Borzuya

Borzuya (or Burzōē or Burzōy or Borzouyeh,Persian: بُرْزویه) was a Persian physician in the late Sasanian era, at the time of Khosrow I.^[2] He translated the Indian Panchatantra from Sanskrit into Pahlavi (Middle Persian). Both his translation and the original Sanskrit version he worked from are lost. Before their loss, however, his Pahlavi version was translated into Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffa under the title of Kalīla wa-Dimna or The Fables of Bidpai.

The introduction to Kalīla wa-Dimna presents an autobiography by Borzūya. Beside his ideas, cognitions and inner development leading to a practice of medicine based on philanthropic motivations, Borzuya's search for truth, his skepticism towards established religious thought and his later asceticism are some features lucidly depicted in the text.^[3]

Borzuya was sent to India by Khosrow I to find a plant that is capable of reviving the dead. He later learned from a philosopher that the plant he is seeking is actually a book, the Panchatantra, that is locked in the treasury of the rajah.^[4][5] He received permission to read the book from the rajah, although he was not permitted copy it. Disobeying these instructions, Borzuya would memorize the text he read each day and secretly wrote the book again in Persian, then sent his translation back to his king.^[1] When he returned, Khosrow praises the work, stating "the book called Kalila has given my soul new life", and offers Borzuya any reward he chooses from the royal treasury. Instead of gold or jewels, Borzuya chooses a fine suit of clothes and that his name be written in the copy of the Kalila "so that after I die, learned men will not forget the difficulties I went through".^[4]

El erudito semítico François de Blois describe cinco versiones distintas del viaje de Borzuya a la India. Las versiones difieren en los detalles de las razones por las que Borzuya fue enviado originalmente a la India, el propósito de su viaje y cómo obtuvo acceso al Panchatantra . Los estudiosos discrepan sobre cuál de las versiones es más antigua y puede rastrearse hasta el autor de las traducciones pahlavi, pero coinciden en que los temas del interés de Khosrow por el conocimiento indio, en particular el arte de gobernar, la dificultad para obtener acceso al libro, etc. ^{[ 3 ]}

Existe un debate considerable sobre si Borzūya es lo mismo que Bozorgmehr . ^{[ 3 ]} Si bien las fuentes indican que son personas diferentes, la palabra "Borzūya" a veces puede ser una forma abreviada de Bozorgmehr. ^{[ 6 ]}

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