is the true magic. |
