The book, Kalila wa Dimna is an Arabic translation of the

The book Kalila wa Dimna is the famous Arabic translation of the Sanskrit collection of animal fables known as the Panchatantra. The work's journey began in the 6th century CE when the Persian physician Borzuy translated the Sanskrit original into Pahlavi (Middle Persian). In the 8th century CE, the scholar Ibn al-Muqaffa translated this Pahlavi version into Arabic, giving it the title Kalila wa Dimna. The name is derived from the Arabic corruption of the Sanskrit names Karataka and Damanaka, the two jackals who serve as the primary narrators in the first book of the Panchatantra. This Arabic version became a cornerstone of Islamic ethical and political literature, eventually influencing European works like The Canterbury Tales through subsequent translations into Latin and other languages. While the Hitopadesha and Kathasaritsagara are also significant Indian story collections, they are distinct from the specific lineage of Kalila wa Dimna.