Kalila wa-Dimna

A book of tales and fables from India, in seventeen chapters, though some say thirteen. It was translated into Arabic and commented on by Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa and others. ²

Ibn al-Nadim reports that opinions differ about it. Some said that it was made by the Indians; some said it was made by the kings of Ashghaniyya and that its doctrine is Indian; and some said it was made by the Persians and that its doctrine is Indian. Others said that it was composed by the sage Barzawayh. ²

Abban ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Raqqashi, Ali ibn Dawud, secretary to Zubayda, and Ishaq ibn al-Mu'tadid rendered it into verse. Ibn al-Nadim saw in one copy two added chapters. Ibn al-Muqaffa, Sahl ibn Harun, Sahl, the keeper of the House of Wisdom, and al-Mard al-Aswad, whom al-Mutawakkil summoned from Persia, made collections and extracts from it. ²