- Journal of Old Turkic Studies
- Vol: 1 Issue: 2
- A Tale from the Pañcatantra in Central Asia? The Lion, the Bull and the Fox
A Tale from the Pañcatantra in Central Asia? The Lion, the Bull and the Fox
Authors : Jens Wilkens
Pages : 104-139
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Publication Date : 2017-07-24
Article Type : Research
Abstract :The Indian Pañcatantra is doubtlessly one of the great successes in pre-modern literature as it was translated into numerous languages. In the article the Old Uyghur fragments which were previously assigned to this work are re-examined. It is argued that two Manichaean pieces are genuine textual testimonies of the Pañcatantra/Kalīla wa-Dimna tradition while the Buddhist fragments belong to the fifth chapter of the cycle of stories Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā ‘garland of legends pertaining to the ten courses of actions’. Parallels to the story told in the latter work are examined. In the appendix a tentative new edition of the Manichaean fragments is provided.Keywords : Pañcatantra, Kalīla wa-Dimna, Old Uyghur, narrative literature, Turfan studies