Kleeja and Dhamma: The story of virtue and vice - Ibn al-Muqaffa'

Timeless myths about loyalty and betrayal. Just like in Aesop's fables, Kalila and Dimna is a collection of stories designed not only for moral guidance but also to entertain readers. The stories, originally in the Sanskrit language of Panchatantra and Mahabharata, have been adapted and Arabized by the scholar and statesman Ibn al-Muqaffa' in the second Hijri century / eighth century AD. These stories are entertaining, amusing, and humorous, starting from "the man who found the treasure and could not keep it" to "the crow that tried to imitate the dove's walk" and "how the wolf, the crow, and the jackal defeated the camel." Kalila and Dimna is "the mirror of princes," a book aimed at instilling virtues and insight in rulers and warning against flattery and deception. The animals that fill the book represent ministers, royal advisors, friends who give advice to each other, or wives reproaching their husbands. Ibn al-Muqaffa' offers through Kalila and Dimna a keen insight through moral lessons, which are considered important for rulers and readers.