Two Indian Jackals in Medieval Spain: Notes about the Influence of Indian Fables on the Outset of Spanish Fictional Prose

• Main Author: Wendy J. Phillips Rodríguez
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2013-05-01
• Series: Acta Poética
• Subjects: exempla, fábulas, literatura sánscrita, literatura medieval, transmisión textual.
• Online Access: https://revistas-filologicas.unam.mx/acta-poetica/index.php/ap/article/view/393

At first it may seem unlikely to affirm that the first example of fictional Castilian prose available to us, Calila e Dimna, may be a translation/adaptation of the Pañcatantra, a classical work of Sanskrit literature. Nevertheless, the pilgrimage of such collection of tales from ancient India to Medieval Spain has been dutifully documented. On the other hand, a line of research that has not been explored yet is related to the comparative analysis of the transformations that such tales endured during their journey in order to adapt to new cultural environments. This paper is a first attempt towards such kind of studies. It will analyze some features of the two main characters of the Spanish version, Calila and Dimna, and will identify some similarities and differences in relation to their Indian ancestors: the jackals Karaṭaka and Damanaka.