Porus
Encyclopedia
King Porus was the King of Paurava
, an ancient state within the territory of modern day Punjab
located between the Jhelum
and the Chenab (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines) rivers, and later of dominions extending to the Beas (in Greek, the Hyphasis). Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River
in 326 BC.
One scholar, Buddha Prakash, Professor of History and of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Director of the Institute of Indic Studies (1964); in his book Political and Social Movement in Ancient Punjab states:
Another scholar, Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi (1966) also seems to agree with this view
This view has other supporters in Hermann Kulke and Naval Viyogi.
- who travelled to India after Porus had been supplanted by Chandragupta
- explicitly identified with the Shoorsainis of Mathura. This Herakles of Megasthenes
and Arrian
has been identified by some scholars as Lord Krishna
and by others as his elder brother Baldeva, who were both the ancestors and patron deities of Shoorsainis. Tod and other notable scholars (Iswhari Prashad et al.) following his lead found further support of this conclusion in the fact that a section of Shoorsainis were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from Mathura and Dvārakā, after Krishna's demise and had established new kingdoms there.
Another theory however links Herakles with Lord Shiva (See Megasthenes' Herakles
).
s. The Harikulas have been identified by some scholars as none other than the descendants of Yadu.
Pauravas
The Pauravas was the name given to the many small kingdoms and tribes of ancient India in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.The Pauravas had also existed before then in the Vedic Ages led by King Sudas, who fought off the Iranian invaders at the Battle of the Ten Kings. The Pauravas were all situated...
, an ancient state within the territory of modern day Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
located between the Jhelum
Jhelum River
Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
and the Chenab (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines) rivers, and later of dominions extending to the Beas (in Greek, the Hyphasis). Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River
Battle of the Hydaspes River
The Battle of the Hydaspes River was fought by Alexander the Great in 326 BC against King Porus of the Hindu Paurava kingdom on the banks of the Hydaspes River in the Punjab near Bhera in what is now modern-day Pakistan...
in 326 BC.
Theories based on etymology
There are no known Hindu textual sources regarding Porus indicating the tribe or ethnic group he belonged to. Several ethnic groups in the Indian subcontinent have tried to claim him as their own ancestor.One scholar, Buddha Prakash, Professor of History and of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Director of the Institute of Indic Studies (1964); in his book Political and Social Movement in Ancient Punjab states:
Another scholar, Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi (1966) also seems to agree with this view
This view has other supporters in Hermann Kulke and Naval Viyogi.
Theories based on symbology and location
Ishwari Prashad and some other notable scholars of Indian History Congress believe that Porus was Shoorsaini. They argue that Porus' vanguard soldiers carried a banner of Herakles who MegasthenesMegasthenes
Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica.He was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria possibly to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India. However the exact date of his embassy is uncertain...
- who travelled to India after Porus had been supplanted by Chandragupta
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...
- explicitly identified with the Shoorsainis of Mathura. This Herakles of Megasthenes
Megasthenes
Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica.He was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria possibly to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India. However the exact date of his embassy is uncertain...
and Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
has been identified by some scholars as Lord Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and by others as his elder brother Baldeva, who were both the ancestors and patron deities of Shoorsainis. Tod and other notable scholars (Iswhari Prashad et al.) following his lead found further support of this conclusion in the fact that a section of Shoorsainis were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from Mathura and Dvārakā, after Krishna's demise and had established new kingdoms there.
Another theory however links Herakles with Lord Shiva (See Megasthenes' Herakles
Megasthenes' Herakles
Megasthenes' Herakles is the conventional name of reference of an ancient Indian deity. Herakles was originally a classical Greek divinity. However, in the aftermath of Alexander's conflicts in North-Western India, an Indian version of this classical Greek deity was identified by Megasthenes who...
).
Purus and Harikulas (Yadus) opposed Alexander
Puru dynasty is generally understood to be that of the PandavaPandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
s. The Harikulas have been identified by some scholars as none other than the descendants of Yadu.
Literature
- ArrianArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
, The Campaigns of Alexander, book 5. - History of Porus, Patiala, Dr. Buddha Parkash.
- Lendring, Jona. Alexander de Grote - De ondergang van het Perzische rijk (Alexander the Great. The demise of the Persian empire), Amsterdam: Athenaeum - Polak & Van Gennep, 2004. ISBN 90-253-3144-0
- Holt, Frank L. Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions, California: University of California Press, 2003, 217pgs. ISBN 0-520-24483-4
- History of India: (from the earliest times to the fall of the Mughal Empire), Dr. Ishwari Prashad