Alexander of Macedonia – Viewpoint of Indian Wise Men
                     Alexander of Macedonia – 
Viewpoint of Indian Wise Men
Chaitanya Kumari
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History might consider Alexander of Macedonia as a great emperor 
who conquered almost the entire world. But there is one more 
angle to the story of Alexander, which is related to his invasion of 
India. Alexander was humbled not by any monarch, but by simple 
wise men. These wise men were ascetics and sages having 
profound knowledge of philosophy and dharma.
Firstly, it must be highlighted that concepts of philosophy carrying 
deep meaning were not unknown to Alexander. But the problem 
was that he was obsessed with his goal of conquering the world. 
This prevented him from making the great philosophical truths the 
guiding principles of his life.
On one occasion, Alexander met a group of wise men who were 
under the vows of asceticism at Takshasila. There, he interacted 
with the eldest of the ascetics, Sage Dandamis. After a lengthy 
dialogue with the Sage and his disciples, Alexander came to the 
conclusion that they were actually people who had experienced 
genuine freedom.
During the interactions with these holy people who left all worldly 
things and embraced spirituality, Alexander was simply stunned. 
The sages were neither lured by the wealth that the king offered 
nor afraid of the immense power he wielded. They were 
equanimous. It was the first time in his life that Alexander met 
people who were unmoved by his presence. 
The sages fearlessly conveyed that a day will come, when the 
treasures and wealth that the king looted during his conquests 
will be of no value. When he dies, everything will be left behind, 
and someone else will enjoy that wealth. This is something over 
which even Alexander has no control. Similarly, the wise ascetics 
made Alexander conscious of the fact that everyone is a mortal; 
this is a fact of life that even he can’t change.
The ascetics had no hesitation in frankly conveying to Alexander 
that his ambition caused a lot of suffering and hardships to 
many people. Controlling the senses is much more significant 
than conquering kingdoms. The king was always accustomed to 
seeing people bowing down without contradicting him in any 
way. But, the courageous and yet polite approach of the 
Takshasila sages left him puzzled.
At a later point in time, Alexander met another Indian sage named 
Calanus. The king had an exhaustive conversation with Calanus, 
too, where many complex aspects of philosophy were covered. 
Unlike Dandamis and his followers, Calanus chose to go to Persia 
along with the king.
On arriving in Persia, the sage became sick, and his health rapidly 
deteriorated after that. After some time, Calanus decided to end 
his life, as he saw no point in remaining alive as a dependent. 
Alexander tried to persuade the ascetic to revoke his decision, but 
he couldn’t do so. Eventually, the sage immolated himself. During 
the course of this entire process, several irrefutable facts of 
philosophy and dharma were conveyed to Alexander subtly.
All the wise men mentioned above didn’t attach any importance to 
the ‘greatness’ of Alexander. It is indeed amazing that a powerful 
emperor whose conquests covered almost the whole world was 
‘defeated’ by people with no worldly possessions. They were not 
warriors or emperors, but simple monks. The king was shown the 
reality, and brought down from the pedestal where Alexander 
positioned himself.
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