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This is the first painting that appears in the Bustan, Sa`di’s most famous composition aside from the Gulistan. It is marked as page 56 in the manuscript. It presents the story of King Dara, who is separated from his hunting party and, shortly afterwards, is approached by a herdsman. The king does not recognize the man and assumes he is an enemy. The herdsman reproaches him with the words, “It’s neither laudable provision nor good judgment / When the emperor knows not enemy from friend! / It is in high station a condition of living / That you should know who each inferior is.”
See AKM284 for an introduction to the Kulliyat (Collected Works) of Sa'di, and other paintings from this manuscript.
— Marika Sardar
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