The Battle of Hydaspes was a war fought between the Macedonian King Alexander and the Indian King Porus (Puru) of Pauravas.
The Macedonian King Alexander invaded India, in 326 BC after crossing the river Indus he advanced towards Taxila. He was then challenged by Indian King Porus of Pauravas, ruler of the kingdom between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab.
Alexander The Not So Great
Alexander was born to Olympias of Epirus and King Philip II of Macedonia in July 356 BC, Pella. Alexander was trained and educated by Aristotle, a great Philosopher, and Polymath.
Alexander’s father, King Philip II was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards. After the death of the King, Philip Alexander succeeded him and became the new king of Macedonia. By the time Alexander became king of Macedonia he was only 20 years old.
Alexander executed the princes of Lyncestis, alleged to be behind Philip’s murder, along with all possible rivals and the whole of the faction opposed to him. News of Philip’s death started revolting in many states.
When Alexander came to know about the revolts, He decided to handle the revolts himself instead of using diplomacy. He suppressed the revolts by force.
In 334 BC Alexander launched an expedition against the Achaemenid Empire (Persian Empire) and launched a series of campaigns that lasted for almost 10 years.
The reason behind the long-lasting campaigns was Alexander wanted to conquer the entire known world, which in Alexander’s time, ended on the eastern end of India.
King Porus: The Defender Of India
King Porus was the ruler of the kingdom named Paurava Rashtra, the kingdom between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab. We know nothing about Puru’s early life and background.
We have no such information about his childhood, his family, and other relative facts encompassing his life, neither in Indian History nor in Greek history, from where we came to know a lot about king Porus.
We know very few things about him like he fought the war against Alexander to defend his motherland. King Porus gave Alexander the toughest battle of his life and they fought with elephants, which the Macedonians had never seen before.
Battle of Hydaspes: The Toughest Battle of Alexander’s Life
The Battle of Hydaspes was a war fought between the Macedonian King Alexander and the Indian King Porus of Pauravas. The Macedonian King Alexander invaded India, in 326 BC after crossing the river Indus he advanced towards Taxila.
He was then challenged by Indian King Porus of Pauravas, ruler of the kingdom between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab. The battle of Hydaspes took place on the east bank of the Hydaspes River (Jhelum River) which was a tributary of the Indus river, which now flows in the Punjab region of Pakistan.
Indians fought with elephants, which the Macedonians had never seen before. Alexander fought with cavalry units of various types, Horse archers, Infantry troops, etc.
As per the claims of Greek historians, King Porus gave Alexander the toughest battle of his life. The Pauravas were defeated in a fierce battle. Alexander along with his ally Ambhi, The king of Taxila, defeated the Indian King Porus in the battle of Hydaspes. But the truth is different from the claims of Greek Historians.
The Truth: Who won the Battle of Hydaspes?
If I tell you that it was Porus of Pauravas, who won the battle of Hydaspes will you believe it? Most of you will say no it was Alexander, who won the battle of Hydaspes.
To prove that Porus won the battle of Hydaspes, I will talk about the incidents during the battle and post-battle which will make you scratch your head and rethink again before saying that Alexander won the Battle of Hydaspes.
Instance before the Battle of Hydaspes: If you look at Alexander’s conquest career you will get to know that he massacred everyone in the cities/kingdoms he subdued.
Then what changed his actions in India and why didn’t he continue his conquest of India? Because just by winning a small kingdom of Pauravas (as per claims of Macedonians that they won the battle of Hydaspes) you cannot claim that Alexander conquered India, which was a motive of his life.
Instance in the Battlefield: According to the Roman Historian Marcus Justinus, the battle was savagely fought. Puru challenged Alexander, In a duel, one on one battle.
Alexander charged against Puru on his Horse, in the duel Alexander fell off his Horse and was at the mercy of Puru’s spear. At this point in time, Alexander asked for a truce to which Porus agreed.
Why reward an enemy? Before attacking Pauravas, Alexander subdued Taxila of Ambhiraj. Ambhi became an ally of Alexander against Porus on the condition that he will be given Puru’s territory after conquering Pauravas.
After the war, Alexander was so impressed with Porus that he not only gave back his kingdom but also gave Taxila of Ambhi to Porus (As per the claims of Macedonians).
But, the reality is totally different from this when Alexander called for a truce during the duel between Alexander and Porus. Porus offered a deal in return for Ambhi’s territories, that he would help the Macedonians in leaving India safely.
Why did Alexander retreat from India?
Alexander’s motive was to conquer the entire known world, which in Alexander’s day, ended on the eastern end of India. Then why did he retreat from India? If he really won the battle of Hydaspes (As per the claims of Macedonians).
Everyone calls him Alexander the great, If he was really that great then why did he compromise with the motive of his life conquering the world?
If you read Macedonian History about the Battle of Hydaspes, you will come to know that it was the toughest battle of Alexander’s conquest career.
If they have found it hard enough to defeat an enemy who brought 20,000 soldiers, 2000 horses and 200 war elephants into the battlefield. Then just think what other powerful rulers of India would have done to Alexander and his army.
On the other side of the Ganges was the mighty kingdom of Magadh, ruled by King Dhana Nanda. According to the Greek philosopher and historian Plutarch, “the courage of the Macedonians evaporated when they came to know that the Nandas were awaiting them with 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalries, 8000 war chariots, and 6000 war elephants”.
Macedonians were terrified by knowing all of the above facts and the way King Porus brushed them. Macedonian soldiers thought they had reason to oppose Alexander’s orders of marching towards the further side of the Ganges because the further side of India was covered with multitudes of enemies.
Plutarch says: “The combat with Porus took the edge off the Macedonians’ courage, and stayed their further progress into India”.
According to Greek history and historians, Alexander retreated from India because his soldiers were homesick and close to mutiny.
What a stupid excuse. It means ‘Alexander The Great’ who launched a campaign of conquesting the whole world retreated because his soldiers were homesick and close to mutiny. By the way, punishment for disobedience during Alexander’s time was crucifixion.
Read About: The Warrior Queen of Gondwana Rani Durgavati
Macedonians were shaken by knowing about the Nandas of Magadh and the way King Porus brushed them. That’s why Alexander ordered a retreat and ended his conquest of India. That’s why we can call it Alexander’s failed invasion of India. Alexander’s retreat from India marked the end of his conquest career.
The aftermath of the Battle of Hydaspes
Alexander called for a truce during the duel between Alexander and Porus. Porus offered a deal in return for Ambhi’s territories, that he would help the Macedonians in leaving India safely.
Alexander retreated by crossing the River Ravi because Porus didn’t allow him to take the same route which he took to come to India. This strategy of Porus stopped Alexander from regrouping his army.
Alexander’s army had to fight many Indian tribal chiefs by the time they reached the river Beas, but his army refused to fight any more battles.
From the Beas, Alexander retreated via Sindh and Makran to the Indus where Alexander had to again fight against the combined Indian tribal forces of Mallis, Musicans, Oxicans, and Sambus in which Alexander was almost killed due to a severe blow to his head.
In the battle against Malavas of Multan, Alexander was struck by an arrow of an Indian warrior, which pierced Alexander’s breastplate and ribs, making him ill and eventually leading to his death in Babylon (modern Iraq) at the age of 33 years.
After Alexander’s death, King Porus was treacherously assassinated by the Greek General Endermus. This act of the Greek General Endermus created unrest and in 317 B.C. Chandragupta Maurya expelled the Greeks from India and Afghanistan.
Conclusion
The Macedonian King Alexander invaded India, in 326 BC after crossing the river Indus he advanced towards Taxila. He was then challenged by Indian King Porus of Pauravas, ruler of the kingdom between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab.
In a duel between Alexander and Puru, Alexander fell off his Horse and was at the mercy of Puru’s spear. At that point in time, Alexander asked for a truce to which Porus agreed.
Showing mercy on enemies has always been a characteristic of Indians. Whether it was an Indian King like Prithviraj Chauhan or the modern India, which forgave Pakistan in 4 wars.
Chanakya Niti says that one should destroy his enemy completely. I personally stand with the Chanakya Niti because when your future is at stake, showing mercy on enemies can lead to severe consequences.