When the mighty conqueror of the world drew his final breath, his grief-stricken mother rushed to his side, weeping bitterly and rubbing her face against his cold chest. She lamented aloud for her renowned and star-favored son who had once commanded continents, crying out that though he lay physically near, he was now infinitely distant from her, his line, and his battle-hardened legions. She offered her soul to his, calling down ruin upon any heart that dared rejoice in his demise.
Then came Roshanak, his heart-broken queen, stepping forward in tears to mourn over the casket of her lord. She recalled how he had seized the throne of Dara and held the world upright by his might. Where were the fallen monarchs now—Khosrow, Ashk, Faryan, Fur, and the famous ruler of Shahrozor—whose crowns he had cast into the dust? Sekandar had raged like a storm cloud raining hail, and many had believed he was immune to death itself after surviving countless battlefields and blood-soaked campaigns. Yet after emptying the earth of its great kings, he too cast away the imperial diadem and embraced the silent bosom of the earth.
As the crown of heaven sank into the soil, the assembled nobles fell silent. They lowered the royal casket into the dark grave, contemplating how the unfeeling cosmos shows no terror nor pity before the death of emperors. The wind of fate sweeps all away into non-existence, revealing neither rhyme nor reason, nor favoring king over beggar. In this fleeting world, nothing endures save goodness, magnanimity, and righteous deeds; for if a foul name is left behind, no soul shall find entrance into paradise.
Such is the timeless law of the ancient abode. Sekandar vanquished thirty-six kings and built ten magnificent cities, yet in the end, his hands were empty, and those golden cities turned to brambles and dust. He sought what no man had ever sought, but all that remains of his vast empire is the living Word—a monument that neither rain nor snow can decay, enduring long after every mortal head has returned to dust.
#1
ازان پس بیامد دوان مادرش
✦
فراوان بمالید رخ بر برش
“Thereafter came his mother running in haste, rubbing her face repeatedly against his chest.”
#2
همی گفت کای نامور پادشا
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جهاندار و نیک‌اختر و پارسا
“She cried: 'O renowned king, conqueror of the world, fortunate of star, and virtuous!'”
#3
به نزدیکی اندر تو دوری ز من
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هم از دوده و لشکر و انجمن
“'Though near to me in body, you are far from me, far from your lineage, your host, and your assembly.'”
#4
روانم روان ترا بنده باد
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دل هرک زین شاد شد کنده باد
“'May my soul be a servant to yours! May the heart of anyone who rejoiced at this be torn out!'”
#5
ازان پس بشد روشنک پر ز درد
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چنین گفت کای شاه آزادمرد
“Then Roshanak stepped forward full of grief and spoke: 'O noble king!'”
#6
جهاندار دارای دارا کجاست
✦
کزو داشت گیتی همی پشت راست
“'Where is the conqueror who held the realm of Dara, by whom the world stood upright?'”
#7
همان خسرو و اشک و فریان و فور
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همان نامور خسرو شهرزور
“'Where are Khosrow, Ashk, Faryan, and Fur? Where is the famous monarch of Shahrozor?'”
#8
دگر شهریاران که روز نبرد
✦
سرانشان ز باد اندر آمد به گرد
“'And all the other monarchs whose heads rolled in dust from the tempest of battle?'”
#9
چو ابری بدی تند و بارش تگرگ
✦
ترا گفتم ایمن شدستی ز مرگ
“'You were like a fierce storm-cloud raining hail; I thought you had grown immune to death!'”
#10
ز بس رزم و پیکار و خون ریختن
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چه تنها چه با لشکر آویختن
“'After so much warfare, combat, and bloodshed, whether single-handed or engaged with vast armies...'”
#11
زمانه ترا داد گفتم جواز
✦
همی داری از مردم خویش راز
“'I thought Time had granted you immunity, while you kept your secret hidden from your own people!'”
#12
چو کردی جهان از بزرگان تهی
✦
بینداختی تاج شاهنشهی
“'When you emptied the world of its great rulers, you cast down the imperial crown!'”
#13
درختی که کشتی چو آمد به بار
✦
دل خاک بینم ترا غمگسار
“'The tree that you planted has now borne fruit; I see the heart of the earth as your consoler.'”
#14
چو تاج سپهر اندر آمد به زیر
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بزرگان ز گفتار گشتند سیر
“When the crown of heaven descended to the earth, the nobles grew weary of speech.”
#15
نهفتند صندوق او را به خاک
✦
ندارد جهان از چنین ترس و باک
“They hidden his coffin beneath the earth; the world feels no terror before such turns of fate.”
#16
ز باد اندر آرد برد سوی دم
✦
نه دادست پیدا نه پیدا ستم
“Fate brings man low with a gust of wind and sweeps him into non-existence; neither justice is clear nor tyranny.”
#17
نیابی به چون و چرا نیز راه
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نه کهتر برین دست یابد نه شاه
“You cannot find a way through 'how' and 'why'; neither the humble nor the king has power over this.”
#18
همه نیکوی باید و مردمی
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جوانمردی و خوردن و خرمی
“All that is truly needed is goodness, humanity, magnanimity, joy, and sharing with others.”
#19
جز اینت نبینم همی بهره‌ای
✦
اگر کهتر آیی وگر شهره‌ای
“I see no other share for you than this, whether you are of low degree or world-renowned.”
#20
اگر ماند ایدر ز تو نام زشت
✦
بدانجا نیایی تو خرم بهشت
“If a bad name remains behind from you here, you shall not enter blissful paradise in the beyond.”
#21
چنین است رسم سرای کهن
✦
سکندر شد و ماند ایدر سخن
“Such is the custom of this ancient mansion; Sekandar passed away, and speech alone remains.”
#22
چو او سی و شش پادشا را بکشت
✦
نگر تا چه دارد ز گیتی به مشت
“Though he slew thirty-six kings, look what he holds in his hand from all the world!”
#23
برآورد پرمایه ده شارستان
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شد آن شارستانها کنون خارستان
“He raised ten glorious cities; those cities have now turned into thistles and waste.”
#24
بجست آنچ هرگز نجستست کس
✦
سخن ماند ازو اندر آفاق و بس
“He sought what no man had ever sought; yet only speech remains of him across the horizons.”
#25
سخن به که ویران نگردد سخن
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چو از برف و باران سرای کهن
“Word is best, for words decay not, while the old house crumbles under snow and rain.”
#26
گذشتم ازین سد اسکندری
✦
همه بهتری باد و نیک‌اختری
“I have passed beyond this Alexander's Wall; may all be goodness and auspicious fortune!”
#27
اگر چند هم بگذرد روزگار
✦
نوشته بماند ز ما یادگار
“Though time rolls on, the written word shall remain as our remembrance.”
#28
اگر صد بمانی و گر صدهزار
✦
به خاک اندر آید سرانجام کار
“Though you live a hundred years or a hundred thousand, the earth is the final end of all things.”
#29
دل شهریار جهان شاد باد
✦
ز هر بد تن پاکش آزاد باد
“May the heart of the King of the World be joyful; may his pure body be free from all ill!”