Kitab Kalilah wa Dimnah – كتاب كليلة ودمنة

The origin of Kalila wa Dimna is the ancient Indian book called ‘Panchatantra’ which was first translated by a young Indian physician called Borzoyeh Tabib (Doctor) Marwazi commissioned by Anu Sharwan Khosrow the son of Qabad the Sasani king but Borzoyeh did add more tales most of them from other Indian legends. There is hardly any other literary work in the World that has penetrated so deeply in many cultures encompassing almost every continent of the World. During last 1500 years there are more than 200 translations of Panchatantra in around 60 languages of the world. ‘Aesop fables’, ‘Arabian Nights’ and great many of Western nursery rhymes and ballads have their origin in Panchatantra and Jataka stories. In European countries there is so much of migration and borrowing of stories over many centuries, making it difficult to finalize their origin at one location in Europe. However, mostly, their Indian origins are not disputable. Traditionally in India it is believed that Panchatantra was composed around 3rd century BC. Modern scholars depending on references to earlier Sanskrit works in Panchatantra assign the period of 3rd to 5th Century CE for its composition in today’s form. The author of Panchatantra is not known.