Puru/Porus/Parvateshwara/Pravatka was the ruler belonging to Chandravanshi Puru clan of Trigata mentioned in ancient texts like Rig Veda and Mahabharata (Raja Bharat belonged to the same clan)
Raja Yadu of Yaduvansh was also a Puru but he officially lost the title to govern by his father Yayati's command. So he established a separate state and his descendants came to be known as Yaduvanshis, where as the line of Indraprastha of Puru had a chakravarti King by the name Kuru, & after him, his line came to be known as Kuruvansh ( of Kauravas and Pandavas).
And the Puru line of Trigartha kingdom (which ruled areas of Punjab some parts of Uttarakhand and most of Himanchal) with whom Porus is identified by the modern sholars, came to be known as Bhumi Vanshi after the Raja Bhumi Chandra who ruled over Jalandhar & Kangra and This is also verified from the fact that Alexander had altars created near modern-day Indaura which lies in Kangra which was earlier called as Susarmapura after Raja Susarmachand of Mahabharata in variety of Hindu Buddhist and Jain texts.
Before that Alexander Porus story became famous in India, Kangra's Katoch claimed their descent from the Raja who fought against Alexander. There is a historical Kalam/painting of Alexander which was made in Kangra. This was gifted by Abhay Chand Katoch to Moorcraft.
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| Maharaja Abhay Chand Katoch gifted an Alexander painting to Moorcraft. Only Kangra history has mention of Alexander and Alexander's annals mention awesome Kangra fort is, surrounded by the dhauladhar range it is breathtaking. It is the largest Fort in Himalyas and supposed to be one of the oldest forts in world, around 3,500 BC. |
Anyways if anyone has to speculate about kingdom which fought against Alexander, then it would be this region only, because of mention of rivers that is made at time are present.
Some historians claim that Trigarta(Jalandhar) & Kangra were two different kingdoms, Trigarta meaning the land of 3 rivers but Hemcachandra affirmed in his works that Trigarta Kingdom & Jalandhar were same also concreted by Baijnath Eulogy.
Neighbouring King of Abhisara is said to have collaborated with Alexander and it is again considered Abhisara is Poonch region. Around 326 BC when Alexander the Great attacked the lower Jhelum belt to battle with Porus, this region was known as Dravabhisar. While Kath tribes are thought to be of Kathua Jammu, Kathgarh region and Katoch (all located in a continuous belt) Parveen Gupta in his book “Apna Shahar Pathankot” also says the conquering campaign of invader Alexander stopped near Pathankot (River Beas) & he has to change his plans, It is also believed by some that Alexander fought here with local Audumbara rulers of Pathankot and Kath tribes after whom Kathgarh and adjoining Kathua in Jammu is named also Porus or Parvateshwar is said to be Katoch Rajput. Kangra Royal family claim descent from Porus.
Kathgarh Shiva Mandir: The Spot where world conquerer Alexander and his forces staged retreat and returned back home from this place
Known for its mysterious Shivalingas, where both parts of shivling separate from each other after shivratri and unite at shivratri, one part is shiv ji and other Maa Parvati Ji.
This temple lies at confluence of Beas & Chauch Khad tributary in Indora tehsil of Kangra distt of Himachal
Reference to the temple is found in “History and culture of Himalayan States” by Prof. Sukhdev Singh Charak
Rulers of Trigarta ruled over Kangra.
Raja Shusharma is identified in Mahabharata who is credited with building the Nagarkot/Kangra fort.The Purus have ruled this fort since Susarma's time. Susarmapura(present day Kangra) finds 1st mention of name Nagarkot in Islmaic texts whereas Ptolemy calls Kangra as Kalindarine.
The Katoch Rajputs descendants of Puru Susharma got his name from Nagarkot only. The Nagarkot Fort of Kangra was so peculiar that the clan who ruled over it was called Kot'ch which became Katoch later on.
Historical Mentions:
Trigartha kingdom finds mention in mahabharat as distant cousins of Kauravas who fought from Kauravas side.
The Trigartha kingdom is one of the kingdoms that has continuously ruled around the same area since antiquity as mentioned in several sources:
Panini(5-6th Century B.C.) penned the existence of Trigarta and they are also mentioned in 5th Century A.D. when Samudragupta invaded Trigarta.
After Samudragupta, the next mention of Trigarta is from Hieun Tsang who mentions Jallandhar being ruled by Udito.
Hiuen Tsang visited Jalandhara in 635 A.D. and gave details that it was a country 1000 li (about 267 km) in breadth from north to south.
Another line of Paravas is being mentioned in Taleshwar copper plates found in Almora, stated Brahmapura Kingdom rulers belonged to the royal lineage of Pauravas. The reinstated Paurava dynasty of Brahmapur was founded by Vishnuverman, and flourished in the 7th century AD. Then, in the 8th century A.D, the Trigarta rulers acknowledged supremacy of the Karkota rulers of Kashmir. This is also mentioned in the Rajtarangini. From the 9th-11th century, there are various mentions of Trigarta.
One of the important mentions being the 10th century Chamba inscription which mentions the Trigarta raja being subdued by Sahilavarman and then becoming an ally. It was also during this time that Ghazni entered the Kangra fort (1009 A.D.) while the Kangra forces were away on war.
The ruler of the time was Jagdish Chandra. From that point on, save one or two rulers, all rulers of the Katoch Rajput dynasty vanshavali can be traced down to the last king. The Trigarta capital was moved from Jalandhara to Nagarkot(Kangra) in 1070 A.D. as mentioned due to constant contact in Jalandhar with various ambitious invading forces who usually were en route to middle India. The Katoch Rajput dynasty is an offshoot of the same Trigatha Dynasty through the continuous mentions found over the centuries.
From Maharaja Susharma Chand till Katoch Dynasty, today, has other famous sub clans as Jaswal Dynasty, Guleria Dynasty, Sibaia Dynasty, Chib Dynasty and Dadwal Dynasty. One thing that is continuously mentioned in the history of Trigartha Kingdom is Kangra(Nagarkot) Fort.
In 1333, Muhammad bin Tughluq led an expedition of 1 Lakh men to invade China. But Badauni and Ferishta wrote that he was badly defeated by Katoch Rajputs of Kangra. His army was not able to fight in the hills & nearly all his soldiers except 10 perished, rest all were executed.
Historian Ishwari Prasad has rejected the claim that Purus and the Pauravas were of the same kingdom, stating that Purus were in fact a Yaduvanshi Kshatriya line as the Kings were coronated by the blessings of Krishna whose descendants ruled the surasen kingdom in braj, but he skipped the fact Yaduvanshis and Purus were from the same Chandravanshi clan initially, and Yadu was ousted by Yayati, but that doesn't take away the fact that both belonged to the same line. Iswhari Prashad however rightly made this conclusion that a section of Shurasenas were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from Mathura and Dvārakā, after Krishna devlok gaman had established new kingdoms there.
Which is further proved by Al Masudis Meadows of Gold(953 AD) that there was a Kshatriya dynasty which ruled in Afghanistan with a Brahmin dynasty in Afghanistan and a Turkshahi Buddhist dynasty. Historian CV Vaidya concludes that it was a Yaduvanshi Bhati dynasty,
which further strengthens ishwari prasad's conclusion. The Yaduvanshi Bhatis after fighting for around 300 yrs against the Islamic advent moved further east, and established kinships around Punjab and Rajasthan. The reason why there were too many Bhatis in Punjab. But later on they further moved southwards and finally established a Principality in Jaisalmer. The Jaisalmer Bhatis became a prominent line of Yaduvanshi Kshatriyas (along with Jadeja/Chudasma)along with Karauli state in Braj region both of them ruled till independence.
Greek silver coin depeicting Alexander attacking king Puru/Porus(on elephant) from behind.
Minted in Babylon c.322 BC, following India campaign..
Puru would soon be assassinated by Macedonian general Eudemus. By 315 BC, the Macedonian entity was reconquered by Samrat Chandragupta Maurya
Three-mast sailship,
Circa 5th century
Ajanta Cave painting...
Ancient Indian archer from Gandhara(presently in Pakistan).
War between Alexander and Puru/Porus
According to Sir A. Cunningham the first historical reference to Jalandhar (Kangra) is founded in the works of Ptolemy - the Greek Geographer. (He accompanied Alexander on his expeditions).
Early History of India by V. Smith states that Alexander's historian had mentioned the battle fought between Alexander and the mountain king of the north of Punjab named Phageus, by the Greeks and is identified in the Katoch family tree as Parmanand Chandra - famously known as Porus in the history of India. (It is at this point we would like to inform you that the recorded history has 2 interpretations, one of the Greek, and the second of the Indian scholars, we will narrate both of them and let you interpret history in your own way).
It is said that only two kings opposed Alexander's invasion, King Hasti (defeated after a month long battle) and Porus, ruler of the doab between Jhelum and Chenab (which contained three hundred towns). Alexander advanced to the river Jhelum in 326 B.C. and met the armies of Porus on the other bank. Porus stood alone with his two sons and an army of 50,000 soldiers against the mightiest hero of the world. Porus had been betrayed by the Raja of Abhisara, Kashmir and Takshila. (They had joined the Greeks). (Prior to this Alexander had asked Puru/Porus for his submission which Puru/Porus had proudly refused).
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander as history told through master and movies:-
Due to the monsoon season, the river was flooded and the ground was wet, therefore, Alexander's cavalry (main army) were unable to fight the elephants of Porus. So Alexander went 16 km up river and crossed over to the other bank, here he was met by Porus's eldest son, who fought bravely but was finally defeated and killed.
Porus marched his army towards Alexander and for 8 hours the Hindus fought bravely but were finally defeated - Porus himself a magnificent giant of 6 feet 8 inches fought till the end but at last succumbed to 9 wounds and was taken prisoner. Alexander was so pleased with the gallantry of Porus that he re-instated Porus with a larger empire (almost 85 thousand sq. miles).
In September, 326 B.C. Alexander retreated from India, after appointing Porus as King of all the lands between Hydaspes and Hyphases (Sutlej & Indus, this kingdom was made up of seven different nations and had 2000 towns). It is believed that Alexander was married to one of the daughters of Porus and the son of Porus took in marriage to a cousin of Alexander (A temple made by the Greek queen still stands at the point from where Alexander retreated - Indora, Himachal Pradesh). According to some Indian Scholars - beyond the Indus lay 3 kingdoms: (i) King Ambhi ruled the region around the Jhelum, Taxila was his capital, (ii) Porus ruled over the territory bordering on the Chenab, (iii) While king Abhisar ruled around Kashmir.
King Ambhi chose to join Alexander, while King Abhisar decided to stay neutral, therefore leaving only King Porus to defend the country. Alexander was camped 16 km north of Attock. when Alexander the Great attacked the lower Jhelum belt to battle with Porus, this region was known as Dravabhisar. According to Plutarch, the Greek army consisted of 20000 foot soldiers and 15000 cavalry. It is stated in the Maharashtrian Onyankosh (page 531, Vol. 7) that both the armies met head-on, on the bank of river Chenab. Alexander and his men waded across the raging Hydaspes River during a violent lightning storm to surprise the vast army commanded by king Porus of India (326 BC). A division of Alexander reached an island in the river but was ambushed by Porus's men (who had already taken up position on the Island). After this defeat Alexander himself crossed the river 60 km up stream from Haranpur where he was met by Porus's elder son leading the advance guard, in the battle that ensued he got killed.
In the next battle Alexander right advanced guard was routed (as they had never faced elephants before) and Alexander himself got wounded and lost his horse Buceptalus. Already taken aback by Puru/Porus’s 200 war elephants, the Macedonians were awe-struck by the prodigious height of the Hindu King. According to Alexander’s biographer Plutarch, the monarch’s
“great size and powerful physique made him appear as suitably mounted on an elephant as an ordinary man looks on a horse.”
Puru/Porus was nearly 7 feet tall, towering over Alexander, who was about 5 feet, average size for a Greek man of that era. The Porus’s high turban and majestic bearing amplified the impression of grandeur, as did his seat on the back of an extra-large Indian elephant, about 11 feet at the shoulder. It is believed that in order to save blood shed Porus challenged Alexander to a one on one which Alexander refused.
Diodorus one of Alexander general testifies - "the huge elephants had enormous strength and proved very useful. They stamped under foot many Greek soldiers crushing their bones and coats of mails. The elephants caught the soldiers by their trunks and dashed them against the ground in great fury. The Ethiopic text observes that in the battle of Chenab a large majority of the Alexander's cavalry was killed. Alexander now realized that a continued battle would completely destroy him, therefore he asked Porus to stop fighting. True to the Hindu tradition Porus set free the captured Macedonian soldiers and signed a treaty with Alexander.
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| On Mughal Road is ancient town of Bafliaz named after slain horse of Alexander who died here aftr battle with King Porus (Poonch distt) |
Mr. Badge further adds - Alexander plight was that his soldiers were grief stricken by the loss of thousands of their comrades. They threw weapons and asked for peace. While asking for peace Alexander said to Puru/Porus
"Please Pardon me, I have realized your bravery and strength, now I cannot bear these agonies."
In spite of clear evidence borne out of subsequent developments - world scholars have not taken the interest to study these facts further. How are we to believe that:
a man (Alexander) known for his cruelty,
suspected for the murder of his father, cousins, and Basus of Bactria,
a man who considered himself as a demi God and demanded implicit obedience,
a man who burned down cities and took his enemies women,
a man who without reason killed his best friend and able general,
a man who entered into war against Porus with intentions of making Porus's head roll, like that of king Darias,
On a mere brave answer by Porus Alexander spared his life, returned his entire kingdom and also added to his territories. The real fact is that Porus had defeated Alexander, which is further proven by the fact that - Taxila (owned by Alexander allai) was handed over to Porus & the king Abhisar refused to meet Alexander (had Alexander won the battle Abhisar would have rushed to Alexander to make peace).
Now on his retreat from his misadventures in India, Alexander a much sober man, broken in spirit and his mighty army badly battered was given safe passage through Puru/Porus's kingdom. Puru/Porus did not allow Alexander to retreat by the route he had taken to come into India (Via Afghanistan where he had left some of his armies). By this farsightedness Porus stopped Alexander from re-grouping his army.
Alexander retreated by crossing on the River Ravi (between the Ravi and the Beas) Alexander's forces had to fight many tribal chiefs by the time they reached the river Beas, Alexander's army refused to fight any more battles.
From the Beas Alexander retreated via Sindh and Makran to the Indus where Alexander was again defeated by the combined tribal forces of Mallis, Musicans, Oxicans, and Sambus - it was here that he was nearly hacked to pieces and received a severe blow to his head (his body guards carried him to safety - two of them died in the process). After leaving India via Baluchisthan, Rasmalan and Pasni, he reached Carmenia. Alexander reached Babylon in 323 B.C. at the age of 33 and on 28th of June 323 B.C. Alexander died, without reaching home.
History must therefore re-assess the Puru/Porus - Alexander encounter to proclaim Puru/Porus as the undisputed hero.
After Alexander's death on June, 11, 323 B.C. Porus was appointed the ruler of the lower Indus Valley. As a King Puru/Porus was held in high esteem by the Hindus and in B.C. 320 he was murdered by the Greek General Endermus - this created an uprising and in 317 B.C. Samrat Chandragupta Maurya expelled the Greeks out of India and Afghanistan. Thus, in 312 B.C. the Maurya dynasty took control of Northern India.
Ancient Hindu Scriptures such as Hemakosa (Sanskrit Dictionary) and the 5th century Rajataranginin, the Uttara-Kanda, the Padama-Puranas and the Vishnu-Puranas mentioned in detail the life, tradition and religious practices in the region of Trigarth (Kangra). One interesting tradition being that the Raja owned all the lands he ruled and all his subjects were his tenants. This is why Kangra does not have any major Jagirdars (like those found in the rest of erstwhile princely India).
The period between 326 B.C. to about the 5th century is fairly blank but we do know for a fact that the Katoch dynasty played an important role in the struggle of power between Chandragupta Maurya and the Greek Generals who were left behind to guard Alexander's frontier Empire (tribal called the Gaddis, a nomadic tribe of the Himalayas are the descendants of the Greeks).
In the early days of Ashoka the Great, the Katoch Kings had tested their swords against this great ruler. They had suffered disastrous consequences of this battle as they were only allowed to govern their lands under a treaty and lost the lands of Multan. By the end of the 5th century, the Katoch Kings had re-established their independence. In the first half of the 1st century A.D. Raja Ram Dev of Kannouj came conquering into Kangra. He was able to plunder the country and its towns, but was not able to take the fort - the FERISHTA in its introductory chapter narrates that - "at length he arrived at the Shakti Pindi (Brijeshwari Temple) where on account of his veneration for the idol of Durga (situated at a small distance on top of a neighboring hills - Nagarkot) he halted and summoned the Raja of Kangra to appear before him. The Raja by no means would consent, but agreed to meet Ram Dev at the temple. Thus, the two princes met at the temple & the Raja of Kangra gave his daughter in marriage to Ram Dev's son. After this, Ram Dev left the region of Kangra and attacked the fort of Jammu.
In C. 470 A.D. the Katoch dynasty successfully defended their empire against Shreshta Sen of Kashmir, but 50 years later his son Pravara Sen-II, defeated the Katoch and annexed the partitions of Chamba.
In the second quarter of the 7th century, the Chinese traveler Huien Tsang passed through Jalandhar which he described as 1000 Li (167 miles) long East to West and 800 Li (133 miles) broad North to South. It seems that in this period the Katoch dynasty had lost their empire in Multan and was left with a kingdom of about 25,000 sq. miles. If these measurements are correct, then the present day towns of Chamba, Mandi, Suket (all independent kingdoms during the British Raj) and Satadru (Shimla hill states) must have formed the outer limits of the Kangra States. Huien Tsang on his return from the court of Raja Harshvardhan of Kannauj is said to have revisited the Raja of Jalandhar (A.D. 643) who is identified as Rajanaka Adima Chandra from the Vanshvali.
In A.D. 883-903, Raja Shankara Verman advanced towards Gujarat with an army of 9 lacs foot soldiers, 300 elephants, and one lac horsemen. Rajanaka Prithvi Chandra of Kangra a contemporary of Shankara Verman, was against the idea of the conquest of Gujarat - how this situations was resolved is not mentioned in the Raj Taringani.
In the 9th century, the Katoch King Jai Chandra built two main temples, one at Baijnath (the fist Jotir-linga, Shiv temple in India), the second at Masroor (rock cut temples copied from the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, coins minted by Raja Jai Chandra can be seen in the museum at Chamba).
In the year 1009 A.D. Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Punjab and laid siege on Nagarkot (town of Kangra). He was probably attracted by the prestige of the fort which was famous all over India and still more by the fabulous wealth which was believed to be stored within its walls.
The details of this siege are recorded in the TARIKHI-I-YAMINI by Utibi (Utibi accompanied the Sultan on his expedition of Hindustan). "The Sultan himself (after his victory of Indus) went to the fort called Bhim (Kangra Fort), which is very strong and situated on the promontory of a lofty hill, in the midst of impassible water. The kings of Hind, the chief of Kangra and all the rich devotees of the Brijeshwari Temple send their treasures and precious jewels time after time to be presented to the large idol within the temple, so that they may receive a reward for their good deeds. The accumulation of years had attained such an amount that the backs of camels would not carry it, nor vessels contain it, nor writers hand record it and nor the imagination of an arithmeticians conceive it". Ferishta records that - "That in this fort is supposed to have been a greater quantity of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, then was ever collected n the Royal treasury of any Prince on earth."
It is interesting to note that Mahmud was the first enemy to ever step foot in the fort. His attack was so swift that the garrison, commanding the fort and the town could not even close the gates of the city wall, (The Katoch armies had been greatly reduced in numbers, because the Raja of Kangra Jagdish Chandra was out on an expedition against the Raja of Kaluta - present day Kullu). After gaining access into the town the Sultan blackmailed the garrison commander within the fort (with the lives of the town citizens). Under these circumstances, the fort was handed over to the Sultan, who after taking control of the fort killed all its occupants. Abu Nasir Ahmed bin Mohammad Farighuni the ruler of Juzjan, Altuntash and Asightigin (Sultans chief chamberlains) - were appointed in-charge of the gold and silver. The Sultan himself took charge of the jewels, (the Kangra fort is said to have 21 treasure wells - each well measures 4 meters deep and about 2 and a half meters in circumference-the Sultan of Ghazni looted 8 wells - the British in the 1890s found 5 more wells. Local beliefs are that the fort still hides within its wall 8 more treasure wells).
1. Forts & Palaces of Wester Himalaya by Asoka Jeratha
2. History of Punjab Hill States by John Hutchison
3. Ancient Communities of the Himalaya
by Dinesh Saklani
4. Society and Religion: From Rugveda to Puranas by J Gadkari
5. Research paper on Early India by R Thapar.