Fourth century India. A volatile place. The Macedonian king, Alexander Fhas arrived his thirst for glory is unquenchable. A certain Chandragupta Maurya has decided to overthrow the debauched kingdom ruled by Nanda, and is now a force to be reckoned with. Amidst all this commotion, there exists a warrior, King Porus (or Purushottam), who has taken on the daunting task of measuring swords with the overlord of more than half the world, Alexander himself. This sequence of events leads to an intriguing saga full of unimaginable twists and turns.
This book attempts to highlight this era of Indian history, with the focus on Porus, his power struggle and his role in Indian history. Given that not much is known about Porus' early life, it gives enough scope for creativity and imagination. During the four years I spent researching into this topic, I have gone through the various available sources and filled the gaps through inspired fiction without causing much disturbance to the facts already conveyed through authentic sources. This book would also present Alexander in a new light, which should be of interest to readers. It will take the reader to the golden era of Indian civilisation, in the fourth century BC. After extensive research, I have tried to reconstruct the age, life, administration and social structure of Indian society during that period. The book will also provide glimpses of Vedic and Puranic ways of existence, and show they are still relevant in our day-to-day life. At the same time, readers would also find the wisdom of Homer and Aristotle, which were significant sources of inspiration for Alexander.
The story will be narrated over three volumes, as the topic itself is massive and intense. 'Porus-In the Shadow of Betrayals' is the first book in this series.
It is shocking that, even after playing such an essential role in the history and making of India, there is very little information about Porus available in contemporary Indian sources. We know about him only through Greek counterparts, who had narrated their story and presented their leader. Alexander, as the main protagonist. That could be the reason behind the famous saying, "Patriotism ruins history"-and Greek history is no exception. We know of Alexander and his expedition to Asia and India through the writings of Arrian, Quintus Curtious and Julius. They referred to the original work of Megasthenes and Nearchus for their narrations (the original works of Megasthenes and Nearchus are not available). Most of these works took shape in the second and third centuries, almost 300 to 400 years after Alexander's death. Very few people are aware that an official historian accompanied Alexander during his famous expedition to Asia and India. His name was Callisthenes and he wrote a detailed account of Alexander's expedition in Asia. However, Alexander was so unhappy with the work that he got the historian imprisoned and executed. It is thus no surprise that Callisthenes' original work is not available for reference. All these factors created enough doubt about Alexander's account and led me to believe what George Salavayan once said: "History is a pack of lies about events that never happened, told by people who weren't there." I consider Porus to be the most unfortunate of Indian warriors. Unlike Greeks, writing of historical records was not practiced in India. We know about India's ancient history through religious texts like the Puranas and Upanishads, and through Buddhist literature. Popular opinion and folklore also played an important role in the narration of ancient Indian history. Moreover, there is enough evidence of India being attacked and invaders causing mass destruction of India's ancient literature, texts and education centres. Alexander's departure was followed by the fall of the Nanda dynasty and the rise of Chandragupta. The latter created the biggest Indian empire of the time, and it was only to be expected that he would get more space and imagination from contemporary writers than Porus.
Writing a book is an arduous task and is impossible without the help and support of countless people around you. An opinion is not formed and precipitated in a day; every person who came in touch with me in the last few years earned acknowledgment for the book. I wish to thank them as I might have taken away, knowingly or unknowingly, the time they deserved and devoted it to my book. I want to acknowledge the outstanding debt I owe to historians like AL Basham, R.K Mukharjee, Nilakanta Sastry, Quintus Curtius, Arrian, and authors of numerous articles which have helped me in developing the narrative for the story. I want to thank my friends and colleagues for their encouragement and help. My friends planted the whole idea of writing a book on this topic. I would also like to thank my parents, who have always trusted my efforts. I would not be able to complete my work without the continuous support of my kids.
They read the first draft and helped me with the presentation; without their help, I would have never thought of publishing this book. Last but not least, I want to thank my wife, a better writer and person than me, for being a source of inspiration the reason for my interest in history. Her enormous influence pushed me to read more before starting the book, thereby enriching my thought process.
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