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Porus, was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region
between the Hydaspes (River of Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab River), in the
Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. He is credited to have been a
legendary warrior with exceptional skills. Porus fought against Alexander the
Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326, thought to be fought at the site of
modern-day Mong, Punjab, which is now part of Pakistan. Though not recorded in
any available ancient Indian source, Ancient Greek historians describe the
battle and the aftermath of Alexander's victory. Anecdotally, after the defeat
and arrest of Porus in the war, Alexander asked Porus how he would like to be
treated. Porus, although defeated, proudly stated that he would like to be
treated like a king. Alexander was reportedly so impressed by his adversary
that he not only reinstated him as a satrap of his own kingdom but also granted
him dominion over lands to the south-east extending until the Hyphasis (Beas).
Porus reportedly died sometime between 321 and 315.
The only information available on Porus and his kingdom is from Greek sources,
whereas neither Indian nor Iranian sources mention him. The region of Porus'
domain was previously governed by the Achaemenid Empire, and it is not know
exactly when it gained independence. Some modern scholars have conjectured that
based on his name, Porus may have been a ruler of the Purus, a clan known to
have inhabited north-western India since the Vedic period. However the claim
that Porus belonged to the Puru tribe is inconsistent and disputed, due to the
temporal and spatial displacement between Porus and the Puru clan. The Puru
clan ceased to exist centuries before when they were consolidated into the Kuru
Kingdom. Furthermore, the Puru tribe was historically located in the regions of
Haryana and Delhi. This region was further than the extant of Porus' Kingdom as
well as Alexanders Empire. Some scholars, such as H. C. Seth, have attempted to
identify Porus with Parvataka, a king mentioned in the Sanskrit play
Mudrarakshasa, the Jain text Parishishtaparvan, and some other historical
sources. However, there is little concrete evidence to support this theory: the
Mudrarakshasa describes Parvataka as a mlechchha or non-Vedic foreigner.
According to the Parishishtaparvan, Parvataka ruled Himavakuta, while Porus
ruled in the present-day Punjab region. According to the Mudrarakshasa,
Parvataka was killed by a vishakanya (poison girl) as a result of an intrigue
by Chanakya, while the Greek sources state that Porus was killed by Eudemus.
According to historian Ishwari Prasad, Porus might have been a Yaduvanshi
Shurasena. He argued that Porus' vanguard soldiers carried a banner of Heracles
whom Megastheneswho travelled to India after Porus had been supplanted by
Chandragupta Mauryaexplicitly identified with the Shurasenas of Mathura.
This Heracles of Megasthenes and Arrian (the so called Megasthenes' Herakles)
has been identified by some scholars as Krishna and by others as his elder
brother Balarama, who were both the ancestors and patron deities of
Shoorsainis. Iswhari Prashad and others, following his lead, found further
support of this conclusion in the fact that a section of Shurasenas were
supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from
Mathura and Dvaraka, after Krishna walked to heaven and had established new
kingdoms there.
Battle of the Hydaspes
The battle of the Hydaspes was fought in 326 by Alexander the Great against
King Porus, on the banks of the river Hydaspes. The battle resulted in a
Macedonian victory. Alexander was greatly impressed by his adversary and not
only reinstated him as a satrap of his own kingdom but also granted him
dominion over lands to the south-east extending until the Hyphasis (Beas).
Rule:
Porus was given the kingdom of Punjab region by Alexander III of Macedon, which
the latter conquered from 15 republican people. The kingdom consisted of 5,000
considerable cities and numerous villages as per the mentions of Plutarch.
First among those Indian chieftains was Hastin or Astes, ruler of Hastinayana
or Astakenoi or Astanenoi, having his capital at Pushkalavati or Peukelaotis.
He resisted Greek siege for 30 days and died.
After Alexander's death in 323, Perdiccas became the regent of his empire, and
after Perdiccas's murder in 321, Antipater became the new regent. According to
Diodorus, Antipater recognized Porus's authority over the territories along the
Indus River. However, Eudemus, who had served as Alexander's satrap in the
Punjab region, treacherously killed Porus.
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