A Muslim Pilgrim Learns a Lesson in Piety from a Brahman

The Khamsa (Quintet) of the Indian poet Amir Khusrau Dihlavi localizes its model, the Khamsa of Nizami, by rooting several of the stories in an Indian idiom. Likewise, the illustrations made for Akbar’s (r. 1556–1605) copy are set in typically Indian landscapes. Here, a Muslim pilgrim to Mecca meets a Brahman who travels to a Hindu temple by inching his way in a series of prostrations. Impressed by this religious zeal, the Muslim removes his own shoes and continues on his way barefoot.