The Traveller Gives Water to a Dog
The Traveller Gives Water to a Dog
Fol. 37v from a manuscript of Kulliyat of Sa‘di
India, Agra, ca. 1604
Watercolours, gold, and ink on paper
AKM284.5
An act of sympathy and generosity is depicted at the centre of this painting, which illustrates a story titled “On the Meaning of Kindness,” from the second chapter (On Beneficence) of Sa‘di’s Bustan. Here, a traveller crossing the desert finds a dog on the brink of death. Even though dogs are considered unclean in the Islamic faith, the traveller rolls up his sleeves and fashions a drinking skin from his cap and turban to give water to the creature. The moral of this tale, aimed at rulers, is to be as generous to one’s subjects as this traveller is to the thirsty dog, for as Sa‘di concludes: “One morning you may chance to awake as a subject yourself.”