Kalila and Dimna

This masterful translation of one of the most popular books of world literature makes available to an English readership the animal tales known collectively as Kalila and Dimna. Named after the two jackals of Pancatantra fame, this collection of stories is based on a 12th-century Persian translation of an 8th-century original Arabic rendition by Ibn al-Muqaffa'.

Set within a frame narrative of counsels given to the Raja of India by his Brahmin minister, the engaging tales about cats and mice, storks and crabs, tortoises and geese, owls and crows, and princes and ascetics, function as cautionary illustrations of human predicaments and all-too-human vices and virtues. Far from being a collection of children's fables, Kalila and Dimna is a Machiavellian mirror for princes containing advice on how to preserve oneself from one's enemies and get ahead at court and in life. The dialogues that constitute the bulk of the narrative harbour a dramatic immediacy, exerting a powerful effect even on a modern-day reader. - Maria Subtelny, University of Toronto

Kalila and Dimna is an important work of world literature that pertains to several areas of intellectual inquiry: the history of literary translation, cultural exchange, animals and allegory, and mirrors for princes. Thackston's translation of this classical Persian text is elegant and idiomatic, and the multiple prefaces are useful in tracking the movement of this work across cultures. This is a book that can be enjoyed by students, scholars, and general readers alike. - Sunil Sharma, Boston University