The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night

The wolf and the jackal, serving as viziers, instigate the lion who pursues the Brahman up a tree, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night

India, Mughal court, 16th century

The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The lion returns to his territory and sees the monkey conversing with the lynx, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The wolf advises the lion to consult the cat, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

Dasavanta

The cat attacks the mice which disturb the lion, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night

India, Mughal court, 16th century

The hunter throws away the baby parrots, who pretend to be dead, and captures the mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

Basavana

The monkey, serving as the lion’s chamberlain, converses with the lynx and its mate who have arrived with their cubs to settle in the lion’s domain, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The daughter-in-law of the king of Banaras sees the jackal deprived of its food by a bird, as it unsuccessfully attempts to catch a fish, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixteenth Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The dethroned frog Shapur seeks the help of the serpent, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenth-sixth Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)