Iranian President Hassan Rouhani presented an animated version of the Persian translation of the Panchatantra and a Persian copy of Mahabharata to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 17 February.
The Persian translation of the Panchatantra is widely popular in the Islamic world
as 'Kalila Wa Demna' (Kalila and Demna).
Containing 15 main chapters, 'Kalila Wa Demna' was composed in Middle Persian in the 6th century AD under the reign of Khosrow I - a king of the Sasanian Empire from 531 to 579.
Through two jackals - Kalila and Demna, who lend the book its eponymous title - the book narrates various fables touching upon the conduct of a king with his subjects and sermons for people. All of the heroes in the book are animals, just like the Panchatantra.
The book became even more widely read in the Islamic world after it was translated into Arabic during the Abbasid Caliphate sometime in 8th century AD.
It acknowledges an Indian scholar as its original writer.
The Persian translation of the Mahabharata is known as Razmnama or Book of War. The monumental work was commissioned by Akbar in 1574 AD. The work was completed in 1586 AD.
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