Tales of Kalila and Dimna: Classic Fables from India

New renderings of classic Indian folk epics from the 2000-year-old Fables of Bidpai.

• These timeless, charming, and humorous tales have survived through the centuries and have resurfaced in most of our popular moral fables.

• These tales have received the highest praise from authors of some of the world's finest literature.

The tales of Kalila and Dimna from the Fables of Bidpai originated almost 2000 years ago in a Sanskrit collection of animal stories called the Panchatantra. These charming and humorous stories have found their way in one form or another into the folklore of every major culture and tradition. They have influenced all our fables from Aesop to La Fontaine, including Uncle Remus, The Arabian Nights, and The Canterbury Tales.

Here the first two books of the Panchatantra's five are brilliantly rendered by Ramsay Wood in a captivating, contemporary version that can be read on many levels. These stories within stories ostensibly constitute a handbook for rulers, but in their slyly profound grasp of human nature they are clearly meant as helpful guidance for us all. These are tales that will be treasured by young and old alike. In addition, the tales are graced with Margaret Kilrenny's beautiful illustrations based on paintings in rare Arabic manuscripts.