Porus The Great

 

King Porus of Punjab

A great battle took place in 326 BC at the banks of river Jhelum in West Punjab between Alexander, the greek-macedonian king and Porus, the king of Punjab. This battle halted the eastward advance of the Greek-Macedinian army and eventually led to the downfall of the Alexander's empire. So devastating was the psychological impact of this battle that the greek soldiers refused to fight and demanded to go back home. Alexander had ambitious goal of conquering India, but the battle against Porus curbed his aspirations and he retured back to Persia a dejected man.

Alexander's Invasion of India

Alexander crossed Hindukush mountains via the Khyber Pass in 327 BC after defeating the Indo-Persian satrapy of Gandhara. Next was the great kingdom of Taxila. Its King Ambhi submitted without offering any resistance to Alexander. Next target for Alexander was King Abhisares, the king of Abhira including the region of Jammu and Kashmir. Abhisares also sent his ambassador with gifts and submitted to Alexander. 

Alexander Conquers Persia and Afghanistan

Now the path to the rest of India was open for Alexander. His path however was blocked by Porus, the king of Paurava kingdom located between rivers Zhelum and Beas in West Punjab.

The Paurava

Porus was the king of the ancient Puru kshatriya tribe from Parava kingdon in the Punjab region. As mentioned in the Rigveda Mandala 6, the Purus rallied many other Kshatriya tribes against King Sudas of the Bharata, but were defeated in the Battle of the Ten Kings (RV 7.18). 

Aryan Khatri Tribes in NW India

His ancestor Purukutsa is mentioned in Rigveda as the Aryan king who captured the hills of Afghanistan. Rigveda mandala 3 mentions that his son Trasadasyu moved into the Land of Seven Rivers and defeated the Anu-Druhyus and Yadu-Turvashas. He molded the conquered tribes and Puru tribe into the Pancha-janah (Five Peoples) now knows as the Panj Ghar confederation of Khatri tribes in Punjab. The descendents of Paurava or Puru tribe are known as Puri subcaste of Punjabi Khatris

Battele of Hydaspes

Alexander had unknowingly arrived in Punjab during the monsoon rains. The Indian strategists assumed that Alexander would have to either wait for the monsoon season to end before crossing or simply abandon his quest and leave. Despite heavy monsoon rains, Porus drew up on the south bank of the Jhelum River, and was set to repel any crossings. Alexander also knew that a direct crossing would fail and Porus is prepared to pounce. 

Battle Formation at Hydaspes

During a stormy night, Alexander and his smaller army slipped away from the Jhelum through a hidden valley, out of sight of Porus. At dawn, Alexander crossed the Jhelum at Kadee about 17 miles upstream from his initial camp. 

Porus sent his son Malayketu to investigate. Alexander ambushed the patrol party sent by Porus. In the fierce encounter, Malayketu killed Alexanders's horse Buccaphalus with one blow and Alexander fell to the ground. Greeks prevailed and the smaller contingent of Indians were all killed including, Malayketu.

Death of Buccaphalus - Horse of A;exander

Porus now saw that Alexander's crossing force was larger than he had expected, and decided to face it with the bulk of his army. Arrian records that in the final encounter with Alexander, Porus employed 4,000 strong cavalry, 300 chariots, 200 elephants, and 30,000 infantry. Porus, atop his elephant, led his elephant corps instead of the usual double-horse chariot used by Indian kings.

Charge of Porus Elephants

The fighting style of Porus' soldiers was described in detail by Arrian: "The foot soldiers carry a bow made of equal length with the man who bears it. This they rest upon the ground, and pressing against it with their left foot thus discharges the arrow, having drawn the string far backwards for the shaft they use is little short for three yards long, and there is nothing can resist an Indian archer's shot, neither shield nor breast plate, nor any stronger defense if such there be." 

Macedonians under Elephants

The Macedonians had never encountered elephants. They were terrorized by the sheer size of the war elephants and their ferocity. Diodorus wrote about the battle tactics of war elephants - "Upon this the elephants, applying to good use their prodigious size and strength, killed some of the enemy by trampling under their feet, and crushing their armour and their bones, while upon other they inflicted a terrible death, for they first lifted them aloft with their trunks, which they and twisted round their bodies and then dashed them down with great violence to the ground. Many others they deprived in a moment of life by goring then through and through with their tusks"

The Battle of Hydaspes was the fiercest battle Greeks had ever faced with large scale causalities on Greek side including Nicaea, the Greek commander and Alexander's beloved horse - Bucephalus.

Alexander's Mediation Attempts

Alexander sent several emissaries to Porus to deal a peace treaty. According to Curtius Quintus, Alexander towards the end of the day sent a few ambassadors to Porus: "Alexander, anxious to save the lives of his men, sent Texile the Indian to him (to Porus). Texile  was Ambhi, the king of Taxila who rode up and requested Porus to stop his elephant and hear the message Alexander had sent him. But Texiles was an old rival of the Indian King, so Porus turned his elephant and drove at him throwing a spear in anger at Ambhi who ran back to Greek camp. "

Alexander Attempts Mediation with Porus

Alexander, however, far from resenting this treatment of his messenger, sent a number of others, last of whom was Indian named Meroes, a man he had been told had long been Porus' friend".(Arrian Page 180). This Mueres was none other than Chandraguta Maurya, the protege of Chanakya, the wise man from Taxila.

Atermath of Hydaspes Battle

And so Plutarch’s story goes that the army revolted against continuing into India. According to Plutarch, the previous, costly conflict against Porus's much smaller army contributed significantly to their unease.

"As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Hydaspes also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants."

— Plutarch, Plutarch's Lives, Plutarch, Alexander, 62

The peace treaty between Alexander and Porus is brokered by Mueres, known in India as Chandragupta Maurya. Alexander is forced to retreat from Punjab and never to return again, He asks Porus what the best way to return would be. He is told that he should go down the Indus in boats and then go along the Makran Coast in boats and ships to Arabia and thence to Persia.

Peace Treaty between Alexander and Porus

Alexander retreated via a Southern route through Multan, Balochistan, and Sindh and not from the Northern route via Taxila and Bactria from where he had entered. It is said that Sandrocottus or Chandragupa Maurya guided Alexander's army out of Pentopotamia. Does that mean that Porus and Taxila were working in tandem and refused safe passage to the Greeks?

Alexander's Rereat from Punjab

Alexander was chased out of Pentopotamia (Punjab) and hounded by Indians during his retreat. He was badly injured at Multan and almost died of the wound. Alexander barely managed to reach Sistan in Persian territories with a fraction of his army, went in alcoholic depression on return to Babylon and died soon after escaping India - either by poisoning or an infectious disease.

Death of Alexander at Susa

Porus kept his kingdom after the battle and did not lose an inch of territory. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, 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 NW Frontier region, treacherously killed Porus. It is said that Porus was assisinated by a poison girl. Some attribute this assasination on Mauya and Chanakya who excelled in poisoning rivals. 

References

https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com/post/181677349937/india-under-king-sudas-before-the-battle-of-the

https://www.livius.org/articles/person/porus/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porus

https://malicethoughts.blogspot.com/2017/04/alexander-great-disgraceful-retreat.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauravas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puru_(Vedic_tribe)