Six dervishes or Sufi adepts are depicted in varying states of dizziness and collapse after whirling to induce a mystical state. Two bearded figures stand with the aid of young novices, while two others are seated on the ground. At the lower left, a youth holds a book, while at the right, another plays the tambourine.

The artist is unknown but may well have been Muhammad Herati, a painter with wide influence in the last quarter of the sixteenth century.