The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c29.s2.24

v3.c29.s2.24

Dābshilīm is well known in Muslim literature as the king to whom the Brāhman, Bīlpāy, related the fables of the jackals Kalīla and Dimna, which have been translated into Arabic and Turkish, and twice into Persian, but the name is unknown in Indian history and it is difficult to connect it with any Indian king. It has been suggested that Mahmūd, after the flight of Bhīm I, appointed his uncle, Durlabha, to the government, and that the two Dābshilīms represent Durlabha and his son, but Lt.-Colonel Tod's explanation appears to be more probable. He says¹ that the Dābhis were a well known tribe, said by some to be a branch of the Chāwaras, who had preceded the Solankīs on the throne of Gujarāt, and suggests that the name is a compound of Dābi Chāwara.