Pauravas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pauravas
250 BCE–100 BCE
Location of the Pauravas relative to other groups: the Audumbaras, the Kunindas, the Vemakas, the Vrishnis, and the Yaudheyas.
Government	monarchy
History
• Established	250 BCE
• Disestablished	100 BCE
Today part of	Pakistan India

The Pauravas were an ancient kingdom or tribe that lived in the Indus Valley region of what is now Pakistan and India. They are famous because their king, King Porus, bravely faced Alexander the Great when he invaded India. The Pauravas were a powerful group in their time. Their story is an important part of ancient Indian history.

King Porus and the Pauravas

The exact beginnings of the Pauravas are not fully known. Some historians think they might be connected to a very old tribe called the Puru. This is because their names sound similar. However, the Pauravas mentioned in ancient Indian writings were a much older kingdom. They also lived in a different area than the Pauravas of King Porus's time.

Where the Pauravas Lived

When Alexander the Great invaded, the Pauravas lived near the Jhelum River. Their land stretched all the way to the Chenab River. This area was the size of King Porus's kingdom. It also became the furthest point that Alexander's huge Macedonian Empire reached in the east.

Pauravas Under Persian Rule

Before Alexander, the Indus River valley was part of the Achaemenid Empire. This was a vast Persian empire. Cyrus the Great took control of the Indus Valley around 535 BCE. Later, in 518 BCE, Darius the Great invaded Punjab. He conquered the Jhelum River region. This area became a Persian province called Hindush. Records show that the Indus region was under Persian control until about 338 BCE. This was less than ten years before Alexander's campaigns. This means King Porus was likely a ruler of the Pauravas who had only recently become independent from Persia.

The Battle Against Alexander

Alexander and King Porus fought a famous battle called the Battle of the Hydaspes. Alexander had planned to conquer more of India. But the tough fight against Porus changed his mind. His army refused to go further when they heard about the powerful Nanda Empire. The Nanda Empire had a huge army, including many war elephants.

The Greek historian Plutarch wrote about this. He said that the difficult battle against Porus's smaller army made Alexander's soldiers very worried. They had struggled to defeat Porus's army, which had 20,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 horsemen. They learned that the next river, the Hydaspes, was very wide and deep. On the other side, even more soldiers, horsemen, and elephants were waiting. They were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii had 80,000 horsemen, 200,000 footmen, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants. This made Alexander's army refuse to go on.

After Alexander's Invasion

Alexander died on his way back from India. His death caused a lot of trouble and changes in power. King Porus was soon killed by a Macedonian general named Eudemus. By 316 BCE, a young adventurer named Chandragupta Maurya took control of the Macedonian lands in India. He won a war against the Seleucid Empire for control of the Indus Valley. Chandragupta gained control of modern-day Punjab and Afghanistan. This was the start of the Maurya Empire. It grew to be the largest empire in the Indian subcontinent.

Pauravas After the Mauryan Empire

After the Mauryan Empire broke apart, many smaller kingdoms appeared. It seems that the Pauravas were taken over by a strong group called the Yaudheya Republic.

Later, some copper plates were found in Almora, called the Taleshwar copper plates. These plates said that the rulers of the Brahmapura Kingdom belonged to the royal family of the Pauravas. This new Paurava dynasty in Brahmapur was started by a ruler named Vishnuverman. It became powerful in the 7th century AD. These kings were known for following traditional Hindu practices.

See also

• Indian campaign of Alexander the Great
• Shurasena
• Yadu