Gulshan-i 'Ishq

Gulshan-i 'Ishq
Upper: the queen in her private apartment. Lower: King Bikram offers food to the holy man Roshan-i Dil. From the 1710 manuscript in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art
AuthorNusrati
LanguageDeccani language
GenreRomantic poetry, Sufi poetry
Publication date
1657
Publication placeBijapur

The Gulshan-i 'Ishq ("The Rose Garden of Love") is a romantic poem written in 1657 by the Indian Sufi poet Nusrati. Written in the Deccani language, it combines literary and cultural traditions from India and Iran. It describes the journey of a prince through a series of fantastical scenes in search of a woman he saw in a dream, leading to their union in a rose garden. Manuscripts of the poem, illustrated with lavish paintings, have survived from the 18th century to the present day.