Indian trace in Masnavi Ilahi-nameh by ‘Attar: a story about the of the magician and his apprentice
The article discusses two stories from the masnavi Ilahi-nameh by Farid ad-Din ‘Attar (12th - early 13th ct.), originated in classical Indian literature and adopted by Persian authors through Middle Persian translations. The first of the stories, "About the Falcon and the Rooster", entered Leo Tolstoy's collection for children through the French paraphrase of Fables of Bidpai. The second one, “Story of Sarpatak the Indian”, is a variation of the well-known international tale of the Magician and his Apprentice; ‘Attar's story is compared with a story from the “Tale of Four Dervishes” (Qiṣṣa-yi čahār darvīš); the plot similarity of these stories allows to suggest that the History of the Four Dervishes, at least in some of its parts, has an earlier origin than is commonly believed.