Matla’ al-Anwar (Rising of the Luminaries), the first poem of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi’s Quintet, is comprised of 3310 verses compiled approximately in twenty Maqalat (didactic discourses). Matla’ al-Anwar is a response by Amir Khusrau to Nizami Ganjavi’s Makhzan al-Asrar. Painted at Lahore by Nar sing, this painting shows a bathhouse keeper who falls in love when he sees the king on his visit with his retinue. Attention gained by the King, stokes the heat of mystical love that enflames the bathhouse keeper. The King and most of his entourage raise their index fingers in awe and surprise at the sight of the beholder. The painting has a border in siyah qalam (monochrome) style with deer, foxes, hares, and hunting lions in a naturalistic setting with birds perching in the trees.
