Akbar had an enquiring mind and that can be seen in his interactions with various priests, maulvis and monks in his ibadatkhana debates.
Here in a beautiful nim qalam representation of one such meeting, but seeing he is a dervish, its not in the ibadatkhana but the jungle, where he interrupts his shikar trip to meet the dervish.
The painter is Abdus Samad who came from Iran to Humayun’s court.
The Iranian influence can be seen in the horses with “corpulent bodies and slim heads”.
The tree substitutes for a throne for the young Akbar while the dervish is identified by his kashkol or beggar’s bowl.
Sufi saints had immense influence on the Mughal emperors and princes and we see in numerous paintings of their meetings with the saints.
Jahangir meeting Jadrup being very famous.
@Agakhan museum Toronto