The White Pillar at the End of the World

 The White Pillar at the End of the World

In the lavishly illustrated medieval manuscript of Alexander and Dindimus—a dialogue between Alexander the Great and the Brahmin philosopher Dindimus—one of the final images captures a poignant climax: Alexander erecting a towering white pillar at the farthest edge of the known world. This striking scene serves as a powerful ending to his epic tale. The relentless conqueror, who had devoted his life to pushing beyond every horizon, pauses at last to plant this gleaming monument, a stark testament to the farthest reach of his ambition.

A great white pillar marks the furthest point Alexander had reached.

Whether such a pillar was ever physically raised remains an exciting historical question. Ancient sources like Arrian's Anabasis describe Alexander reaching the Hyphasis River (modern Beas) in 326 BCE, where his weary troops mutinied, forcing a retreat—but no pillar is mentioned there. Later legends, amplified in medieval romances, enhance this with symbolic flourishes drawn from Herodotus's tales of boundary markers set by earlier explorers. Here, the pillar rises above mere history; it represents the uncertain boundary between human aspiration and mortal limitation. With its erection, the outward thrust of conquest yields to the adamant pull homeward, reminding us that even Alexander, son of Zeus, could not outrun the world's confines.

 

When Alexander met gymnosophists (naked philosophers in ancient India)

 

When Alexander met gymnosophists (naked philosophers in ancient India)

When Alexander met some gymnosophists, who were of trouble to him. He learned that their leader was Dandamis, who lived in a jungle, lying naked on leaves, near a water spring.

He then sent Onescratus to bring Dandamis to him. When Onescratus encountered Dandamis in forest, he gave him the message, that Alexander, the Great son of Zeus, has ordered him to come to him. He will give you gold and other rewards but if you refuse, he may behead you. When Dandamis heard that, he did not even raise his head and replied lying in his bed of leaves. God the Great King, is not a source of violence but provider of water, food, light and life. Your king cannot be a God, who loves violence and who is mortal. Even if you take away my head, you cannot take away my soul, which will depart to my God and leave this body like we throw away old garment. We, brahman do not love gold nor fear death. So, your king has nothing to offer, which I may need. Go and tell your King : Dandamis, therefore, will not come to you. If he needs Dandamis, he must come to me.

When Alexander, learned of Dandamis' reply, he went to forest to meet Dandamis. Alexander sat before him in the forest for more than an hour. Dandamis asked why Alexander came to him, saying I have nothing to offer you. Because we have no thought of pleasure or gold, we love God and despise death, whereas you love pleasure, gold and kill people, you fear death and despise God. Alexander stated, I heard your name from Calanus and have come to learn wisdom from you The conversation that followed between them is recorded by Greeks as Alexander-Dandamis conversation.

Alexander the king of Macedonia established one of the biggest empires that the ancient world had ever seen. He conquered many parts of the world and some of the great stories are from the time when he went to conquer India.

Aristotle was the teacher of Alexander. He had told him that, there lived great mystical, intellectual, and Spiritual super-beings dwelling in the forest. Aristotle told him that if he ever got the opportunity to meet a yogi and if possible to even bring one back to Greece for Aristotle to meet. Upon inquiry, he came to know about the spiritual yogi called Dandamis who lived and dwelled in the forests of Taxila.

Alexander sent his army with lavish gifts and presents to bring Dandamis to him. When they reached Dandamis, they said, “The king of Macedonia, Alexander who is the sovereign Lord of all men, asks you to go to him. If you obey, he will reward you with great gifts. But if you refuse, he will cut off your head.”

Dandamis looked at the army calmly and replied without even trying to lift his head up from his couch of leaves. “I am also a son of Zeus if Alexander be one. I am content with what I have. I desire nothing that you can give me. I fear no exclusion from any blessings which may perhaps be yours”, said Dandamis.

“This land with the fruits of her soil is enough for me for when I live. And when I die I shall get rid of my body. Go and tell your king.” he continued, “I don’t desire anything that I have to go to the king and ask him.”

“Your king has nothing to offer me. Therefore, go and tell him Dandamis will not come to him and if he needs Dandamis he will have to come to me”, said Dandamis

The army brought back the message to Alexander and he was furious with the reply he got because he was not used to it. But, he also knew that Knowledge and eternal beings can’t be lured.

He then decided to go to the forest with his army. Alexander could not let his men listen to such an embarrassing conversation. So, he ordered his men to stay a few distances apart.

He then dismounted from his horse and walked towards the yogi and stood over him.

“Do you know who I am?” Alexander asked furiously.

“I don’t think you even know who you are,” Dandamis replied.

Alexander was listening to such words for the very first time in his life and he felt deeply insulted. He then furiously took out his sword and swung at Dandamis stopping right before it struck his neck.

“I am Alexander, the world conqueror.” he shouted, “ You are in my land right now. Submit or I will kill you.”

Dandamis laughed and said, “ I don’t fear death. Even if you cut off my head, you can not destroy my soul. My head will be silent leaving the body like a torn garment. But, my spirit will ascend to God who has left us on the earth.”

These words convinced Alexander that Dandamis was indeed a free man.

“And the land, it belongs to no one, O king! Before you, there were others who claimed it. After you, there will be others who will claim it.” he continued, “All creation belongs to the god alone and no one has the right to destroy what he hasn’t created. Your hands are all red with blood. You might have a temporary claim on the land, but you have permanent scars on your soul.”

Alexander after hearing Dandamis lowered his sword and exclaimed, “The whole world is mine, Dandamis. History will remember me as one of the mightiest kings.”

“What will you do with the whole world? All you need is two yards. Dandamis continued, “Two yards deep and two yards long. That’s all you need in the end.”

He was fascinated, sheathed his sword sat under the feet of Dandamis, and told him that he had come to seek wisdom from him. After a long conversation, Alexander bowed his head before Dandamis and left.

 

Crown for the Admiral

Pasitigris River, 324 BC

After Alexander’s army marched through the brutal Gedrosian Desert (losing thousands of men), everyone feared that his admiral, Nearchus, and the fleet had been lost at sea. Months later, on the Pasitigris River (in modern Iraq), Nearchus suddenly appeared—his clothes caked with salt, his body thin as a skeleton from starvation and hardship. He had navigated unknown waters, fought storms, and kept his crew alive. When Alexander saw him, he broke down and wept. He embraced Nearchus and said, "You are worth more to me than all of Asia"—meaning that all the land he had conquered was worth less than this one loyal friend. Alexander placed a golden crown on Nearchus’s head, and the soldiers showered them both with ribbons. The fleet, which had explored the unknown seas from India to the Persian Gulf, sailed home in triumph. 

Moral: Loyalty outshines conquest.

Sham Misri

The Ladies' Pool -[Oreitan Coast, 325 BC]

 

The Ladies' Pool

Oreitan Coast, 325 BC

Once, Alexander’s navy was sailing along the harsh, rocky coast of Oreita (in modern-day Pakistan/Iran border region). The men were exhausted and starving. Suddenly, two cliff walls appeared, so close that the ships’ oars scraped against the stone. But beyond that narrow passage lay a hidden harbour—perfectly circular, like a coin. Local people called it the "Ladies’ Pool" and told a legend that a queen once ruled there. The serious, worried and desperate sailors dragged their nets through the water and found them full of razor clams. For one night, they ate their fill. The sea, which had been so cruel for weeks, suddenly offered a small, unexpected gift. 

Moral: Even hostile coasts offer moments of grace.

Sham Misri

 

Throne of the Damned

Babylon, 323 BC

After conquering a vast empire, Alexander the Great entered Babylon. In a strange, gloomy and worrying moment, he stepped back from his own golden throne. Immediately, a ragged beggar climbed onto it and sat down. The Persian guards panicked—tearing their clothes and weeping, crying and screaming because, in their tradition, seeing someone else on the king’s throne was a sign of coming death. They tortured the beggar to see if he was part of a conspiracy, but he was just a lost, simple man. Yet the court diviners whispered a chilling interpretation: *It wasn’t the beggar wearing the crown—it was death itself, claiming the throne for another. * That very night, Alexander fell ill with a fever. The man who had ruled from Greece to India grew weak and silent. Days later, he was dead. 

Moral: Fate sits where kings fear to look.

Sham Misri

Sham Misri

Sham Misri-Author 

Sham Misri is a writer drawn to the meeting place of history, poetry, and reflection. His work is shaped by a deep interest in the lives of great figures, not only as historical personalities, but as mirrors of human ambition, struggle, longing, and inner transformation. Through a style that blends lyrical expression with thoughtful prose, he seeks to explore the emotional and symbolic meaning that lives beneath recorded events.

In Lyrical Alexander: Between Man and Myth, Sham Misri brings this vision fully to life. Rather than treating Alexander the Great as only a conqueror of lands and empires, he approaches him as a figure standing between humanity and legend — a man of immense will, brilliance, contradiction, and burden. This approach reflects the author’s wider literary interest: to move beyond surface storytelling and enter the deeper questions of identity, destiny, power, and the soul.

Sham Misri’s writing is marked by a strong appreciation for both the beauty of language and the depth of thought. He is especially interested in the way poetic form can illuminate history, giving voice not only to what happened, but to what it may have felt like, meant, or revealed. His work often invites readers to pause, reflect, and see familiar stories in a new light.

As a writer, he is drawn to themes of greatness and cost, aspiration and isolation, memory and mortality. His voice is at once literary and searching, aiming to create works that are not only read, but felt. In doing so, he offers readers more than narrative alone: he offers a meditative encounter with the human condition through the lives of extraordinary figures.

Sham Misri writes for those who love history, but also for those who seek meaning within history — readers who are interested not only in events, but in the inward journey that often lies hidden beneath them. His work reflects a belief that literature can serve as both remembrance and inquiry, preserving the past while also opening it to deeper reflection.

With Lyrical Alexander, Sham Misri presents himself as a distinctive voice — one committed to bringing together poetic imagination, philosophical sensitivity, and historical inspiration in a way that is both accessible and memorable.

 

Defeat of Porus

 Defeat of Porus

Eratosthenes, you’d shake your head:
“This slaughter reads too smooth,” you said,
“Too neat, too shaped, too fit for song—
Another victor’s version strong.”

But hear what followed on that sand:
Coenus struck from the rearward hand.
The Indian cavalry turned in strain,
Forced to face both front and rear at once again.

Alexander saw their staggered line
And drove his Companions through the sign.
The left wing broke, the horsemen fled
Toward the elephants in rising dread.

Then terror turned upon its own.
The gray beasts, wounded, overthrown,
Trumpeted, wheeled, and maddened fast,
Till friend and foe were crushed at last.

Drivers fell from bleeding height.
The beasts grew wild beneath the fight.
The Macedonians slipped aside,
Then stabbed and struck at flank and hide.

By afternoon the monsters slowed,
Exhausted in the blood-soaked road.
Then came the signal: shields locked near,
The infantry advanced with spear.

The cavalry swept the edges bare;
No ordered refuge remained there.
The Indian line, encircled, torn,
Collapsed beneath the weight of war.

So doubt the cave, Eratosthenes.
Doubt the griffins and old decrees.
But battle won by flank and fear,
By patient stroke and timing clear,
By enemy strength turned back in pain—
That is no fiction dressed as gain.

The Hydaspes ran dark and wide,
And Porus stood where kingdoms died.

Prose:
Once Coenus came in behind, the Indian cavalry was forced into fatal confusion. Alexander pressed hard from the front, and the wings collapsed back toward the elephants. There the battle turned savage. Wounded elephants panicked and trampled their own men as much as the enemy. Macedonian discipline held. They avoided the beasts when they charged wildly, then struck back as they tired. At last the infantry advanced in close order, the cavalry enclosed the field, and Porus’s army was broken almost beyond recovery.