It depicts the emperor, seated upon a throne in the form of an hourglass, handing a book to a Sufi saint, while the Ottoman sultan and the king of England look on.

[2][4] The emperor Jahangir is depicted wearing a jama, with a halo around his face combining the imagery of the sun and the crescent moon.

The other men before him are the Ottoman sultan, the king of England and Scotland James VI and I, and the artist Bichitr himself.

[6][1][4][5] The painting signifies Jahangir's reverence towards the saint, spurning the great monarchs vying for his audience.

[4] Two Persian couplets are inscribed above and below the painting, reading, "By the grace of God is he truly a king both in form and spirit: the Shah Nur-ud Din Jahangir, son of Padshah Akbar; To all appearances, even as kings and potentates stand in attendance upon him, his gaze falls, inwardly, ever upon holy dervishes."