Kalila wa Dimna
E1037570
Kalila wa Dimna is a classic collection of didactic animal fables, translated and adapted into Arabic in the 8th century, that has profoundly influenced Middle Eastern and world literature.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Versification of Kalila wa Dimna (now mostly lost) | 1 |
Statements (57)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
animal fable collection
ⓘ
collection of fables ⓘ didactic literature ⓘ literary work ⓘ |
| adaptedFrom | Middle Persian version of Panchatantra ⓘ |
| adaptedInto | Arabic ⓘ |
| basedOn |
Mahabharata-related narrative tradition
ⓘ
Panchatantra NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| circulation |
translated into many languages
ⓘ
widely copied in manuscript form ⓘ |
| contains |
exempla for moral teaching
ⓘ
proverbs and maxims ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance |
important conduit for Indian wisdom literature into the Islamic world
ⓘ
major source of narrative motifs in Islamic literature ⓘ one of the earliest and most influential Arabic prose works ⓘ |
| dateOfArabicAdaptation | 8th century ⓘ |
| genre |
didactic prose
ⓘ
fable ⓘ moral tale ⓘ |
| hasPart |
frame narrative involving a king and his philosopher
ⓘ
story of Kalila and Dimna ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
ethics and morality
ⓘ
friendship and betrayal ⓘ pragmatic advice for survival at court ⓘ statecraft and governance ⓘ wisdom and folly ⓘ |
| influenced |
Aesopic fable tradition in the Middle Ages
ⓘ
Arabic literature ⓘ Hebrew literature ⓘ Latin literature ⓘ Persian literature ⓘ medieval European literature ⓘ world literature ⓘ |
| language | Arabic ⓘ |
| mainCharacters |
Dimna
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Kalila NERFINISHED ⓘ lions ⓘ oxen ⓘ various animals ⓘ |
| narrativeStructure |
frame narrative
ⓘ
stories within stories ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | Sanskrit ⓘ |
| placeOfArabicAdaptation | Abbasid Caliphate NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| purpose |
instruction for rulers and courtiers
ⓘ
moral instruction ⓘ political advice ⓘ |
| targetAudience |
general educated readership
ⓘ
princes and statesmen ⓘ |
| translatedInto |
English
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
French ⓘ German ⓘ Greek ⓘ Latin ⓘ Persian ⓘ Spanish ⓘ Syriac ⓘ |
| translator | Ibn al-Muqaffa' NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Versification of Kalila wa Dimna (now mostly lost)