0 H AP T E a
ALEXANDERS
INVASION
STS'
1A
JL
III
AND ITS
CULTURAL IMPACT
I n d ia and G reece f i r s t came i n t o c o n ta c t o f each o t h e r th ro u g h
P e r s i a , h u t no d i r e c t c o n n e c tio n was e s t a b l is h e d u n t i l A lexander
and h i s M acedonians s u c c e s s f u l l y c h a lle n g e d t h e m ight o f P e r s i a
to w ard s t h e end o f th e f o u r t h c e n tu r y B.C. Then th e n o rth -w e s t
p a r t o f I n d i a w hich form ed t h e e a s te r n m ost p ro v in c e s o f th e
P e r s ia n Empire q u ic k ly f e l t th e s t i n g o f th e Macedonian, v i c t o r y 1 2345.
The G reeks and In d ia n s d id see each o t h e r a s f i g h t i n g
fo e s in th e y e a r 480 B.C. when t h e In d ia n c o n tin g e n t fo u g h t
a b a t t l e of t h e H e lla s u n d e r X e rx es. T hese I n d ia n tr o o p s who
fo u g h t f o r t h e f i r s t tim e i n Europe had to e x p e rie n c e a t e r r i b l e
o r d e a l i n s to rm in g th e b loody d e f i l e s o f T herm o-pyloe^.
H erodotus s a y s t h a t "th e I n d ia n s c la d in garments made o f
c o tto n , c a r r i e d bows o f cane and arrow s o f c a n e , t h e l a t t e r
tip p e d w ith i r o n .
N ext tim e t h e G reeks met t h e In d ia n s w ith t h e i r e le p h a n ts
on t h e f i e l d o f b a t t l e o f A rb e la i n t h e y e a r C 331 B.C. Sykes
in fo rm s t h a t f i f t e e n ( I n d ia n ) e le p h a n ts w ere m a rs h a lle d i n t h e
f i g h t i n g l i n e , t h e i r f i r s t a p p earan ce in a h i s t o r i c a l b a t t l e ^ .
A rria n sa y s t h a t t h e I n d ia n s who l iv e d t h i s s i d e o f t h e In d u s
c
fo u g h t i n t h e b a t t l e of A rb e la . But such c o n ta c t i n b a t t l e s
w ere m e re ly ‘to u g h and go* th e y can h a rd ly b e re g a rd e d a s r e a l
c o n ta c t s .
The in v a s io n o f I n d i a by A lexander opened t h e flo o d
g a te s o f t h i s c o n ta c t .
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
G.E. Sen. ^ The p a g e a n t o f I n d i a 's H is to r y , p . 113
A .l.U .^ p . 42
H ero d o tu s^ V II p .6 5
H .O .P ^ p . 256
Chiwock ? A rra in *s A n ab asis ^ p p . 142-143*
1AHLY
QAMBR
Of
ALBXANDS&,
lib
2HS GiEAT
Alexander I I I . , King of Macedonia, sumamed the
was the son of B xilip I I
of Bpeiros,
th e I lia d .
Great
and Olympias belonging to the
claiming descend from A chilles
An Akamanian tu to r named
-
race
th e hero of
lysiia&chos,
f
taught
him in th e beginning and subsequently he was entrusted to
A r is to tle 's
wise care.
c h aracter and supreme
He developed
an a u stere and strong
v alo u r in h is youth?'
On h is fa th e r P h ilip ’s a ssa ssin a tio n , when he was pre­
paring fo r an invasion of P ersia to avenge th e invasions of
King Mardonios
and Xerxes,
Alexander succeeded th e Macedonian
throne in th e year C. 336 B.C. when he was only 20.
On h is
accession Alexander found him self surrounded by formidable
foes from a l l s id e s,
ta s k .
fhe young King proved equal to the
A fter securing h is p o sitio n in h is
Kingdom,
Alexander
looked to th e East and with a strong force of 30,000 foot and
4,500 horse marched towards
th e Hellespont in the spring
account with
the
P e rsia .
of
Achaemenians
Crossed over to Asia at
C. 334 B.G. f i r s t to s e t t l e
and then to conquer th e d is ta n t
In d ia.
His f i r s t c o n flic t with
the banks of th e riv e r
th e
Persians took place on
Granikos in which h is sm all and w ell
tra in e d army routed the vast horde of the Persian army.
a f te r he defeated
1. 1,1/A G.j, p. 15
S hortly
th e Persian ELngy Darius and made him f l e e .
117
At Gordian, Alexander saw the Chariot of Gordius, founder
of the Phygian monarchy and was informed of the oracle
' that any man who loosed the knot binding the yoke to pole
would rule over Asia Alexander succeeded where a ll had
failed either by an impetuous sword cut or by pulling out the
pole pin?" Shen crossing the river Euphrates in C. 531 B.C.
Alexander, finally defeated Darius III again on the battle­
field of Arabela. Darius III again fled for his dear lif e
but he was killed by his own men. fhe Indian troops were
present at the battle of Arbela when the fate of Iran under
Darius Codoinans was finally decided by the invincible sword
o
of Alexander. Alexander took some time in his conquests in
northern Persia and Bactria and also in consolidation of
conquests before invading India. In the year C. 329 B.C.
the Macedonian army recrossed the Oxus and came to Zsriaapa
to spend the cold winter. The army was re-inforced from Greece
and regretted for the invasion of India and in the Summer of
C. 327 mat B.C. the Macedonian King le ft Baetra on his Indian
expedition. Percy Sykes says that India had attracted
Alexander with irrestible force just as it attracted the
Portuguese, the french, on English some 19 centuries later^.
1. H.O.G.J p. 608
2. P.C. Davar * India & Iran through the Ages, p. 53
*, V \ 0 - p » Y 2-sl *
3. ®£omas Holdieh, She Gates of India ^Ch. I? & V.
113
ALEM DBk
IN V A D ES
IN D IA
Alexander was approaching th e
P ersian Empire
s t i l l onwards
and i t was evident th a t he meant to
towards th e s u n rise .
th a t
announced
bourne o f th e old
th e
The
omens were
Greek d iv in e rs
fav o u rab le.
dawn, one day in th e sp rin g o f 326 B .C .,
d e f ile over
th e
bridge (of th e
many rac es stream ing
WHY AlEXAM DBh
A lexander's
explain why he
w rights
and
m isconceptions
decided to
crews
to him to a tta c k
w ith
h e r.
ex p lo ra to ry one, and
th e
IH V a DED
h is
th e
world 1
I h D lA
Europe and Asia
In d ia
army.
and took
In d ia
p a rt
of
a
grand
sh ip ­
gave no casus b e l l i
The m ilita r y expedition was
a
e a rly
th e mingled lin e of
In d ian
about
invade
In
th e host began t o
In d u s),
a l l day in to
p res a
an
design
o f th e g rea t
conqueror.
I f In d ia ju te d
eastw ards in to th e
ocean,
tu rn e ith e r northward by ocean to th e rim
perhaps
to
e n te r
explore
In d ia
as
a
th e
Caspian
ro u te
a r e la tiv e ly
s im ila r.2
The
unknown
lands
Sea
In d ia .
1. I*1.A. G,p•S4~
2. H .O .G .^ p . 529
e ls e
along th e rim o f
sm all p e n in su la
urge to explore
might
or
have
of
he could
Europe
southwards
Asia.
and
He thought of
of
Arabia
to see and to dominate
brought
th e
or
g re a t
as
th e
ad v en tu rer
to
S eco n dly t h e b e l i e f r a t h e r th a n a t r a d i t i o n t h a t
D ariu s I had once h e ld I n d i a , i n s p i r e d
A lex an d er
a tte m p t a c o n q u est which was a ls o an e x p lo r a tio n and
"I
open up s e a com m unication f o r h i s em pire .
INDIA A3? SHI f l f f i GP ALEXANDERS
P o l i t i c a l c o n d itio n
to
would
INVASION
th e r e was no e x te n s iv e kingdom i n I n d i a
o f th e f o u r t h c e n tu r y B.G,
ex cep t t h a t o f ,
param ount im p e r ia l power e x is te d 2,
l a th e
Magada -
No
Punjab and
Sindh t h e tw o a re a s v i s i t e d by th e M acedonian f o r c e s ,
p e t t y and in d ep en d en t S t a te s w ere num erous, The c o u n try
betw een th e Jhelu® and t h e Beas a lo n e was occupied by
sev en d i f f e r e n t t r i b a l S t a t e s .
The Kingdoms o f T a x ila and
P o ru s w ere r u le d by Kings w h ile t e r r i t o r i e s l i k e M alavas
and K shudrakas were a d m in is te re d as r e p u b lic s o r o l i g a r x -c h ie s .
The s ta te m e n t made by M egasthenes tw e n ty y e a rs o r so
a f t e r A le x an d e r’s in v a s io n t h a t 118 d i s t i n c t n a tio n s o r
t r i b e s were s a i d t o e x i s t in t h e w hole o f I n d i a p ro v e s t h a t
th e l a r g e number of d i s t i n c t governm ents i n th e P u n jab and
Sind were i n no way e x c e p tio n a l.
Such S ta te s w ere engaged
i n u n c e a sin g ware •2 among th e m se lv e s by t h e d is s e n s io n s o f
th e P unjab r a ja c s
The h o ld
o f th e
Achaemenian
on
th e
v a rio u s p ro v in c e s on th e f r o n t i e r h a d ,
f e e b le about t h i s tim e
and t h e
how ever,
w hole
p a r c e l l e d o u t i n t o innum erable
In d ia n s i n t h e
grown
o f N o rth
kingdom s,
and
W estern,w as
re p u b lic s f
§•
o
H*
ru
ut
VC
§•»• •
ef
P* on
*• M
Ho*. »
•
•
♦
•
Pi
Ss
S3
Xl
4
a
M
XI
3
w
CM
Pi
Pi
HI M <3 W
Bay C houdhuri g iv e s t h e l i s t o f some 28 im p o rta n t
♦JV j J I O H
v e ry
XVjdijC
kingdom s
Dr.
120
and t r i b e s
fh e y w ere
fs ^ la ,
t h a t e x is te d i n t h e a re a s o v e r run by
Asp&cian,
A b h isa ra ,
G u raean s.
E ld e r
A d raisfei,
K a th a i^ o i,
Oxydr&kai,
M a llo i,
M assatsoi,
A ssakenos,
P o ro s ,
H hegelas,
Abastaxaoi,
M ousikanos,
N ysa,
G lahganiTjEai,
S o p h y te s,
X a th ro i,
Oxykanos,
h e a rd
u n d er a r i s t r o c r a t i c
P r a s i i (M agadhas}
N a tio n s ,
of
th e
g o v ernm ents.
th e ir
g r e a t Kingdom o f
e a s t (B ra e h i)
Greek P r a s i i w ith
INDIAN
and
army c ro s s e d
She n a tio n s
H yphases (B eas) w ere
S tra b o s a y t h a t
suprem acy
Xfagadha
e x is te d i n th e
INVASION
In d ia n s o i l from
t o t h e o th e r s id e
an In d ia n c o n tin g e n t of
o v er o t h e r s 2
.
i t s c a p ita l a t P a ta lip u tra .
I t was i n t h e s p r in g o f 326 B .C .
on
S o d ra i,
1
P a ta le n c e . We
A rra in and
¥ e know t h a t , t h e
f i r s t s e t fo o t
ig a la s s o i
were t h e m ost d is tin g u is h e d o f a l l th e
but n e ith e r h in ts a t
or
G a u d aris,
O s s a d io i,
Sambos
beyond
^keloccH s'
S ib o i,
s h a l l p r e s e n t l y d e a l w ith them g m e r a l l y .
w hich A lex an d er
A lexander.
of
th a t
Greek
th e
th e
A lexander
p o in t o f view .
H is
S in d h u , accom panied by
5000 fro® th e H a g o f f a x l l a and o th e r
c h ie fs .
of
She in vad in g army was warmly welcomed by Ambhi, th e lin g
S a x ila 3. H is kingdom l a y betw een t h e In d u s and t h e Jhelum
A lexander
added more
te rrito ry
t o th e kingdom o f f a x i l a and
h e ld a v ic t o r io u s f e l i c i t a t i o n i n t h e
c a p ita l^
In
th is
1 . BHaX j f pp 245-^259
IIAG^. p . 221
2 . Mount S t u a r t - B lp h in s to n e , H is to r y o f I n d i a , p . 227
3. A.I.N.pp* 47
4• I ol &A.G.p» 92.
J
121
Durbar,
he received homage sad p resents .from th e ch ie fs of
th e lo c a lity ,
These g i f t s
were returned by Alexander
on a la v ish sc a le in th e shape of v essels of gold and s ilv e r
and embroideries which he had obtained in
P ersia ,
thus
bringing not only both th e Greece and Ih d ia, but ale©Persia
I
and India c u ltu ra lly n earer,
Beyond f a x ila ,
la y
between th e
the kingdom of Elder
th e tr a d itio n
riv e rs
Jhelum and
Chenab,
Poros (Puru o r Paurava).
of h is ancient
vedic period,
.
/
lin eag e,
he determined to defdnd,
True to
\
reaching back to- the
a t a l l c o s ts ,
th e
i
honour
of h is fam ily
and the independence of h is kingdom9 .
'
He
l-
heard with
resentment of xhe submission of Saxila
and o th er
lo c a litie s including another Baurva {Younger Porus} of h is
own kingmen ru lin g fu rth e r east beyond the
Chenab,
king of Abhisara ( h illy t r a c t of
who offered
to help him,
b ro th er to
submission.
tra ito rs ,
to submit.
Alexander,
Kashmir),
was playing a double game, and
Taxi la with
presents
to
sent h is own
Alexander and
But although hemmed in by enemies,
both
in fro n t and year,
Even th e
o ffe r of
cowards and
h is undaunted s p i r i t refused
When th e enemy’s envoys came to summon him to meet
he proudly rep lied
a t h i s . own fro n tie rs
1. A.I.U.; p.47
2. I b i d ,
3. Ib id ,^ p. 48
and
th a t would indeed meet him but
x
in arms .
ChOSSIIG
SHE HTOISPES
Both s i d e s now made a c t i v e
i n e v i t a b l e w a r. A lexander d id
( JheluHh )*
p r e p a r a tio n s f o r th e
n « t w a it t i l l a f t e r th e
r a i n s when th e r i v e r s w ould be f o r d a b le , p ro b a b ly because
he waa u n w illin g t o g iv e P o ro s tim e t o s tr e n g th e n h i s
p o s i t i o n by f r e s h a l l i a n c e s .
Having l e f t a Macedonian
g a r r is o n and h i s S a tra p P h i l i p a s a " R e s i d e n t i n t h e
Kingdom o f Ambhi, he moved on t o t h e banks o f t h e
(Jhelum ) which was th e n (May 326 B.C. ) i n flo o d 7
H ydaspes,
P o ru s was a ls o re a d y w ith h i s f u l l s t r e n g th on t h e
a p p o s ite bank t o oppose h i s p a ssa g e o f t h e r i v e r .
For
some tim e th e two arm ies watched e a c h -o th e r . ' A le x an d e r,
th e n to o k r e c o u rs e t o a s tra te g e m . He made h i s army move
up and down th e r i v e r i n s e a rc h o f a c o n v e n ie n t p o in t
f p r c r o s s in g and k ep t th e In d ia n s i n d a rk about h i s movements.
At l a s t t h e c r o s s in g was e f f e c t e d one m orning a f t e r
a
p
n ig h t of t o r r e n t i a l r a in and storm a t p o in t 27 2m up
th e
r i v e r from t h e o r i g i n a l camp. A b r id g e o f b o a ts , which was
moved up to t h a t p o in t and was k e p t h id d en behind a wooded
i s l a n d e n ab led th e M acedonian army t o c r o s s th e r i v e r un~
%
o b se rv e d .
1 . A .l.tJ ^ p . 48
2 . A ccording t o A rra in , i t was 150 S ta d ia d i s t a n t from t h e
Macedonian camp. (A n ab asis C h a p te r X I).
3 A .I .by p . 48
f h e names o f t b s P unjab r i v e r s i n a n c ie n t I n d i a :
(1 ) Modem name
(2 ) A ncient name
(3) C reek name.
In d u s
8ind.hu
In d u s o r Sindh
Hydespes
¥ ita s ta
jThelum
Chenato
Akesine s
C handrabhaga
H y d rao tes
Ira vatI
Aabi
Bess
H y p asis
Vepasa
S a tlu j
H e s id r u s .
S a tad ru
A lexander G rossed o v e r w ith o n ly a s m a ll p a r t o f h i s
army o f ab o u t 1 1 ,0 0 0 men and c a v a lr y .
P o ru s s e n t h i s son
t o oppose him w ith 2000 m ountedtroops and 120 c h a r i o t s , But
th e s e c o u ld n o t w ith sta n d t h e c h a rg e of t h e M acedonian
C av alry le d p e r s o n a lly by A lexander
and t h e g a l l a n t son of
Porus was h i l l e d in a c t io n .
The In d ia n c o n tin g e n t was
d e s tro y e d i n a b r i e f e n c o u n te r.
battle
agaibst
poaos
P o ro s now o ffe re d b a t t l e w ith h i s w hole army Which A rra in
e s tim a te s a t 30 ,0 0 0 f o o t , 4000 h o r s e ,
300 c h a r i o t s and 200
e le p h a n ts .
The e le p h a n ts w ere p la c e d i n f r o n t fln a k e d by
i n f a n t r y o n ,b o th s i d e s . She f la n k s o f t h e i n f a n t r y w ere
a g a in g u ard ed by C a v a lry w hich was p r o te c te d by c h a r i o t s in
f r o n t? Q u in tis C u r tiu s re c o rd s t h a t an image o f H e ra k ie s
(K rish n a ) was c a r r i e d in f r o n t o f th e a army <x£ Porus a s h e
advanced a g a in s t A lexander?
T h is shows t h e I n d i a n fo u g h t w ith
re lig io u s ferv o u r.
Prom t h e ^ o u ts e t , t h e b a t t l e went a g a in s t P o ru s . The r a i n s
o v e r-n ig h t ren d e red t h e ground s lip p in g and h i s ;war c h a r i o t s
k ep t s t i c k i n g in th e s l u s h .
The a rc h e r s co u ld n o t f i x t h e i r
A
lo n g bows on th e muddy g ro u n d ;
A lex an d er began t h e b a t t l e w ith c h a rg e o f 1000 mounted
a r c h e r s from C e n tra l
A sia and p ic k e d M acedonian c a v a lry *
m aking a b re a c h i n th e l i n e s o f th e In d ia n c a v a lr y and i n f a n t r y
The. anay o f P orus was throw n i n t o c o m p lete c o n fu s io n ^ .
A rra in sa y s
MZ r a ta r u s and t h e
1 . A.X*U#)Pt48
2.
3.
4.
5.
I b i d and HAG p . 102
IIAGa p . 2 0 8 '
I b i d . p . 49
I b id ',
c a p ta in s who w ere w ith him
on t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e r i v e r ,
v ic to r y to in c lin e t o th e
n o s o o n e r p e r c e iv e d t h e
M acedonians th a n t h e y
o v e r and made a d r e a d f u l s l a u g h t e r
U lt im a t e ly P oru s w as a e f e a t e d
2 0 ,0 0 0 i n f a n t r y ,
Two s o n s o f P o ru s
of
Indians}
th e
on t h e f i e l d
w ere k i l l e d
a lo n g w it h t h e g o v e r n o r o f th e r e g io n named
t h e I n d ia n w ar e le p h a n t s
POSTS
D e fe a te d P o ru s
lo s in g
in th e b a t tle
S p it a k e s .
w ere a l s o c a p tu r e d .
w r i t e r s c la im t h a t t h e l o s s o f
le s s 2
p assed
ill
She G reek
M acedonian f o r c e s was much
DEFEATED
w as c o n d u c te d t o t h e
M acedonian
c o n q u e r o r who a sk ed him how h e s h o u ld l i k e t o
he
tr e a te d .
He made t h e fam ous r e p ly w hich h a s become a c l a s s i c ,
"Act a s
a K ing* when A le x a n d e r a sk e d him t o be m ore p r e c i s e ,
he
r e p lie d " w h e n I s a id ,
i n t h a t . , . I t i s s a id
a s a B ing" e v e r y t h in g was c o n ta in e d
t h a t A le x a n d e r was s o much d e lig h t e d
w ith t h i s r e p ly t h a t n o t o n ly h e a p p o in te d h i s fo r m e r f o e
g o v e r n b i s t e r r i t o r y hu t a l s o added o t h e r a r e a s
p e o p le s )
to h is ch arge.
Porus
to
(1 5 r e p u b lic a n
p ro v ed h im s e lf f a i t h f u l
and
d e v o te d t o h i s new a l l y .
A fte r th e b a t t l e ,
A le x a n d e r fou nded tw o c i t i e s , one
on t h e
b a t t l e f i e M and t h e o t h e r w here h e had c r o s s e d th e
r i v e r H ydespes (Jh elu m ) nam ing th e f i r s t
a s M ik a ia *
in
h o n o u r o f t h e v i c t o r y o v e r th e I n d ia n s end
th e second -
5 . A .I.U jP * 49
4 . K ik e m eans V ic t o r y .
1
B oukephala i n memory o f h i s h o rs e B o u k e p h a la a d ie d t h e r e .
w hich had
But iile z a n d e r’s f u r t h e r advance was now impeded by
re p o rts of
r e v o l t s f r e e re g io n s conquered by him .
Kandahar ro s e w ith t h e h e lp of an I n d ia n C h ie f D aoaraxus.
The Aeftrakas r e b e l l e d k i l l i n g th e S a tra p E le a n o r. S i s i K o tto s( S a s ig u p ta ) , th e n t h e S a tra p o f A ssak en ian s ( e a s t e r n A s'v a k a s)
2
asked f o r u rg e n t re in fo rc e m e n ts .
The s i t u a t i o n was somewhat
Im proved by t h e a r r i v a l o f T h ran ian re in fo rc e m e n ts from I r a n ,
w ith whom A lexander c ro s s e d t h e n e x t r i v e r Ace S ines(C henab)?
x**k
Ptolem y s a y s t h a t A lexander advanced a g a in s t t h e
c o u n try c a l l e d Glausd. ( P o s s ib ly K alak t r i b e o f Y araha 8 a m h ita )f
The p e o p le s u rre n d e re d everyw here on t h e terras o f c a p i t u l a t i o n
and A lex ander c a p tu re d 57 c itie s* * .
'TOWaBDS
THE HYPHASIS
(B eas)
Beyond th e r i v e r A cesines (A sik n i - Chenab) l a y th e
Kingdom o f Porus I I who l e f t h i s realm t o i t s
f a t e and f l e d
f o r s h e l t e r t o t h e n a tio n o f G a n d a rid a i. Thew hole re g io n
betw een
t h e Chenab and t h e w avi (B y d ro a te s) was annexed
t o t h e Kingdom o f P aurav^
A ccording t o Bay C h au d h ri,
G an d aris was t h e name o f t h e Kingdom of younger Port® . I t
7
re p r e s e n te d th e easternmost p a r t o f old G andhara.
1 . B oukephalas was th e f a i t h f u l h o r s e of A lexander, w hich had b ro u g h t
him from M acedonia t h i s f a r , and had undergone many “i o i l s
and d a n g e rs in a l l th e b a t t l e s . ( A r r a in ’s A nabasis, C h a p te r X IX .)
2 . I .A .U ., p . 49
p
5 . Ib id ,. ^
4» IlA G ,p.lll*f{P H A l p .2 5 0 l o c a t e s t h i s re g io n to t h e w e st o f t h e Chenab
5 . I b i d , p . 112 (Jn t h a t c a s e i t would come b e fo re c r o s s in g t h i s r i v e r . ^
6 . A .I.U .p .4 9
7 . PHAJp?. 250.
.Alexander n e x t m arched u p to t h e H'avi and
in v ad e d t h e
t e r r i to r i e s of
beyond and
re p u b lic a n p e o p le .
0f
t h e s e , th e
A d r a ia ta i ( A r a tta s ) re p u b lic a n a o f f e r e d su b m issio n t o
But th e
A lexander.
K a th a io i (E athas) d e fie d him free* t h e f o r t i f i e d town
•I
and
S angala ( & am k ala= jan d iala)
though w ith o u t s u c c e s s and
A lexander th e n r e c e iv e d
K ings
named
(to th e e a st
su ffe re d t e r r i b le
su b m issio n o f
of
A m rits a r),
c a s u a ltie s .
tw o
n e ig h b o u rin g
Sophytes (Sam bhuti) r u lin g o v e r a t e r r i t o r y - e a s t
o f t h e Jhelum and
JPhegelas (B h ag ala) r u l i n g o v e r a t e r r i t o r y
betw een t h e
end
Bavi
H y p h asis (B eas)
th e
B eas.
He th e n came t o t h e f i f t h r i v e r
w ith an id e a t o c o n q u er t h e
beyond t h i s r i v e r .
B ut t o h i s w ar
I n d ia n s who dw elt
w eary array t h e r e was no end
t o th e f i g h t i n g .
Would th e y f i g h t a l l t h e Way to t h e v e ry end o f t h e e a rth ?
ms
3Bzm &
When A lexander Was ab o u t th e h u r l h i s v e te ra n s to w ard s t h e
d e p th of I n d i a , th e y r e f u s e d t o ad v an ce. T h e ir d isc o n te n tm e n t
o r h e s i t a t i o n was n o t sudden o r a b ru p t. They were t i r e d o f th e
e n d le s s w ar f a r away from t h e i r homes s in c e th e y c ro s s e d th e
H e lle s p o n t.
T h e ir e n th u sia sm Was dampened by t h e dogged r e s i s te n c e w hich th e y fa c e d a f t e r th e H ydaspes. They knew t h a t th e
la n d beyond th e H yphasis (Beas) was in h a b ite d by some
b ra v e
p e o p le
1 . A .I.U .^ p . 50
2. Ib id ,
and
th e y
w ere
w e l l g o v ern ed .
A f a r more
127
fo rm id a b le army th a n t h e JPorus f o r c f s , aw aited t h e i r p h a la n x
and c a v a lr y and t h e i r v i c t o r y was n o t f u l l y a s s u re d . So
A lex an d er was fo rc e d , t o r e t r e a t . He th e n o rd e re d t o b u ild 12
a l t a r s v e ry h ig h t o s e rv e a s th a n k s g iv in g t o th e Gods and
r e t r a c e d h i s steps?" He went b ack by t h e road by w hich h e came
up t o th e bank of Jh elu m r .
th e n he s a i l e d down th e Jhelum and t h e
S indhu t o
t h e ocean in a f l e e t o f 1000 b o a ts made re a d y b e f o r e hand,
in c lu d in g '‘lu g g a g e b o a ts " h o rs e t r a n s p o r t and w ar g a l l e y s * .3'
f h e ln d ia n s w ere s u r p r is e d t o se e such w ar g a ll e y s and
l a r g e t r a n s p o r t b o a ts . They m ust c e r t a i n l y have l e a r n t som ethng
f o r t h e i r r i v e r t r a n s p o r t , b u t n o th in g s u r v iv e s now t o prove
t h a t t h e in la n d t r a n s p o r t i n I n d i a im proved a f t e r t h i s e v e n t.
THE LAST IMBlJH HBSI8MCB
A lex an d er s t a r t e d on h is Voyage i n November 326 B.C; w ith
tr o o p s p r o t e c ti n g him on e i t h e r bank o f th e r i v e r and h i s S a tra p
P h i l i p fo llo w in g t h r e e days l a t e r t o p r o t e c t h is r e a r . She arm ada,
w h ich co u ld have ta u g h t I n d i a about t h e w ar t r a n s p o r t in r i v e r ,
f l o a t e d down th e Jhelum and re a c h e d th e c o n flu e n c e w ith t h e Chenab
i n 10 d a y s .^
H ere A lexander had t o fa c e d e te rm in e d o p p o s itio n o rg a n is e d
by a c o n fe d e ra c y of re p u b lic a n p e o p le le d by t h e M alloi*>. (M alavas)
and t h e O xydrakai (E sh u d rak as) who betw een them m u stered an a l l i e d
army o f 90,000 fo o t and 10,000 h o rs e and 900 c h a r i o t s . A ll th e
M alava c i t i e s became c e n tr e s of r e s i d e n c e t o d e fe n d t h e i r homes
and c u l t u r e . One o f th o s e was a town o f Brahmans^ who exchanged
7
p en f o r th e sword and d ie d f i g h t i n g .
They numbered about
1 IIACr p .1 2 9 A lex an d ers a lta r s 'm a d e no im pact on t h e In d ia n A rc h ite c tu re
3
p o s s ib l y th e y were washed o ff by fl& ods soon a f t e r .
2 IAT1 p • 50
3 Ib id .
4 . A .I.U .p .5 0
5} I b i d .M a ll o i ( o r M alava)s seem t o have occupied t h e r i g h t bank of th e
lo w er iia v i. A ccording t o Smith th e y formed p a r t o f t h e Kaurava
n o s t i n th e M ahabharat w a r (BICE p .9 4 n ) P anint r e f e r s t o - t h e
M alavas a s l i v i n g by t h e p r o f e s s io n o f a n a s ( l .A .1 9 l 3 p .200)
6 .I b id , a c t u a l name o f t h e c o u n try Mous lla n o s (MuchuKarna) when Brahmant
e x e rc is e d c o n s id e r a b le in f lu e n c e a c c o rd in g t o S tra b o XV i 66
( A rra in .p .3 1 9 o f )
7 . B oth Mal-loi k id Oxydrakai had even a g re e d t o exchange 10000 o f t h e l y
young women f o r w ives o f th e o th e r c a s t e in o rd e r t o cement t h e i r
a l l i a a c e[Therc& w fillijH istory o f G reece v i i p . 54*)
128
5000 o f whan but few were taken p r is o n e r , The
l o s t hear a f t e r
t o th e fo r c e s
th e
of
d e fe a t
A g alasaoi
3
The
rep ublican p eo p les to r e s i s t
S ib ae ( S i v i s s u b m i t t e d but n o t th e
(A rjunayanas?).
In one o f t h e i r tow n s, th e
c i t i z e n s numbering about 2 0 ,0 0 0 ,
e a s t th em selves
fla m es,
th e
th e
Kajput
Janhar o f l a t e r d a y sf
th e
Alexander passed by o th er t r i b e s such as
X ath rl (E sh atriyae
O ssadi (Y a sa ti
n o t choose
a brave f ig h t in g ,
th e s p i r i t o f th e p e o p le to l i v e f r e e and d ie .
Sown th e r iv e r
A bastanes,
a fter
w ith t h e i r w ives and c h ild r e n in to th e
a n tic ip a tin g
T his shows
Malavas and subm itted
Alexander^
There were other
A lexander.
o f th e
Xshudrakas
o f Kshabharat ¥11. 1 9 -1 1 ).
K
to
HAS - p . 156 n ) and
fig h t.
They did
Thus Alexander proceeded fu r th e r without
o p p o sitio n .
1 . A .I.U .^ p . 50
2. Ib id t Irr
.; " ~ '*>1[Sibae were in h a b ita n t o f Shorkoh
r e g i o n i ^ Jhang f l is t t (P a k ista n ) below th e co n flu en ce of
JheluiiJ and th e Chenabi Pw M • b
a-s, 3 ~]
hrK-t
5 . Ii»id.;p .5 1 Arjunayanas were in South Punjab (P ak ista n N eig h b o u r o f
Yaudheyas.
4 . 12*45Jauhar;means mass emolationjby th e women b efo re th e f i n a l a tta c k
by t h e ir husbands on th e enemy.
■
^
'
5 . A .l.U .p . 51
Z
,
129
THE
A lex an d er
SID
OP SHE OiiDBAL
reached th e l a s t c o n flu e n c e o f th e Punjab r i v e r s
w ith t h e Sindhu i n th e w in te r a t th e b e g in n in g o f
F u r th e r down th e Sindhu h e p a sse d th ro u g h
Sogdi a ls o c a l l e d
th e
325
B.C.
c o u n try o f
S o g d ri (S u d ras which Was th e n u n d e r th e
Brahmin suprem acy, and of King M usikanos (King o f th e
p
M ushikas?) : and o f Oxyeanus a ls o c a l l e d P o rt lc a n u s (from
S a n s k r it P arth a?)* 5.
The Brahm ins o f t h i s .re g io n who dom inated
i t s p o litic s
re s o lv e d upon o p p o s itio n to t h e f o r e ig n in v a d e r a s
o f t h e i r dharm a,
denounced t h e p r in c e s
who
a
su b m itte d
p a rt
as
t r a i t o r s and goaded t h e re p u b lic a n p e o p le s i n to
re s is ta n c e ,
M aslcanus revoked h i s su b m issio n
Oxyeanus a ls o
fo llo w e d s u i t .
t o A lex an d er.
They w ere a l l d e fe a te d by th e Greek army and
p u t t o th e sword t o g e t h e r w ith t h e m i l i t a n t B rahm ins^.
A lexander f i n a l l y rea ch e d t h e l a r g e . c i t y o f P a t a l a when
t h e Sindhu d iv id e d i n t o two b ra n c h e s . I t was th e n ru le d by
two Kings and a C o u n cil o f E ld e r s . I t was d e s e r te d a t t h e
a p p ro ach o f
A lexander^.
2 Sudradw ere c a l l e d K shudrakas (M a h a b h a ra t« II. 5 2 .1 5 )
m ost n'umerour and w a rlik e of t h e In d ia n ^ t r i b e s in th e P u n ja b .
3 A.I.U.J P . 5 i
4. Ibid^ The Brahmans a r e s a id t o be^u^sluKarxj©', by P a t a n j a l i
(iv i . 4 )
vicU PH !Y1 -V>- 2 .'$->9
5 . A . I - t h p - 51.
130
xn Septem ber 325 B .C .
A lex an d er l e f t P a t a l a on h i s homeward
jo u rn e y and p ro ce ed e d to w a rd s Babylon th ro u g h G ed ro sia1
(M ekron). E earchus w ith h i s f l e e t s a i l e d by s e a . By th e n he
had o v e r run th e e n t i r e In d ia n la n d from t h e Hlndukush t o th e
Beas and t h e c o n flu e n c e of th e I n d u s , t h e r i v e r w hich now
l i e s i n P a k is ta n
Two y e a rs l a t e r he d ie d su d d e n ly a t Babylon
THE BAST
PHASE
A lexander a p p o in te d fiearch o s t o command th e f l e e t d u rin g
t h e jo u rn e y back home. He h im s e lf to o k t h e command o f t h e
e n tire
G reek army and s e t out to w a rd s G reece from P at a l a . While
h i s a d m ira l w a ite d f o r fa v o u ra b le wind t o s e t s a i l , th e King
re a ch e d th e r i v e r
A ra b ic s (now c a l l e d P u r a l i ) in ^ in d h , i n 9 d a y sH ere he tu rn e d southw ard f o r tw in p u rp o s e s , f i r s t t o d i g w e lls t o
p ro v id e d r in k in g w a te r f o r h i s e x p e d itio n and se c o n d ly t o punish
an In d ia n t r i b e c a lle d
O r e i t a i ( A r b ita i i n
f o r t h e i r contum acy.;^® f i r s t
a ll
A lexander a tta c k e d th e
3
t r i b e c a lle d
a p p ro a c h .
of
South B a lu c h is ta n )
A ra b ita i(M a k a ra n ) as th e y d i d n o t submit t o him on h i s
/
On h e a rin g about th e a t t a c k
A r a b ita i f l e d i n t o t h e
d e s e r t and d id n et o f f e r any r e s i s t e n c e to th e
1. A.I.TJ#yp. 51
2. I . I . A . G . j p .
167
U
M aced o n ian s.’
*
i3i
•‘■he p e o p le o f O r e ita i w ere a tta c k e d by t h e M ug a s w e ll
as by h i s g e n e r a l
th e
H e p h ala tio n who was i n command o f h a l f
(3-re e k f o r c e s .
Some O r e ita i o ffe re d r e s i s t a n c e b u t were
c u t down and many
w ere ta k e n p r i s o n e r s ,
.
/
The King l e f t h i s
-
g e n e r a l behind to c o lo n is e a s u i t a b l e s i t e c a l l e d
Sam baki^
( n e a r modem K a ra c h i) and adveneed f u r t h e r tow ard th e c o u n try
of th e
G adrosoi (Mekran i n Modem B a lu c h is ta n ) ,
A combined
f o r c e o f O r e it a i and G adrosoi had ta k e n up p o s i t i o n in a
narrow d e f i l e t o a t t a c k th e G reek f o r c e s b u t when .Alexander
re a c h e d
tiie d e f i l e ,
O r e i t a i s u rre n d e re d to
b ack t o t h e i r homes*
m ost of them ra n a&Tay,
th e re a fte r,
A lexander er, massegod w ere asked to go
Ap o i l op nan e a was p la c e d as S a tra p of t h i s
a r e a , 1 He a ls o l e f t b e h in d h i s g e n e r a l 'Leormatos t o e n fo rc e
o rd er
and to p r o t e c t th e f l e e t when i t s a i l e d p a s t i t s s h o re s
and th e n th e c o n q u e ro r plu n g ed i n t o th e d e s e r t o f G e d ro sio i.
In th e d e s e r t of G e d re s io i,
t h e Greek army was fa c e d
w ith th e c o lo s s a l problem o f c o l l e c t i n g s u p p lie s ,
was ag g ra v ate d by la c k of d r in k in g w a te r.
The, problem
The King
d e sp a tc h e d
Thoas t o f in d out th e a v a i l a b i l i t y of .f r e s h w ater n e a r th e s e a sh o re but he found only some m is e ra b le fish e rm e n .
2
However, i n a
fre d ro sio in d i s t r i c t s u f f i c i e n t c o rn was found ou t w hich was. s e n t
t o th e array and t h e f l e e t .
B u tt t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s en co u n tere d in
t h e d e s e r t wore h o r r i b l e , A lexander alm ost fa c e d th e seme m is­
f o r tu n e which i s s a id to have b e f a lle n
Queen Serairam is when sh e
fled from I n d ia 3 o r King Cyrus who had come t o in v ad e I n d i a ,
l 7 ~ T 5 i i i b l y »u,m b agh- where th e p ilg r im s assem bled b e fo r e s t a r t i n g
f o r t h e Agor v a l l e y - in w hich t h e p r i n c i p a l s a c re d p la c e s a re
connected w ith th e s to r y o f Hama, (Cunningham, A .G .l- pp« 307-310)
2 . HAG. p , 171-172, T hese p e o p le w ere Ic h th y o Shagoi o f whom Arrain
maices - r e q u e s t m ention when d e s c r ib in g th e voyage o f S earchue
alo n g t h e c o a s t,
3 . Ib id j P . 173.
I*!a»y ©rook s d ld ie r s - .d le d .of S K ir a t, h u n g e r and s h e e r fa tig u e *
A lexander tf^ced th e o rd e a l b ra v e ly and b ro u g h t h i s army t o t h e
c a p i t a l o f ^ Q a d ro s ia h s .
When h e s e t t l e d th e a f f a i r s of h i s
e m p ire , by a p p o in tin g new S a tra p s and p u n is h in g t h e o th e rs f o r
m isgoverns!eat *
i t Was h e re t h a t ile x a n d e r l e a r n t ab o u t th e
m urder o f h i s S a tra p P h ilip p e s
i n In d ia *
and f a x i l e s to e s s e n c e th e In d ia n S atrapy*
.re a c h e d
He d i r e c t e d Eudemos
When th e King
Karmania (modem S outh B ast P e r s i a ) , he Was jo in e d by .
many o f hies g e n e r a ls from v a rio u s p a r t s p f h i s em p ire,
from Media,
A roian a a ,
G reek c o n tin g e n ts ,
P a rth y a i& n s,'
H yrkanians came w ith t h e
She K ing o f f e r e d s a c r i f i c e i n thanks g iv in g
t o th e gods f o r h i s v i c t o r y o v e r the. I n d ia n s and th e
t i o n o f h i s army d u r in g i t s
c e l e b r a te d a ls o a
march th ro u g h
In d u s S in d h ) - and G -adreioi
3
s a f e a r r i v a l o f h i s f le e t*
1* I .I .A .G .^ p p . 175-177
/
3 . I b i d . p . 180
J
p re s e rv a ­
G a d ro s ic i,
m u sic a l and a gy m n astic c o n te s t
h a v in g s a i l e d round th e o o a s t o f Ora
2. I b i d , p . 179
I’hose
2
He
S ea rc h es
( n e a r th e mouth o f th e
came t o A lexander t e r e p o r t th e
When Alexander had' reached Gec’.rosiaa capital after his
'i
r-
Indian adventure,;' he settled the affairs by appointing new
Satraps and punishing others for their misgovernment. It was
he is that the King learnt about the murder of his Satrap
Philipp os in India* He directed Euddmos and 0?exiles io assume
\
Indian Satrapy, hut his arrangement proved temporary as\a
mighty empire of the Mauryas was to he horn, that would engulf
his conquered territories within a few years.
i
AIBXAWDEB'S BEASH
When Alexander, invincible before all enemies save death ,
passed away at Babylon in June 325 B.C?" and his generals
assembled in council to divide the empire which no arm, but
his could continue, they were compelled per force to decide
thsjfc the distant Indian empire provinces should,remain in the
hands of the officers and princes to whom they had been
i
entrusted by the King, fhus Indian possession came to the share
of Selene us who became King of Syria and entire eastern part
of the empire. He founded a Seleucid dynasty which played an
important role in the subsequent history of India.
1. V.A. Smith ^ Asokajfhird Ed.) p .l
She climate of Babylon was malarious (Alexander was perhans killed
by the mosquitoes) I.X.A.G^p. 47
Ilf ELA APTER AI.EXAI»B£»S
Two y e a rs a f t e r le a v in g
I n d i a A lexander d ie d .
c o lla p s e d l i k e a p a ck o f c ard s*
n a t i o n a l movement u n d er
135
DB.ATH
At th e same tim e a
The em pire
g rea t
O handragupta, u n ite d a l l Aryan I n d ia
u n d e r a s i n g l e l e a d e r and t h e M acedonian g o v e rn o rs were g la d
t o h u r r y away t o t h e f u r t h e r s i d e o f th e Hindu Kush w ith such
X
B ooty a s th e y c o u ld l a y hands on.
The d e p a r tu r e o f
Eudemos
( th e (Jreek S a tra p ) marks th e f i n a l c o lla p s e o f th e Macedonian
a tte m p t t o e s t a b l i s h a
2
Greek em pire in I n d i a .
By 321 B.C. Macedonian pow er was a t an end in I n d i a ,
o n ly th o s e s e t t l e r s rem ained who c a re d co throw i n t h e i r l o t
with, th e p e o p le . The p o l i t i c a l e f f e c t of th e g r e a t in v a s io n
was p r a c t i c a l l y n i l , u n le s s th e example of A lex an d er in s p ir e d
th e i n te r © r i s i n g O handragupta w ith th e id e a of m aking h im s e lf
m a s te r of N o rth e rn I n d ia .
The M acedonian cam paign was n o t a p o l i t i c a l s u c c e s s f o r
i t d id n o t r e s u l t in any perm anent M acedonian o c c u p a tio n of
th e Punjab., I t d id n o t le a v e any perm anent m ark on th e
4
governm ent o f th e p e o p le .
A lexander had r e a l l y no chance of perm anent s u c c e s s
a g a in s t th e in h e r e n t d i f f i c u l t i e s o f th e In d ia n s i t u a t i o n . I n
a n y c a s e h i s dream o in c lu d in g t h e Punjab and Sindh i n M e
w o rld em pire Was doomed t o d is a p p o in tm e n t. I t was n o t f e a s i b l e
owing to t h e la c k o f as com m unications to p r o s e c u te campaign in
la n d s to rem ote from th e b ase o f o p e r a tio n s ,
: # t e r h is d e a th th e In d ia n threw o ^ t h e f o r e i g n
yoke u n d e r th e le a d e r s h ip o f O handragupta Maury a .
'J'l . H.G. Rawl i n e on In d ia n H i s t o r i c a l S tu d ie s , p . 206
PHAX p . 262
J
2. V. A. Sm ith j> As oka - -p. 1
3 . R aw linsonj IHS^p. 20?
4* A .I.U .^ p . 51
5 . I b lc h p . 52.
AISXANBIA
AS
136
A CCHWUEBOR
A lexander ha© a unique p la c e in th e h i s t o r y o f th e
w o rld .
He was the f i r s t and t h e l a s t w e ste rn c o n q u e ro r
o f A fg h a n ista n ,
fh e B r i t i s h d id n o t su cceed i n c o m p le te ly
s u b ju g a tin g ^ A f g |i |n ^ t s a i n a l l th e Afghan wars o f th e
n i n e t e e n t h / c e n tu ry A.B.
He was th e f i r s t b u t n o t th e
l a s t inYhdey.
was th e f i r s t E uropean in v a d e r and
c o n q u ero r of t h e re g io n s beyond th e Oxus,
a n tic ip a tin g
by
more th a n two th o u san d y e a rs th e c o n q u e sts w hich had been
a c h ie v e d by an E uropean pow er (She B r i t i s h ) w ith in o u r
■
memory*
H is next; xnsiqp e n t e r p r i s e f o r e s t a l l e d B r i t i s h co n q u est
o f north~w © stern I n d i a .
from th e S o u th ,
But England made hex' c o n q u e sts
R u ss ia h e r s from t h e n o r th ,
A lexander
was th e o n ly European co n q u ero r who marched s t r a i ^ i t front
i
1
th e w est to t h e In d u s and th e Oxua ’
So th e O rie n t a t a l l p e r i o d s ,
h as been th e A lexander o f
R e a lity . . . .
A sia h e i s w orshipped a s I s k a n d e r,
c itie s ,
A lexander of -Romance
th ro u g h o u t C e n tra l
th e fo u n d e r o f a n c ie n t
2
1 . J .B . B urry y H is to r y of G reece, p . 797
2. George W illis Bet&fordLj H e lle n ic H is to r y , p . 250
*£he B r i t i s h d id a c h ie v e some s u c c e s s in t h e Afghan w ars
but th e y n e v e r su cceed ed in c o n q u erin g th e -w h o le o f A fg a a is ta n
as was done by A lexander th e G reat, 2200 y e a rs e a r l i e r .
CUlTUEAli
IMPACT
137
fhough the invasion of India by Alexander the Great, la ste d
for l e s s than two years, i t s in d irect impact and Greek Indian
contacts la sted fo r more than two centuries through Seleucid and
Bactrian ru lers, Alexander's empire almost at once broke up
in to several Kingdoms, hut i t s e f f e c t s were la s tin g . She
Colts in West based th e ir coinage on i t s sta r te r s and in North
India the impact created the M&uryaa empire*
Alexander's in vasion , according to E lio t a ls o , produced
l i t t l e d irect e f f e c t and no a llu sio n to i t has been found in
Indian litera tu re* But in d ir e c tly i t had a great in fluence on
the p o l i t i c a l ,a r t is t ic and re lig io u s development o f Hindus by
preparing the way fo r a se r ie s o f la ter invasions from the
north which brought w ith them a mixed culture containing
H ellenic P ersia, and other elements During some cen tu ries India
as a p o lit ic a l region was not delim ited on the north-western
sid e as i t i s at present and numerous p r in c ip a litie s rose and
f e l l which included Indian te r r ito r y as w ell as parts of
Afghanistan,12*45
Shore are other scholars who a lso hold sim ila r views,
Hay Ghaudhuri acknowledges only one permanent e ffe c t i . e . the
establishment of Yavana settlem en ts? ¥hile Katina Shad Kookerji
says that the only permanent re su lt was opening up communica­
tio n between Greece and India^to Hawlia s on* s note supports the
above a ssertio n s. He says that th e Greeks had extended singu­
la r ly l i t t l e in fluence upon India#
Alexander, so celebrated
in Persian lite r a tu r e is unnoticed in Indian Books,5
Alexander's impact on India is thus to be discussed
not with the help of evidences which do not e x is t, but with
pragmatic suggestions deduced a fte r lo g ic a l arguments,
1.
2,
2*
4.
5.
Jack lind3ay j A Short History of Culture, p. 214
George I l i o t ^ Hinduism and Buddhism, p. 22
PHAI, p . ‘262
A.I*Oj p. 53
H.G. "Hawiirisonj Indian H istorical. S tudies, p. 52.
fo aim up i t canfee said th a t
138
Alexander was Bob ©Ely th e
he was a s ta te mm whose plans
g re a te s t of a l l s o ld ie rs ,
ware constant ly successful
and h i s love o f exploration and
$ f knowledge of a l l kinds was a ru lin g passion throughout
h is lif e
ever
1b
p artin g with perhaps the most famous man who
tro d th is e a rth ,
Arrain says,
"For my own p a rt
i,
th in k th e re was a t th a t tim e nc race of men, no c ity , nor
eves a. sin g le in d iv id u a l'to #iom A lexander's name end feme had
not p enetrated , , For t h i s reason i t seems to me th a t a hero
t o t a l l y u n lik e any o th e r human being could n o t have bean bom
1
without th e agency of the d eity ” ,
SUdi a unique p e rso n a lity th a t influenced a aia^or p a r t
of the ancient world was bound to influ en ce In d ia also .
A &upil of A r is to tle , he conceived i t to be h i s m ission
to w esternise th e B ast,
He came w ith h is to r ia n s ,
s c ie n tis ts
1b h i s tr a in to keep a c a re fu l record o f h i s d isc o v eries,
His
work was intended t o be permanent, though In d ia did n o t fe e l
th e impact of a psmassest n a tu re and most
o f Alexander* .s
Influence was passed on to h is succeeding lh:.do-£reeks y et th e
o rig in a tin g force should s o t fee lo s t sight o f,
1 . H.O.P.
p. 283
\
\
Alea&nJtor rafelly npassd tha g a tes o f X sila fo r th«
f**sfc„
133
Ho » o a a t 3mtas t o t>s ©3 a great m ilita r y m £ o o m o r d a*
M ^ w ay of* M s Xn.-alsa proTteees and had ha
th ere i s
litfc.Ihi•■-doubt that & g&oondt ftl& ^& sriw bttld hays sprang up at
i t s isfistts and 3«- a i l p r o b a b ility
i - i n
th e Punjab would hare been
■
Ho lle e ls o d H lrt £ s5 » mlstor ©r Egypt?
<
1
i " Mia premature death dried up th e ^prcr.-ting seed s ©f
■
j
h i s Mpac.t ©88 3hdi&t hot th e in flu e n c e ©f In d ia was a lso
//
afoowefi, up artes* p&saiisg away o f t h i s , groat ©as.
During sshccaodia £ a g e s 1 th e c lo s e r i s tor course betwetis Is&JLa
cad ih© Wesjfe and eo» sequent l & fd m i s flu eece in the f i e l d
of p h ijl^ iep h y imct r€li|l~ u .s! was la r g e ly dee to th e *&&£«
prepared .by th e Great l& fo r a is t,
,
/
Alexanders eon q u e sts war© s e t conquests o f arms' only
but h i s were- th e conquest® o f idee® « d as snob b ? s ■lo n g
testa in flu ©nee was f e l t
qb
F ell gio» arid rfoilcaophyi*
even
ok
ceases as-? sp o rts.
philofophoi* *• ftid fitotl#
o f tb s world
.toto
Indian
art f
various?
s i®
a rch itectu re*
cm*
® d 31 la rat© * e ,
Be was th» p«pi 1 ©f * great
l e ite thought o f trotting th o peoplos
©»©brotherfeood and 1 mm shed a lon g
march t o a e m s p llsh h i s id e a l,2
Mis f i r s t elm was p o l i t i c a l u n i ft si-.feicn o f d i fib ren t
count i l # s,
1 . H,G, Hawlineon^ A Short H isto ry o f In d ia , p . 62
2 , P h ilip J. Furlong^ She Old ft'orld and America, p, 124
*& at th e r e should be a u n ited world p o l i t i c a l l y and c u lt u r a lly under
th e su p e rio r c u ltu r e o f Greece.
GREEK INPinSICS
R&wlln son contends t h a t I t was s u r e ly th e g re a t example
140
of th e A lexander vlso in s p ir e d In d ia w ith t h e i d e a l o f
O is k r a v a r ti R a ja # «{&© King o f Kings "which t h e
s o Eofely t i l e d t o r e a l i z e .
M auryas
T h is b e in g th e case m cannot
s a y th a t A lexander*s in flu e n c e apoa I n d ia i s a n e g li g i b le
1
f a c t o r In th e h i s t o r y o f h e r developm ent. V is c e n t Smith h o ld s
a d i f f e r e n t view *.
He say s t h a t C hendragapta d id n o t n eed
Alexander* s exam ple t o teach him what em pire m eant.
He
points o u t Aehasraealan in f lu e n c e fo r t h i s developm ent,2 t% f a c t ,
The eoccept ©f Gti&kravartin s osarat was a lre a d y th e r e in
I n d i a much b e fo re th e ad v en t o f A lexander. I t h a s been
m entioned in th e $3dany&s.
S a ith are o ff th o m ark.
T herefore, b oth Rawl in sob and
The only; p o in t worth n o tic e i s t h a t
Chandr&gupta H aurya 3 s th e f i r s t Ch& kravnrtln in t h e documented In d ia n
h is to ry ,
A lexander d id ©sgt h e jp in t h i s u n i f ic a t i o n i n d i r e c t l y .
The spesdy s®:l su c c e s s fu l o# c re a tio n r-f m array o f
o f f ic ia ls and t h e i r o gw 1 s a t loss i n to an o r d e r ly b u re a u c ra c y
was n o easy tes?c* m o th e e f f i c i e n t parform snce of t h i s t a s k
w as perh ap s a n o th e r point- o f reseriblen.ee between th e Ham*yen
S ta te an d th e contem porary H e l l e n i s t i c ^ ■m onarchies.^
1 . H. G. I& wiinson > B a c t r ia p . 141
2 . V. A* Smith ^ H a r ly H is to r y o f I n d i a , p . 153
3* The r u r a n ic t r a d i t i o n enum erates s ix te e n O h a k ra v a rc i? MhY^ f S
such s.s(ty4h~ A/a-fccii^Mar'utta^ A v ik s ita , P r i t h u Y ainya - even as f o r e
G handraguota Maurya ( P a r j i t a r , A ncient In d ia n H i a t o r i a l T r a d itio n ,
39)
4 . £*A .' H ilk a n t S a st riL, ACHOI, p . 38
POLITICAL
U »m
OF INDIA.
141
fj invest!©* psooptafi f&© p o lit ic a l m i t i r a t i m o f
'Sis© counts^.
Sa&ller 3fce&as iMdts
twits? were isev
«6r^®5 i*> the l»s?§*?s* «s»a ’#ach mg the.#® o f Peoria*
fX 'd rls*
fke m
«mdifc ter. a ;«wf> f&TOarsfc'le f o r the- rSa# o f «s
In d ia n S iaflr# to !>o .#{_• s*fc2,y
by (& ^ 4 r» $ x |* ta ,r J f ffgraswi
Hah'fe P-sfe© w»« tfe
Aie.xe®i{,tr was tb
The re*' was
,
jso
Jfehls$rfe hr
•-— <t>
/
2
f©rena&Jj®r o f thpfc rnipem r in r,h*? &0 '?b}wwt8 t»
o o auf& tlea
o f l a d i t a t ^ r r i t c r : w rtfc feh© ?w#@ by
'
th e 0*«eTM *nd “»&at f>
i
vas o f I t ?a#.<td o n ly a £ s v y t« « s ,5
Ti»» ^ a o u a p ^ ie R had t f l b a l r4gutfe lis ts o f IfoytfeJbto » t * 9 ** m«ch
«xh®usted fey t h e i r
5©si?s2«ary s-oa-fliat sj4$ts t h * -lav a -^ r,
T hle
ps-vad th>» way f o r $>V3 «sttsy ostSiblisbm isst e l' tH ^ M ^ iry aa Em pire
la th o a a le n d s by *ifea?rn?s-ie£ fefcof t» po*#M» o f m i l i t a r y r<%sl rt«*®e®
to t Iso advvoee of i ’.io em pire
t h a t safeaS flSlco to
om
jacsfifely a lac-fey to« ?Mwf tha?a
stress j; IS At# rJtfc iis t h e e fe rn :rf v*&s the feast
protee& Iea again a t - tfea • f^cttrifesoe o f dmwtie frees o tite H a *
I t fesphwsl ! f s
tKris #o?.ty o f A•^fayatj^cat icnod ©tsesg th e
t l x Gaea# op E*eP«r ^ ti^ o o # f * *bl<* vr«snr!fe«?d fo r s EJfc'g assd
f e to ig a , p<?Ill5U*3t v i z , ~^Qr ^ j~ ( a l l is no a }']>
J^aDC^f / ( h a l t )
A~ ( s tr a te g e is )
(F u e d s) '^TTsT' (a a rc h )
(double d e a lin g ) J
SrWarT" i s sometimes t s - s u b s t i t u t e d by ^rT r^H T
o f &• p o w erfu l a l l y o r Big pow er.
(s e e k in g p r o t e c t i o n
r
1« Dr. H.C. la ju m d a r. An -advanced H is to r y o f I n d i a , p . 69
2 ./E H A I, p . 263
3 / X.A. m l k a u t S a s tri). /ige o f th e Wandas and, Maury a s , p . 2.
/
/
142
*fa© le'va&er met with no such gen eral confederacy of th e n a tiv e
powers l ik e the one formed by th e E ast Indian stsfces a g a in st
lu& lk Ajafesastru,
Or the coat vary, he obtained a s s is ta n c e
from many import aim c h ie f s lik e Ambhi o f Taxi la
San gseus (S an jaya?)
o f Pashka l a v a ti ? Kophalo $,
Ass&getes and S ls ik c t t c s who got
i
a s h i s rew ard th e S a tra p y of th e A ssa k e sisn s,
the o n ly p eo p le o r p ro v in ces who thought o f combining
a g a in st th e invader*
were P o res and AM sares and th e M alavas,
Kshudrakas and the neighbouring aut enosous tr ib e s ? Eyen In th e
l a t e r ease parson at je a lo u s ie s prevented any e f f e c t ! v© r e s u lts
and both th e Mala r a s and ^sfcudrafcfts had to lo s e t h e ir independence,
Alexander' s in ya si on , according to
in d ir e c t r e s u lt .
Ibayehoedhri, produced one
I t helped the cause of Indian u n ity by d estro y ­
ing th e power o' the pet.ty s ta t e s o f north«-west la d in g
,th Informs ‘hat th eir- n e ig h b o u rs , t h e c syiirakRi
( S a n s k r it K shudras) who dw elt cn t h e b a sk s o? th e u p p er .eraram
o f th e Hyphasi s although o rd JesrS 1y s t wfer w ith th e Ha 13o i, had
r e solved t o f o r g e t o ld o n e m ltte o M 'd to sa k e common causa again at
th e In v a d e r,
She r i v a l n a ti o n s cemented t h e i r a ll i a n c e by wholeas mentioned above
s a le l a t e r ma r r i age/each gi'-rina as cl taVJn ten thou sane young
wemen f o r w ives.
B a t p e rs o n a l j e a l o u s i e s such a:?, ir. a l l a g e s ,
1st v® red uced t o C u tili t y p o l i t l e a l aonbio s tic n s la Ih*Ji a preva& ted
*
li
th e a l l i e s c® from takin g e f f e c t , ,
!
1 . PHAC aO. 260,
2 . I b i d p , 261,
3 . Ib id * jp . 263,-'
HAG
p , 112
143
two.
fhit?wall , warn ceapo #*<i o f w idely
>
&i£fa«*©st elejaWtte iter the aea® o f
:
'>"*
•
■ i
;
oss# appears- to have teas*
d erived fr c a t&afcl'of .th e i3 4 *drs c a s ta , and I t s a cert& la th a t
f ' ’ _ |J'
v /V
. ■ 1I
tho Br*h$ir»* va?4 FscdoftisaBt^iB th e o th e r . Ml aa» e a s i ly
uaderst^ad vfcy
di<tf not' jj^temaey m& were se'idoa at peace
w ith **teh eth erJ'
i
l*x*ndo?*s ifer&gi©» preacted the® to write, infer®*
'/ • •
' 'ij \
uicmre>z,Lthst tfeftf'had c©»#Bt«d\au allian ce tey la te r mawrist**
/
e a p ^ a t i c s ta k ia « ; *»d g ir ia g ia -fx d sa sg a 16,CC0 e*
yboBg woasan fo r w ^ w s,
■MJ,P
t h e ir
.Such Ba ‘ex’uispl© Is u a p a r a lla lla d ' i s
'h
'‘ , a
^ o lltljsa i allies* cep.
"'4 '; t£rpr
tYrta mey »c. i|.oe f i r « t t h e t ,tie tilling v s a f a r t h e r Tvm
/'■;s
a»r&ft4®iVs ev*
ihsjr't’tesfe h |s S»*®»fea o f India wa*
fr
•/4*1
.
,
yperf-.lf^i‘4 ,
&o"![0 ?t tho Pua;fht!,i» d a l t ! s o l i d l y o t t e r e d to h i#
/r-f
\
'• //if fee fteaftiidft'iQB ^Ino^cjto&id Jar: era of scse centuries
/'
‘
,./]
!.:; \
■mxpkfi tiiieh ®esi3 «i,i && «sa';te,’->a the doslnsat factor o f Caves*.
' ‘
\ ij ,.I
; -’ ■ \ *
»«s£t
uiTllIsstlosi,. oa ,tb>fc ■*&stos® e,m flues o f the Indies
wo;k
3 '.
t
■ ■ ^ :4
new* in t o {inelAtio* w ith variou s Xedlan K iags aad
* lo r fe nueteer o f tHheif t*otA4,TgsrsS.sjid «a a ifia^do®^he Kls&gs
■\M
1 . Th.i1 v c . l 9 A H isto r y o f G reece,V II, p .4 0
/2* B.J# Bapsosu, _ Csffibridgte-History o f I n d ia , p, 543
' 3 . M o r e la n d ^ ^ A ^ M sto r y 1! o f In d ia , p , 45.
, 1
)!
144
T ’fie Kings were at enmity among themselves and a lso with th e trib es
on t h e ir borders whom they were s tr iv in g to bring into subjection^
Throughout: there was no tra ce o f s o lid a r ity among th e
Indian r u le r s, at variance among them selves, each played fo r h is
own hand as was to be the ordinary ru le in India fo r many
centuries to come.
GAMES
AND
S P O iiT S
Mo Crindle describes in d e t a il about
games
and co n tests
It'may be
introduced
held in
become
as
believed
a part o f
that
the
celeb ration s 2 .
Indo-Greek contact might have
some new games and sports in India.
Olympea in
honour of
very popular.
gods
Greek retinue
Alexander used to
consisted
of
d e fin ite
had
hold games and co n tests
smart.
The
As the
Indians, t h is
Greek co lo n ies
founded by Alexander must have made th is
f e l t fo r a longer
evidence
1. Moreland^.
*
a large number of
must have influenced them to some exten t.
and the c i t i e s
Olympic games
sin ce 776 B.C.
in h is camp to keep h is so ld ie r s f i t and
in flu en ce
Alexander organizing
A
iricisr time;3
a v a ila b le
^ H is to r y of
to
prove
There i s , however, no
t h is .
IM ia , p. 45
2. I.I.A.G.^p. 92
3 . A lic e Magenis and John Canard Appelj A History of the World, p. 240
effect
tR Tin
A m w w m n rB
The r e la tiv e s b a t years th« Kauryans and t h e i r vaster*
neighbours war
of th e »©gt co rd ia l kind.
Chandragapta
was am «*te e n th u s ia s tic adm irer ©f Oraek eu atom a.
Savoy# fm » th # v est were In attar* lasse at Pai'-liputr®
*
f
and the presence o f a Creek Ban3 e a s t have enhanced
1
..
H ellen ic .
, .
the . ■'
tan dan c i t s of th® court.
ifavina o f f ic ia l# continued
to m r«« the g reat King o f
Magaiha a# they had m rved the g re a t King, of Bkbctana and
P e r s i p o l i s and th e
Y a v a a a a d v a o tu r# r:s
eorve-d c u t in d ip '*d e n t
2
Kingdoes in th e n o rth vast titan th e tun ©f Magaiha s e t,
1« K .S . i?awlinson^ I n d ia n H i s t o r i c a l
S t u d i e s , p . 208
2 . it .0 . J lg ,ju » d a r (S d A n Advanced. H is t o r y o f I n d ia , p . 69
146
LMGUAGE M V LITERATURE
Radfeaku»d W ukerji h o ld s t h a t th e in v a sio n ©f A lexander
l e f t a© pern an e a t m ark
o f th e people of I n d ia .
00
1
th e l i t e r a t u r e , l i f e o r G©versus e a t
I® f a c t t h i s in v asio n v e s t so much u s» ® tieed
t h a t i t hag s o t evea keea mcast ion ed i s t h e l a d ie s l i t e r a t u r e .
As re g a rd s th e la n g u a g e, th e same
cbb
he said "There i s
l i t t l e ©vide®go t o suggest t h a t th e Greek c o lo n ie s t h a t rem ained i s
e x is te e ce f o r more than two e e s t« rie s (S 2 7 B.C, t©83 B.C. -P e rip lu s )
had i s m y way ia f lu e a c e d the lo c a l language o f th e surro u n d in g
a rea s.
However th e
cob v ersau ce
w ith t h e Greek s c r i p t in tro d u c e d
th e w©rd *YavaBaai* l a t e th e S a n sk rit languageCas a t t e s t e d by
p a n iE i in h i s A stadhyayi (4 ,1 .4 9 ) j u s t as th e words 'Wp? aad
ZfcOf" 2
y/ere in tro d u c e d t o denote th e G reeks ( e r i g i a a l i y th e
e s i a s s ) 1b to th e P r a k r i t and S a n sk rit lan g u ag es r e s p e c tiv e ly .
Greek loan words is" s a u s k r it is c la d e s© ^ eral cotm e e te d with
a a t h e a a t i c s and asiro«©»y§ ©f which some a re common and have
p assed i s to iB d iau la n g u a g e s .3
e . g . H ora, K endra, Kciaa. Drachma,
d i n a r s , saran g a and Kan ip an a e tc .
1 . A . I . U . ^ p . 51.
2 . R .B .p s s d e y , I n d ia p a la e o g r a p h y
p .3 .
t%
KftwLhoifc, Mahahha^aya^ I I n .2 2 0 , Y avaaaliyaA I d e n t i c a l
*
w ith Yavanasl m entioned by P m i » i . (Y avassniya a ls o m entioned i s
Saavayasg S u tra ).
The Wonder t h a t was I n d i a , p . 230
1/ y
7
147
PHI L08DPHX
A s Greek and I n d ia wan® both much advanced in p h ilo s o p h y a t th ©
tim e o f th e Mace<toftl*m I n v a s io n o f In d ia?
H
cannot fee s a id
w ith e e r t a l a t y a s t o w hich c o u n try in f lu e n c e d th o o th e r t© a
g r e a t e r ax t e a t in
thefc sphen§,
T h ere-h ad ha©© many © xebenges
bafe'festa th® tw o G otflJtrieo e a r l i e r e i t h e r d i r e c t l y o r th rou gh
th e Persia® Sw
E w e sea© Cbraotrtr & w l i a r s c r o s s in g th© fo r m id a b le
l m i . t h a r r i e r s , m ig h t h a v e rea ch ed I n d ia to know t h e i r i d e a s m d
way
of life ,
S im ila r ly sera© l» dieii a (v i s i t e d Sxeec© and E g y p t
in o r d e r to know o f G reek p h ilo s o p h y and, t h in Ida g ,
Aceordiag ,t o a report fey one Greek m usician Ar isto »
1
Xeaud (380-300 B«C«) preserved fey h i storl m '5tjseblna»ao India©
p h ilosop h er later*!©wed S o cra tes around 4C0 B, c. He to ld th©
Greek p h ilosop h er th a t i f philosophy i s irn oreu t o f th e d iv in e ,
i t should not con ears fcrat®
or
Vfeee Alexander
hunan a f f a i r s o n ly ,
In d ia , h e was curious to know
2
about th® Indian gages *»d th e ir philosophy* P lu tarch t e l l s u s
th a t Alexander sen t one Sifcrl&ts,, a great p h llosep h er t o th©
(Ealyan * )
In d ie s
see r e n a m e d K & ie n o s £ jG tsd B m d a a i o
( D a m la v & t ''> o n ©
S ik r ito s
( S u k lr lt e ? ^ l:II^Kgp: * ) who aoeetnpfslod Alexander t o In d ia m d
fe e lc B g e d
to
in te r v ie w in g
th e
th e s e I n d i m
1 . pr&epsjf&fcio
2
fte h e o l o f
Plutarch. ,
B i o gen
sages s t a y in g
iSvaBgelic&
life
£ xa\c Co -ll^vo
of
th ©
lip 3
Alexander^ 1XT
M ^
^X>Y^
c y n ic ,
in t h e
lie
s u e r re d e d
ju n g le s
in
n e a r T & jd llh
Alexander put many rid d le s
to th e cap tiv e sages with
1
th re a t t o execute
should th ey he unable to answer.
were not very much im p re ss a with the Greeks.
th e
They
They advised
Alexander to control h is empire from i t s cen tres end n o t
wander away to i t s d ista n t
ext® m ities^/hen T a b le s su c c e e d
in pursuadiag Ealonos to v i s i t Alexander,
'
'
‘
'
The o th e r sage eve*
2
'
rebuked feLexandar f o r d istu rb in g th e peace of th e world.
(W itty conversation between Alexander and the Indian saga i s
gi ven in
\
Megasthen-es n o tes th at KalaacP- was pur graded to accompany
Alexander back, to Greece whan he reached Susa, he put an end
to h is l i f e by burning due to i l l h e a lth .
experience fo r A lexander..
pyre,
In
T his was a sad
Kalon#f before dying on th e fu n eral
presented h is hors© to h is Greek p u p il nsated lysimachos.
f a c t , Ramay an a lso mention s th e s e lf immolation by
Sarbhanga Rishi die to oldage and the tro u b le caused by the
Rakshasas,
He burnt him self in the presence o f lo rd Ra®
who was os way to ex ile!
The p ra c tic e o f p utting- end to one’ s l i f e in o ld age,
was in vogue among the Ja in s.
Acoording to <J.'&in t r a d i t i o n ,
i t i s said th a t Chandragapta, in tr u e Ja in fashikb fa ste d unto"
5
death,
1. 1.1.A#'5*^
pi
j
6©
2. A rrain Anabasis^ VII
5. 1 I A G p v i6
4. Ramayana /
5. A .I.U .^p. 61
-5^111
'y
v?l - S 8 *- Mtj »
148
149
W# have ovidaece to &ew th a t
la d ia a philosophers
P-oarm d o f Greek philo^ophleal systems from in te r p r e te r s ,
suggested th a t
It is
In d ies* le a r n t a lo t fro© Greek lo g ic . th e
d e f in itio n s o f *«ay lo g ic terms and ex p lo ratio n o f th e various
stru c tu re o f the syllogism to th e Rysya Sutra were taken from
to le to tle * s P r io r A nalytics. th e f a c t th a t Indian s y llo g l m
co n sists of fiv e p a rts and th a t o f theGr'©ks of 3 p a r ts o n ly ,
rfiow® th a t th e Indian system added two of i t s owa
a f t e r taking
th e th re e parts'fro m Greek,
Indian author maned Aksapada th e foundsr o f th e Nyaye
Syste* on philosophy le a r n t A risto te lia n lo ^ ic .
I t i s sa id th a t (Gautama)
Aksapada -got the .-Greek ksowledg# frees Alexander! a whse Greek
kooks were kept ia the lifer sry,
helped h l» in t h is ,
concrete
The Greek sophist Callltjsadsus
I t cannot, however,
be proved
2
by any
p iece ol‘ evidence.
1. I.X .A .G ., f>-x U ^
2. S.C. Vidhya Bhusan,
1918. “In flu e n ce o f A r is to tle
..a n _
-u
v xr&frSLiJiSj
on th e development of the Syllogism in Indian lo g ic , pp. 469 +
'
r
\
150
PHILOSOPHICAL 'M N D S
The G reeks w ere r e g u la r l y I n d i f f e r e n t t o th e l i t e r a t u r e cop
c i v i l i z a t i o n o f t h e i r c o n te m p o r a r ie s.
T hey lo o k e d o» them a l l
a s 12b arb arian s* and t r e a t e d them w ith e q u a l con tem p t.
P y th a g o r a s
p h ilo s o p h y a c c o r d in g t o R askin s o n , ow es n o th in g t o I n d ia .
The
b e l i e f in r e - in c a r n a tio n a p p ea r s f i r s t in I n d ia in th e Chandra
dogya t1p a n isa d and in Greek’ s O rphic s c h o o ls .
b o th a c q u ir e d th e
I t a p p ea rs t h a t
d o c t r in e fr o n th e p r im it iv e p e o p le w ith
whom t h e y came in c o n ta c t - t h e G reeks from T h r a c ia n s and Aryan
......................................... X ^
from t h e l o c a l t r i b e s o f t h e Gangs v a l l e y . The b e l i e f in »etem «
P s y c h o s ls e x i s t s in many e a r l i e r r a c e s .
The c lo s in g
e p iso d e o f P l a t o ' s 'R e p u b lic ' r e s e m b le s c l o s e l y
w ith th e d o c t r in e o f Karma. B u t we can n ot agree w ith B urnet
•
*
-
-
w r itin g
-
th a t e v e r y t h in g p o i n t s t o t h e c o n c lu s io n t h a t I n d ia n p h ilo s o p h y
2
came from G reece.
Chaadragupta was
............. ...................
H e lle n is m sto p p ed s h o r t a t Hindu K ush,
im bued w ith P e r s ia n id e a s .
O f Greek c u ltu r e
h e or h i s s u c c e s s o r s e x h i b i t h a r d ly any t r a c e ,
M oreland h o ld s somewhat d i f f e r e n t v ie w s .
A ccord in g t o him
In p h ilo s o p h y th e r e a r e some o b v io u s s i m i l a r i t i e s betw een
;
3
p r i n c i p l e s d e v e lo p e d b y G reek and In d ia n t h in k e r s and i t h a s
1 . E»G» /lawlinaon
2. X
I ’Old
o id ^>p*
. Xoi
16 1
2#
3.
rA ^
A
,
t>
In d ia
and
%
r\
th e
West
sometimes Item suggested that t h is demote actual borrowing
by one side or the other,
151
but there i s no evidence of the
Process and the facts can be explained s u ffic ie n tly by the hypo­
th esis o f P a r a lle l development,
Greeks and Indians a lik e
war© thinking over Problems which must present themselves
to any one who t r ie s to think at a ll and I t i s no matter
for surprise that both Should on occasion reach sim ilar
l
r e m its from con si deration o f sim ilar data.
EEL1GI0H
In the m a tte r of roligx on fth e re might have been some minor
c o n ta c ts between th e v ic to rs and th e vanquished.
&>leueld ambassador Me gasthenes seems to have been
the f i r s t who began th© practice o f connecting or
id en tifyin g the m y^ ie gods or heroes o f Indian tra /d itio n
2
with th e mythic heroes of Greek poetry.
■
''
much
There i s , however, n etfu l fence to suggest any Greek
influence on Indian religions*
------- — ~ ^
1, Moreland," ^
2. I . X . i u G , . p . ? X t
VysiH-Y-^
<s f p •
THE
152
GREEK COLOEIES IH OR NEAR INDIA.
The c o lo n ie s t h a t t h e co n q u ero rs p la n te d In th e In d ian
b o rd e r la n d do n o t ap p ea r to hav e been a lt o g e t h e r wiped o u t
by t h e M auryas.
B re a s te d h a s p o in te d out t h a t a t im portant p o i n t s along
h i s l i n e o f march A lexander had founded Greek c i t i e s b e a rin g
h i s name a id had s e t up Kingdoms # iie h were
©f Greek in flu e n c e on th e f r o n t i e r s o f I n d ia .
t o b e th e c e n tre s
Prom such
c e n tr e s Greek e n te re d I n d ia t o in flu e n c e g r e a tly In d ia n a r t
down u n t i l modern tim e s and G reek works o f a r t e s p e c ia lly
c o in s from A lexander’ s comm unities p e n e tr a te d even to C hina,
Kever b e fo re had E a s t and Infest so in te ro p ©tie t r a t e d a s In
1
th e s e im aging m arches and campaign o f-A lex a n d er.
One o f the im p o rta n t e f f e c t s o f A lexander’ s l w a s l c n
was th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a number o f Greek s e ttle m e n ts in
I n d ia ,
The
s-z-my
o f o c cu p a tio n d id n o t long su rv iv e
2
b u t t h e c i t i e s foundsd by him co n tin u ed to f l o u r i s h .
Of
th e s e th e G reeks elem ent in th e p o p u la tio n o f A lex an d era sub^xoa?
Gs.ue&sum
S?rrcB'-.-ui seems t o have rem ained conspicuous even a f t e r i t s
3
in c lu s io n in Maury an E m pire.
Sbme o th e r c o lo n ie s continued
to in flu e n c e th e In d ian c u ltu re fo r a long tim e in some way
o r th e o th e r .
I . V i.J. a re a w to d ^ Con<j.u®ai! y£ G l v i l i s & t i o n ^ p . 419
£ • B r.
T r ip a t h i -~3 H i s t o r y o f A n c ie n t I n d i a , p* 145
3* A. if. ti . n . x v S
7
“
153
IASTING IMPACT
Ray C haudhuri h a * a p tly d e s c rib e d th e Im portance o f th e
Gseek c o lo n ie s
*The o n ly p e naan mt e f f e c t cf A lexander’ s
r a i d seems to hav e been th e e sta b lis h m e n t o f a number o f
Yavana s e ttle m e n ts in th e
TJtfcarapatha.
H ie most im portant
o f th e s e s e ttle m e n ts w ere (1 ) th e c i t y o f A lexander!*
V
(modem Begfpam o r C h a rik a r(? ) n e a r K a tu l) 2. B oukephala on
th e Jhelum n o t f a r from th e modem c i t y o f Jhelum .
I tlk e ia
(on th e Jhelum ) where b a t t l e was f o u ^ it 4. A lex an d er!a
on t h e co n flu en ce of th e Chenab and th e In d u s and (5)
Sogdian A lex an d e r!a b elo w , t h e co n flu e n ce o f th e P unjab
r i v e r s .1
The im pact o f t h e Greek c o lo n ie s ecu I d te f e l t even d u rin g
t h e r e ig n s o f Asoka, though H o o k e rjie says t h a t "some o f
t h e G reeks, vftom A lexander s e t t l e d in h i s new c i t i e s n a rk in g
th e p ath o f h i s in v a s io n , d id n o t tak e k in d ly t o a l i f e o f
e x il e ,a id were a n x io u s to g e t b a ck home a t t h e e a r l i e s t
opportunity'^ But th e y d id n o t run away and a f t e r h a l f a c e n tu ry
t h e c o lo n ie s co n tin u ed t o f l o u r i s h .
As such M ooksrjee’ s view s
a re n o t su p p o rte d by t h e f a c t s o f h i s t o r y .
Asoka
re c o g n is e d
th e e x is te n c e o f Yon a (Yavana) s e t t l e r s on th e n o r th w estern
f r i n g e o f h i s em pire a p p o in te d some qL th e m (e ,g .th e Yavens R aja
Tushaaspha) t o h ig h o f f i c e s o f S ta te .
a\
JLt)4
lm lals ©diets Asoka ■ffi&jte'b a e n ilc n ©f a WYosb promise© m
the north m et harder ©Ifjj'ipdis*
'/
I t s 1ccation mmd
i
Kandahar/.In Afghani sta$, ,|,s \angg®sted by the r te e n t disco's® ry
© fa
G re e k
la s c r ip t im
© ie p la c e
Alexander
< |? . i a o k a .
r e p r e s e n t s 4 A le x a h d e z la ,
in
fo u n d e d
4
'k' '
■A "
M
^
|
*
f'-)
’f
,
\
’■
H
^mkephaift ^lex^nde r ia tXpiw.is^e d -no
th e p e r ip lu s
( A la g a o /^ a )
by
ArachosdJai I'i. \
/
\
/
, ,.
^ h © r ® - « J* Q a r K a n d a h a r
a® th e tim e of
\
'4)
'• / 44 ‘ \ r
© / / ' t h e B r y M f b r l ® ^ $ e a * O n®
;!
o lx t h e
A le s e n d e r *
,■■j ,\1Vu;
xUs"|X
i s / | | a n t i c a n a l- 1 ^ t h e H ^ h & v 8 a l a s , \
{\
\
‘
s .Ik'iastoB /©silskll
the '‘4reek"'co^
&> the
it
©,©3rtsi1y•^|sl©<Wed ike ladi**-habli&tion.phrticala^Ly in
/
. . ,'''7;;-. '
f
j
/
\
'!
’t he ©raft's
ilita/rry
cne'r&tlc&fl.
\
'the
©reft/a- tit m
n illte
y epe’
r&tlcng. \,
'■ '/■ .
;?
;
!
- ■
to‘-
'
!
*Vkv
"(V,\'
l\
w
giiratm 'oP'- bdpumics
" 'A
/
*
. . \
. 'A
/■
\
\
1 v x
x
'\
e i s vesica jaast'i^Mtoe W ised \een » W afel e4 damage
/ /^exan<ae|*
v
/ ' A' «1 ' ,;
I
.........................
i
~ -)V-
A
'.
.
\
ie /t h t /In/Sianv popa la t lm So -ganeifal ®md da© \to large s©ale
V
• /
>/■
!
-
\v -
'
•
,"\
x
, 'fcovmm# o f troops and b a ttle s , \there sight -have fcf**s cases o f
*'' f
/
'/
\ •'
v
,/
%/vtJltig o t i© p « l« tic » fro® ©ne-pAh©® t o
I n lin e © . , © it ^ a
/
/
e® s- b e t h a t
©»©ihs-.r#
\
AA
' ,
\\
X
1^
"I
o f -th e ^
X
■/ >A
/ l . X r . H . G . S h a s t r i * r_ As o k a Ane Ena A b k ile k h a p . 2^6
/ E. C, S i r c a r ? B pic^ g r a p h i c I n d i e a , \B o. X X X III, P a r t IV r>& 3 3 3 ^.f
/•
?2rid,syJJ3 A soka Te A b h ila k h ^ p 15
f
/
7
/ * * • u c ao ff o
/
,, . ^
^
Ax^iiis “il'liQ
3 ;w«KteC4p^2rans
J
j f e r i p l u s P*
—
^
X , ^ ih a v a o a a
-3
!
1
p , 194. ■
155
A ccording t o Greek h i s t o r i a n s ,
n o r t h o f th e S u iv ih a r ,
G reek
A b e ria s were on t h e In d u s,
where th e y gave t h e i r name t o th e
T
S a tra p y o f A b eira.
P a t a n j a l i lo e a te d them i n Sindhu
2
desh w ith t h e i r s e ttle m e n ts n e a r th e Sarasw & ti.
Me G rin d ie s t a t e s t h a t th e c o u n tr y o f t h e A b h iraa l a y t o
t h e e a s t o f th e In d u s when i t b i f u r c a t e s
to fo ra th e d e lta
She M ahabharat had p la c e d them n e a r th e s e a sh o re and on
t h e b a s i s o f th e S a ra a w a ti a r i v e r n e a r Somnath i n G u ja ra t.
I f we exam ine them c h ro n o lo g ic a lly would i t n o t a p p e a r t h a t
A bhira moved from G u ja ra t and Sindhu t o t h e A b e ria s
f o r some r e a s o n s .
a re a
Did th e y go t h e r e to g iv e b a t t l e t o th e
in v a d e r.
We would n o t be
a b le t o p ro v e .
S im ila r ly th e
H alavas*
change o f p la c e o f h a b i t a t i o n o f t h e r i g h t bank o f
th e lo w er R avi (H y d ro a te s) a t th e tim e o f th e In v a s io n o f
A lexander^ c a n n o t be answ ered s a t i s f a c t o r i l y .
I n l a t e r tim e s
th e y a r e found i n R ajp u t ana Av&sti and t h e M alav V a lle y .
In
f a c t Malva (aro u n d G j j a i n came t o be known a f t e r th e M alav
p e o p le * ,
f h e l r movement s u g g e s ts t h a t th e y w ere u p ro o ted end
o b lig e d t o le a v e t h e i r c o u n try t o 3 a f e r p la c e
away from t h e ‘Highway o f th e In v a s io n .
w hich m ight be
But t h e tu rm o il
cau sed by th e d e v a s ta tin g in v a s io n m ust have c a u se d d i s l o c a t i o n
i n th e In d im
p o p u la tio n t o seme e x te n t,
*m3 H q4 w ere lo c a te d i n th e P unjab a t t h e tim e o f th e in v a s io n
o f A lexander, l a t e r on th e y a r e found i n B a ja s th a n and
t h e r e a f t e r i n MalaWa.
1 . W.lf, Taxn
G reeks i n B a c tr ia and I n d i a , p. 170
2 , PHAI, p . 104
5 . M eO rindie, I n d i a a s d e s c rib e d by P to lem y , p . 140
IMPACT
01
SHE
SOCIETY
1
1
Alexander encouraged in te rm a r ria g e s and p o ssib ly h is general
feleucus followed h is p o lic y when he gave away h is d au g iter
in m arriage to Chandragupta Maurya.
p a rt in A lexander's l i f b f
th e
y©b he -would n o t touch one without
sanction o f m arriage.
P ersian JRoxsnaj
fhough uomen played no
About h is own m arriage with
Bow* in son says th a t th e b arb aria n s placed
\
i
g re^t caificfeuce in him -Son account o f th at a llia n c e and h is
c h a s tity gained t h e i r a ffe c tio n . I t d elig h ted them t o th in k
I
\
th a t he would n o t approach the only wc®&3 he p assio n ately
! '
loved\without th e sanction o f m arriage.
;
§
J
Alexander’ s c i t i e s and colonies must c e rta in ly have followed
t h i s p ractice of in te r m arriage for more than one reason. As
\
i
:
a s e ttle d people coning from d iste n t lands they were n o t
accompanied by th e women from t h e i r ova country.
\
-.
?/:?$■ would
I
have taken th e \In d ia n women a s t h e i r wives sad t h i s must h§ve
1
'
1
\
'
caused lo t o f m ixture o f blood n o t o nly w ithin th e co lo n ies,
but in-'the area s hrdtxid them. -
|, .
Ih e re can be hArdly any evidence a v a ila b le m t h i s p o in t. I t
/can only-be suimisad. On the b a s is b io lo g ic a l n e c e s s itie s of
*/
\
e col orrises, aad the p rev ailin g circum stances. Only erne
example i s ^available to us. According to J u s tin . th e queen
' I
Cleojpeus (o,;| Mazaga, West of Peshawar in P akistan) bore a
||• ■'
’
^
son whose p a te rn ity was ascrib ed t o Alexander.
■
In referen ce
V
7%k J*Ci l / v i i l 3 World H is t o r y , p .‘ 167
2 / G - e o x - g e B o t e f c r d ^ H e l l e n i c / H is t o r y , p . 250
3\ H . G a s w l i n s o n
B a c i r ia p . 39 V
'4. 1 . 1 / 4 . # / p. 335
\
\
to t h i s statement.
Dr. Bel law ran arks that at the present
157
-th^t "'t'-tb • ipfm sst day several -of the
chiefs and ruling f a c ilitie s is the neighbouring States
and Badalshshan boast a linea'J descent frcm Alexander the
X
Great,
This instance survived as i t related to the King but
there must have been a large scale mixture of blood due to
Greek soldiers and the local women*
NEW CUSTOMS
I t may also be noted thefc Alexancfer adopted the practice
of wearing Persian dress cm the State occasions and observe Persian,
court etiq u ette and ceremonial. He also., fo Hewed the oust cm
of protract e® before the King as an image of the God
'’2
(Proskynesis).
We do not know whether the sim ilar practice of
Sastsaga pranama to the God and the King followed in India also
case from Hi at region*
On the other hand i t can b e , argued
th a t the system of p ran ana originated from the vedic age*
There are reference to
Sastanga Pranama is the Rsmayan
(Hanuma® bowing down to Ram).
I t would, therefore, not be
appropriate to attrib u te the Indian practice of pranama to the
!
Greek practice of
prostration which was done only in the
royal court whereas the Indian Sastanga was done in any prayer
or worship.
Si fa ct Kings in (Persia and) India even regarded
as of divine origin and hence people bowed to them as to Gods
traced
Ho foreign influence can be t rp-\r ?d in this*
1.
p . 335
2* U. «i. Sam jjA lexender th e
Great, p. 79
GREEKS GAVE US MAUHTAH
HISTOH?
th e f e e t that.. we do n o t teov much about th e n a r l1/ » d
latex* h isto ry o f the Gupta® shows th a t
Boat o f th e h i sto ry
o f th e Slauryas Who #xist©& fiv e aimtv rl« s e a r lie r was $%v«a
uss tey th« Greeks I t i s equally in te re s tin g to n o t # t h a t th #
Guptas did n e t e re c t th a i r ew» madia for in cisin g t h e i r
it* scrip tio n s but w*ot# thorn on th #
time o f th e Mauryas.
p i l l a r s sad rocks of th#
I’hey a ls o used cave walls- Ilk# th e
Maury&s t o w rit# th e Isa scrip tloos.'U nlike the Mauryas even a sad
i
copper p is t e s , y et th e r e am dark 'sp o ts in t h e i r h is to ry .
Rap sea h as c o rre c tly opi»M th a t concerning th e condition -and
ox’gatsiaatlon o f the v a st Mturyan «®pire th® Greeks have
1
Provided u s with a considerable body o f v alu ab le inf© m a t ion.
Alasaader v&tj occcwpaaied by scholars end ®#» of l e t t e r s ‘whom
record giv es us an account o f n o t o n ly about t h e Greeks but ala©
o f the In d ian s
and th e i r a f f a ir s .
Indian h is to ry ow»» such to
t h e Greek scholars. . They have even helped In iia® M n io ry 1®
discovering i t s e l f by a process o f syebrosisatien*
For a loug tia# ,, th# o n ly approxim ately c e rta in date in
th© e a rly h is to ry o f In d ia was th at o f th e ©eeeesion o f
Gbandragupta Maurya a s dntnm ined by h is id e n tific a tio n with
Sandro leetfcos,
the contemporary of aeieukos H ik ato r, ace© r ding
to Greek authors*
cobtemporary
The id e s tif ic a tlo n ©f lin g
’Han do s’
of Alexander, tho Orn e t, with Nauda Ring of
Kagadhix provides u s Naada chronology.
- 1 . OHI^ V o l . ; I p . 4 2 7
2 . f .A . S m ith y E a r ly H is t o r y o f I n d i a ,' © . 21
158
Ih® synchros, sm o f Chandragupta* s grandson Asoka with
Antio.ehos Thoas,
153
grands® of Ssleukos aid four other
H ellem istie princes having been esta b lid ied subsequently la
1838 A. D. the chronology o f the
Mauryan dynasty was placed
‘'1
upon a firm b a sis, Shis w&e p o ssib le only due to
invasion of India.
hi
mam
of
Alexander's
ikvaseon
2t has ©1ready bees mentioned why the invasion of India
by Alexander the Great has l e f t no tra ee s whatever in the
litera tu re or in the In stitu tio n s o f
no place in the
India.
writings o f the thea Indie* 3 ,
of h is conquest of India as
Alexander fin d s
but th e story
related by h is companions and
other contemporaries, has fees© preserved by s ix authors in
more or le s s d e ta il » Diodorus,
SI cnlu e s Arrain^ piutar-h Curtius
Justin
and the unknown
author o f the £ 1 ; • -vum Aiexandrl
Magal,
a work written for the guidance of the Emperor
CoBstaatlus II la h is war against P ersia.
Polyaenus in h is
strsfcegsms of war and Frontinuv who at one time the Roma*
Governor o f Poutain, in h is work on the same subject n o tice
stratagems employed by Alexander in h is Indian campaigns!:
fhus we n o tic e that th e h isto ry of India pertaining t o the
4 c* « .
la
made,*».
period o f h is invasion A vailab le by Alexander him self. Had
m
h is own h isto ria n s not accompanied him, perhaps we would
have never knows the d e ta ils of h is Indian invasion.
1, V.A. Smith y
2. B.M. jpuri j
Barly History of India, ».21
India
160
Sbme credit may lie gives to th e trad itio n in itia te d by
Alexander th at is course of time other works were also w ritten,
is which India has been given coverage.
The compendium o f
geography by Pomponius Mela* comp endian by Solinus, the
P eriegesls by Dionysis and the P eriplus of the outer sea by
Marcianus of Herafcleia are the books o f geography which help
us is tracing the ancient h isto ry o f India.
INDIA BECAME KNOW
TO THE WORLD
The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, 111® the
f i r s t voyage of Columbus to America, was the means of opening
r
1
up a sew world to t h e knowledge of mankind (1* th e West),
according t o MeCrtflsdle. Before the great conqueror visited
the remote and sequestered country, which was then thought to
he at the utmost aids of the earth, nothing was known regarding
i t beyond a few vague p articu lars mentioned by Herodotus and
such grains of tru th as could he
sifte d from the mass of
fictio n s which formed the staple of the tr e a tis e on India
written by Ktesias of Ktoidos.. A comparison of t h is work with
the Indika of Megasthaaese, which was written a fte r the invasion
.will show how en tirely a ll re a l knowledge of .the country was
2
due to that event.
J
1*
2. Ibid *
p* X
I t «ay avea, be a sse rte d th a t had th at in vesica
a o t ta k a s p la c e , th e knowledge o f la d le aooag the
a a tlo a s o f the v ast would a c t have advaaeed aueh
beycad when K taalas l e f t I t ,
u n t i l th e a a r i t i a a pegaage
to th e S a a t hy th e cape of good Hope had liaaa discovered
Hot a few of Alexander* a o f fic e r s and ccetpmtloas
uere ana o f high attaiam cats in li t e r a t u r e a id
science aad sooe of t h e i r aunber eoapoead memoirs o r
h i s v«r»,
la th e course o f illicit th ey recorded t h e i r
laprefl'dcB o f Xadia sad the races by which th ey fouad
i t iah ab lted .
M egaatheaes,
2
v e ra c ity .
Ptolemy, A rl'to b e n le s ,
Weerches,
sad o th e rs were w rite rs o f impeachable
182
MfHOUxATIlTE
"HIST GUI
;T
I n d i a m ust rem ain g r a t e f u l t o t h e Greek w r i t e r s f o r p ro v id in g
h e r w ith a u t h o r i t a t i v e w r i t te n h i s t o r y of t h e c o n cern ed p e rio d
Two Greek
am bassadors
M egasthenes
and
of
th e n
th e
S o le n o id
K in g s,
Daimachus l i v e d i n t h e Mauryan C ourt and
w ro te v a lu a b le a c c o u n ts which though l o s t ,
r e l i a b l e so u rc e o f
nam ely
In d ia n h i s t o r y
s t i l l p ro v id e a
th ro u g h Q u o ta tio n s by o th e r s .
S tra b o s a y s “Both of t h e s e men w ere s e n t t o P a l i s h o t h r a
M egasthenes t o
Saudro
lo tto s
and
B eichos t o
both
A llitro c h o d e s
■j
and h i s son7
What became known o f I n d ia was n o t l e f t f o r
tio n
at
th e
s a f e r c u sto d y
mercy o f
and
mere o r a l t r a d i t i o n and was com m itted t o
th e y re c o rd e d much about
c u l t u r a l l i f e in I n d i a -
p o l i t i c a l e v e n ts of
t h e i r c u rre n t
l i g h t o n ly on th e a d m in is tr a tiv e
of
In d ia
of
p reserv a ­
of w r i t in g by th e men who accom panied
Be in tng f o r e i g n e r s ,
so c ia l
its
th e ir
tim e s .
1 . S tra b o ^ I I i . 9 ; I . I . A . G . ^ p. 405
g e n e r a l,
They have h a r d ly rec o rd ed
tim e s
s o c ia l
th e
A lex an d ers.
-
T h e ir w orks throw
and
c u ltu r a l h is to ry
munaY
18
m m tB
ASeyander’-s lavftsicR de»o»strftt®& to Sadias a that th ere
wee se®etoi»* {'t&kme«*tly vrcat with thet** n ilite y y organs laatiea
md. *trc%ee.^* cod th a t a drilled- and disciplined arey, though
» e l j , am id accmp 11 ah wcacley* ia face of* odd*,1 Alexander* *
«lXit«ufr/p £m »&*g was superb* He had l e f t a H r | i detach*
{s«r»t-of hia. arsy to B aetria, t a t ha had enrolled a a n II
!j
larger iferee » 30,0C0 » o f
BsctrJ.se s,
hat
row
1
Asiatics of thorn regions *
dtgdiwe Bahaa ana gaeaa* fha h©gt «gth tfciefo h*
to deeeeisa upos Sadia ®asfe hare been a t le a st t i i o a
a* nuneroua a« the Casail) army with «#slcb ha had crossed the
Hell* agent sevKs ya*r» before*
I t had iocreassd a« i t rolled
on md the augneatatlcas fay aero bhm ccunte? bm?£*?e«d the
reduction* ceased by leaving detechnents to each new pro vinca
2
•nd losses <Sae to warfare or disease,
Bat frc® sc eh planning
Sadia Aces a c t »«*» to hare pro fit*A much*
Aeoordlag to h is Oras 4 design, p a rt o f the Havel force
of Alexander was t o open up the tea root* to Sadia «a& m lm tm
the coast and isloeds of th* Persia* gulf,
Ifer Alexander hoped
to nake th is ' area a second atoocnicee* *» e&poriun &«&%©«**
th e Indus valley sad he sopotenia^
1. Br. E.S. frip a th i j History of in cleat In d ia, p. 145
H is to r y o f Greece p. 798
2. -J.fl. Buri^y
5. H.G.L. Hammond^
A H is to r y o f
Greece \>;,p£
164
Alexander had s ta r ts d the system o f
w alling in v illa g e s liy
1
e s ta b lis h in g f o r t i f i e d p o s ts (throughout th e a re a s over ran
by him) ,
T his might have h««n p o ssib ly follow ed by Hie
l E i m s in p ro te c tin g th e i r v illa g e s o f s tr a te g ic importance *
but th e r e i s h a rd ly any evidence to prove t h i s .
Be s»e
numerous f o r ti f ie d v illa g e s in K erth Bp ste m In d ia eimn in
mediaeval
tim es th a t
cob tin n ed
t o e x is t even to-day.
Thera i s also no evidence t o suggest t h a t th e In d ian s
had le a rn t any le sso n s e ith e r from the distasfc b a t t l e of
Is s u s o r th e nearby b a ttle of the Hydaspes, I t appears th a t
th e g re a t fe a t in th© capture of th e fogdian Rock (Aorcnos)
"which only
winged
men could
ta k e ”2
did n o t
Prone© s*y impact on the m ilita r y mind o f In d ia ,
BRIDGING OF
K l^lB S
Alexander had brought th e technique of bridging the
r iv e r s which he was required to c ro ss.
■in In d ia was on th e Indus.
T his f i r s t bridge
3
P erhaps i t was met** o f beats*
I t'a p p e a r s th a t In d ia did s o t learn the technique f u lly
a s th e iB dias S ings d© not seem to have adopted t h i s te c h *
aiq u e in t h e i r campaigns.
in Indian lit e r a tu r e
I t i s tru e th a t th e word * Sstu* , .
making embanking does
and Khaaj&Saiabhava,
At le a s t t h i s h as not been mentioned
&•
r ~\
17
©eeur in lamaycaa' Baghuv^jfcn sa3
but t h i s does n o t correspond with
th e technique of putting th© b rid g es across th© r iv e r s .
± 7 0 . T srn j The G reeks i n B a c tr is . and I n d i a ,p . 1 21
2 . H .G .P o
p . 269,
3 . I . I . A . G . jj p . 90
4
5
6 . KumamBaiCbhav a 7 ,5 3
♦It i s s a id th a t even in th e 16th cen tu ry A.D. Babar Swam^ across
a l l th e r iv e f s to reach D elh i.fie had not bridged th e s e r iv e r s .
V
MAURYAN HAW
While giving »» account of Maaryaa military adrelalst ratio*,
Hegastheaes meatioas a board to co-operat* with the Admiral of
fleet. 1 This testimoay coapled with the similar meatioa i*
Kamtilya’ s Arthapiastre proves that the Maaryas had a sizeable
\
aavy, As we have *o defialte knowledge of their predecessor
Naada Kiags haviag aay Navy, w® caa presume that Chandra Gupta
lea rat the advaatages of aavy from his brief aasociatio* with
Aiexaader, Who kaows that Baadrokottos heard of th is fceehaitiues
whea the Gre%lr boats were prepared to cross the la das or who*
Nearchus prepared to set sail from the lower Sladhu? The
available evideace suggests that Aiexaader1s a aval plans
must have sharpeaed the ideas of Chradragupta Maurya to some
ext eat.
ECONOMIC OOHDITIONS
Paucity of evidence prevents scholars from assessing
the impact of Alexan<fc r o» the then ecoaomy of ladia, g*ch
large scale military movements, battles is almost every contend­
ing State mast have caused so much disPloeatio* la the normal
functioning of trade a*d commerce, agricaltare aad other
economic Ifcraetioas of the society. Though i t mast have
certalaly happened' ±a the morth-vestera ladia, yet i t s
iadirect impact mast have fees* fe lt far aad aids.
1. K.A, Hllkaath Shast r i , A Compraheasime History of Iadia^p,13
AGHICOLTORS
North Wester® In d ia was th en , a s
bow
feaous f o r i t s
fine breed of Oxen of which Alexander captured 2,30,000
from the AspasiBian s sad then sent them to Macedonia fo r
use In a g ric u ltu re
1
H© fu rth e r welcomed a g if t o f 300 *fat
2
ox ® 12
4 and 10, 0)0 dheap frcm Jtatefai in T ax ila area.
3
E vidently
a g ric u ltu re and c a ttle breeding were important occupations
o f tiie people in th e Punjab and th e ®orth Wbst.
t
I t appears thsfe Alexander had roundsd up a l l the bullocks
r o f t h i s area aid herded them to be sent t o Macedonia,
leaving no b u llo ck fo r th e vanquished to
I
t i l l th e i r la » 4*
‘
T his must
c e rta in ly have adversely a ffe c te d a g ric u ltu ra l
l operation s f o r a few y ears because in Use absence of the
bullocks th e Indian could n o t have ploughed th e i r land
I t i l l th e calves
might have growl to ta k e the p lace o f
1 bullocks seat to fa r away Macedonia,
t h i s and
Ptolemy supVcSHjb'*^informs us th a t th e re were a f te r th e d e fe a t
of th e Assakeaian s, a lso captured more than 2,30,000
Oxen, from which Alexander chose out th e b est with a view
’
to send,them to Macedonia to he employed in a g ric u ltu re ,
1.
'I.I .A .G . \ p> 65
2. Ibid*
J
3. Dr, k,S T rip a t h i -3 H isto ry of
4. L L A . S . pi
65
4
Ancient I n d ia , p. 145
IMMM
J&exazi&ir*s si»©t@ e» m onth s t a y l a X so ia
to© s h o r t a
p e r io d t o s a f e s t t h e o©l»ag© o f In d ia . d i r e c t l y h a t h i s i n d i r e c t
I n f lu e n c e ^a® so g r e a t t h a t we to o * alm o st t h e e n t i r e h i s t o r y of
In d o -G reek K ings o f B a o tr ia th ro u g h t h e i r s o l a s o n ly .
t h e o o i n s o f BoghytUg King o f t h e S a l t ra n g e i n t h e Pan ja b ,
th e c o n v e n o r &ry o f A ^zm & ev- f o r a a C la e s by th e m s e lv e s end a re
n o t c o n n e c te d w ith s a b s e tn e a t developm ent o f coim age i n In d ia ? ’
t h e s e c o in s o f Sopfaytes b o re mx t h e o b v e rse th e h ead ©f t h e ISLag
2
and on th e r e v e r s e t h e f i g u r e o f a Gock end c o d u e iu s and le g e n d
Sophy!on i n G reek. A ccording t© S a lih t h e s t y l e i s su g g e ste d
p ro b a b ly b y t h e w©sris* ©f Bfchena?
th e revere© a ls o boors th© cad tweens and th e leg en d *Sophytua,’
/
IIGUhlhlS -
-
Of
PASAwIPBSBA
Sam© f ig u r in e s ©add o f burnt c la y »©re naearth ed in th e excava­
tio n s a t P a ta lip u trs u T h eir d re ss aid o m a s e s ts a ttr a c te d wide
a tte n tio n o f S cholars, because o f th e f e e t t h a t g e n e ra lly such
fig u re s a re found naked and devoid of say © m eseats. Thes© (te
fig u rin e s had a omi£«© h a ir s ty le and wore ear r in g s sad g arlan d
around th e neck, Though t h e i r b r e a s ts w©r@ uncovered* y e t th e y
were wearing S ari l a a c a re fu l s ty le below th e v a l e t .
r r R
-
Scholar© l i t © S i r dobs S s r s h a ll * h r . Hksudeva Sevan Agrawal*
hr* H © ti GhanclTa and S r, B b aV alik ar ©pined t h a t t h e dr® as' o f th e
f i g u r i n e s b e tr a y s Gredh in f lu e n c e , S r, S sakaX ia, a f t e r a c a r e f u l ©Egemteatien ©f thee© f i g u r i n e s i n 1973 A .B ., h a s p o in te d ou t
to w a rd s o u r own In d ia n s t y l e o f d r e s s pad ornam ents* s a y in g t h a t
su ch o b j e c ts a re made by t h e l o c a l f o l k s an a a r e In d ia n t o t h e
car©* t h e r e f o r e , «@ sh o u ld bo v e ry c a u t io u s end c a r e f u l in
exam ining th e f o r e ig n i n f lu e n c e ® hsre t h e In d ia n c u l t u r e i s
c l e a r l y v i s i b le *
1 . V. a* Saiith*.* G e ia s o f i a e i e n t I n d i a , g*4
2 . Sr* II.G. S h a s t r i ,. H ip jrtiy y a Sikfeha sfcagtr©,, t>, .75
5 . PKAl, p . 252
^ la f e e t Sophytus i s known by hi® c o in s - P . l . G upta, C o in s, p*20
4* Sr* U.D. 8sok©li&* l e v a t u r s t a b v a , {X9Q3J f t 19*
sIICiiEASffiJ
C GMMJHIC A il OKS
Many h is to r ia n s g iv e im portance
between In d ia and G-reece due t o
to
in crea sed c o n ta c ts
A lexander's
in v a s io n .
Moreland1 sa y s "His (Alexander's) appearance
was m erely an episodeand
of
In d ia
its
l i e s in th e fa c t
■
communication between
sc h o la r opin es
2
T
~
of
th e b e n e fit
power
th a t
fo r
In d i$ * and
th a t
in te r c o u r se
appearance
as th e
every
fo r
it
is
th e h is to r y
a tim e
H e lle n ic
roads
kin d,
in th e cou n try
it
e s ta b lis h e d
c u ltu r e .
to th e
East
Another
were open fo r
rea so n a b le
t o suppose
th a t
of commerce was stim u la te d and in c r e a se d t o
*2
an ex ten t « e
a lo n g h is
cannot e a s i l y
rou te
-he
a p p reciate:
e s ta b lis h e d a chain
keep open h i s communication.
He meant
Indus
way o f h is
doubt
th a t
mouth
and
H e lle n ise d
to he th e
Indian
a
in
C
grea t
and
a l l . p r o b a b ility
j
c
minor
j
or
had
would
the
he
to -d a y .
commercial
high
liv e d th e r e i s l i t t l e
have
Punjab
p o in ts
f o r t i f i e d p o s ts to
m ilita r y and
A lexan d eiia
Asia
of
Many o f th e se su rv iv e
p ro v in ces
second
lik e
At variou s
sprung up at i t s
would
have
been
Egypt.
-0- ^h c■y’ j"
1. .Moreland^ H isto ry o f I n d ia , p^ 45
2 . H.G. Hawlinson
Short C u ltu ra l History^ p . 62
5 . Percy Sykes 3 A H isto r y o f Pearsia^p. 282
^ S?VWtHV
* * Smith r i g h t l y s a y s t h a t t h e unopposed march o f Kr a t e r a s fr o a Sindh
t© P e r s ia though Sei^fia openeel up an a lte r n a tiv e land route and solved
th e problem ©f easy overland canmunication with Europe.( EHI^ p. 117 ^
if
mh
ROOTS$
attmpt to ope* tip so* rout® botvee*
A fter th e
ImA&M, md ig y p t, v# h * w
*0
d o f la lte h»ovl«dge of It® « go
t i l l th e advent ©f Alexaa&er th e Qre*t*
f ho Grook s a ilo r s ar« sold t o h a w ®est<srod the se c re t of
o f th e tl*o*s os4 tid es*
About th e eewooRy o f ©p«S»g th e
«o* Cohere th e Indus m eets th e m&) h is to r ie s Burry w rite#
/
,
. . . "Alexander fa ra d out in to th o open soa.
to Po soldo*,
ho
poured d rla k o ffe rin g #
Ho gaerlficod
fre» « go 14#* ©up
to th # Hero id s a*>& ftloaguri *»d to the T h etis* t h e noth#?
of hist sr c o s te r A ch illes a*d the* hurled the cup la te th e
vases*
t h i s «Orero*y iam gw rated h i s pis# of ©pouiag a so* •
way f o r coseorc* betwae* tho west sad the east* fho e n te r­
p r is e of d isooserlag t h i s see way was «a tru s te d t o Searehuo ~
*» o f f ic e r who ft* i e t i a a t # coapoaica o f
h i# ©a* «*d
possessed the ecofiaasc# of th e tr o o p O.12 So was fllexaoders
cs* o f h i t b e a t s a ilo r s .
The voyages oed expedition* planned by Alexander
videoed
the Geographical heriao* o f h ie qo* tem poraries and opened up
sow 3i*e# o f e o m a ilc a tic * a a i *#v routes fo r trad # ta d
M eritl*o en terp riser.
Hear fh u s oponei up the see ro u te fro*
the south o f th e X*^us to th e Pors^e* S elf o i l the rout#
fro© th e * c t t© th # Bed -Seas tg y p t and
k*cw*» Therefor© th e
Egypt w©s e stab lish ed
1.
J .B . Burys
beyon* was »1 reedy
betvesn India* « I*due d e lta with
a t t h i s ii* e .
A History of Greece p. 812
2. Hr. A.C.Maiumdary(&j^M Advanced History of India, p. 6S
A
imm
iwmxm
e« w m m
f t e Bifida s m d th® Srecicii w*re fee tv© g if te d £ry*a
m&tie»s o f ,fcfe« an cien t world,
o r ig in a lity ,
I f In d ia b©*sta o f g re a te r
®reec$ 1 e. Freud ©f' « a©re p e rfe c t $ ilto re *
‘/
a a c re p r a c tic a l m d j r a ttc a a l sad ©cap rslu n a lW knowledge
©f 'th la f t, i» gettaral; § * m m obtained h e r la d le s idea#
,ths©y'i^- th e F h eeaiein ea, P e rsie s eo8»ta,
^/
Buddhist
preaching® and o th e r s0ttrffi®s# With Alexander th e w s
-extended t o phlJ©»c|^jr m 3 r * li$ I m l
l
"fc*» aftoeM ntvor look e»/th a ancient world l i £ seen* of
at*g«'atie«»
/' •
;
|
l
Map son #agg©3t»^l»^'|;. Alexander,
*
/•
In f a c t , c a rrie d Jut©
r*
p ra c tic e in* /ira&i t i o «s i «la di an p o lic y reeoswendnd by Mann
C*i|4 202) *^d follow ed,
whenever, I t h a t b«#» p o s s ib le op
©xpbAiont by e«*4tt#ring Powers la In d ia gm o r a lly , th a t a
f&**4e® *ipJA h a s subnitbed shotjld be p ieced 4a th e charge
©f sssaa aeaslor of i t s a a e ia a t royal fanlly*
9» both th# King
o f fasiih./wtx© accepted Alexander* a aaasoas to submit m 3 F orce
#*© v iZ fc m tlf r e s ts to il, were ®ade sa tra p s over th a t? e m ■
'thongs. fee suggestion is supported by the evideace
of
',-yet it vottld be difficult to agree wife it, ■
•klmm&r
**;|sb llrobfibly followad this policy a© it suited his schemes «*d
j^ W s if©r.establishing a 'world empire* tfe had, hardly say time
!|©.reijd tfn&xj 6ui*»4l hectic 4*ys of ©idlest e«©pnips It ±s al30 aot
©Ure' th a t Manwj e x is te d p r io r t o Alexander,
t o ha^e been poiapilad between 20QB»0. and
■I
Sf '
1. I T ^
2 . A.M*
r
(4V
‘
/
/
i
;
SapsoK
i}
Majxwdai
H is work i s dated
200 A.3.
i n d e n t In d ia , p .9 6
fhs Hindu H isto ry , P* 138
trtU
COMCB
OLOSH
We can im a g in e t h a t t h e c o tt o n c l o t h m an u fa ctu red i n I n d i a m ust
have im p ressed t h e G reeks a s i t d id H ero d o tu s about tw o
c e n t u r ie s v e a r l i e r
when th e In d ia n s o l d i e r s fo u g h t i n G reece.
I n d ia n c o tto n d r e s s h a s a ls o been r e f e r r e d t o a l i k e i n t h e
e a r l y B u d d h ist t e x t s and i n t h e w r itin g o f t h e Greek o b s e r v e r s .
Ho w onder th e n t h a t among t h e p r e s e n ts o ffe re d by t h e
M alavas and t h e i r a l l i e s t o t h e v i c t o r i o u s A lex an d er Was
in c lu d e d a l a r g e q u a n ti t y o f c o tto n e l o t h f
i
ECG M tC
CONDITION
W hile d is c u s s in g econom ic c o n d itio n o f I n d i a B a n in i m en tio n s
a g r i c u l t u r e , c u l t i v a t o r s , la n d and f i e l d s s u rv e y o f l a n d ,
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f s o u l , im plem ents and a c t u a l a g r i c u l t u r a l
o p e r a tio n s .
She G reeks i n I n d i a w ere s t r u c k w ith t h e amazing
f e r t i l i t y o f t h e s o i l and th e s k i l l o f t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l i s t s .
f a n i n i knows o f deep p lo u g h in g and so th e G reeks t e s t i f y t o
2
t h e c a r e f u l p lo u g h in g h a b i t s o f th e p e o p le o f t h i s c o u n try .
BEAUi'T
Of
INDIA
She n a t u r a l b e a u ty of I n d i a had c e r t a i n l y Im pressed A lex an d er.
He adm ired t h e g re e n e ry o f I n d i a , P lu iy ^ w r i t e s t h a t t h e v a s t
s i z e o f t h e i r r i v e r s f i l l s t h e mind w ith w onder. Im p ressed by t h e
v a s tn e s s o f th e C ountry t h e com panions o f A lexander have w r i t t e n
t h a t I n d i a was t h e t h i r d p a r t - of t h e w o rld and t h a t t h e m u ltitu d e
o f i t s i n h a b i t a n t s was p a s t re c k o n in g . F o r t h i s t h e r e was p ro b a b ly
a good r e a s o n , s in c e th e In d ia n s alm ost a lo n e among t h e n a t i o n s ,
have n e v e r em ig rate d from t h e i r own b o rd e rs ^ .
WHAf GBBEK LEJUfflS FliOM INDIA
W hatever im pact o f t h e G reek in v a s io n made on I n d i a i t was l a r g e l y
due t o s u p e r io r f o r c e and i n i t i a t i o n . On t h e o th e r h an d , t h e w est
le a r n e d some t h in g from I n d i a i n consequence of th e com m unication
opened up by A le x an d e r’ s a d v e n tu re . He r g ^ Stoith can a g a in b e quoted
rjaS T lk an ta S a st r i E s Oj f t g e of JtJandas a a a AMauryas» p . 262
2.V^Agrawala ?rS ij> In d ia a s known t o P a n in i ^ p . 200
2» MeC rin d le ^ A n c ie n t I n d i a a s d e s c rib e d i n c l a s s i c a l l i t e r a t u r e p . 108
4. Ib id .
J
?
■
opened up by Alexander’s adventure. Here Smith can again be quoted
with advantage. He saye "our knowledge of th e f a s ts is* so scanty
and fragmentary that i t i s d if f ic u lt to make any p o s itiv e asser­
tio n s with confidence, but i t i s sa fe to say that th e in flu m ce
of Buddhist ideas on Christian doctrine may be traced in the
Gnostic forms of, C h ristia n ity , i f not elsewhere. She notions of
Indian philosophy and re lig io n which f ilt e r e d in to Soman Empire
flowed through channels open®! by ■Alexander”.
:GEfflii&L S M M
OP
SHE (k£J3EK IMPACT
iUX. Hokkerji who has not recognized any worthwhile impact o f
Greek Invasion on In d ia, admits saying “She only permanent re su lt
o f Alexander’s campaign Was that i t opened tip communication
between Greece and India and paved the way fo r a more intim ate
intercourse between the two. This i s th e f i r s t impact which has
been described by Vincent Smith on p r io r ity .
H istorian V.A. Smith*’ may be quoted to sum up the impact of
Alexander’s invasion of India. He w rites "Although the d irect
e f f e c t s of Alexander's expedition on India appear to have been
sm all, h is proceedings had an appreciable in flu en ce on th e h isto ry
o f the country. They broke down the w all o f separation between the
West and East and opened up four d is t r ic t s lin e s of communication,
th ree by land and one by sea. The land routes which he proved to
he p racticab le were those through Kabul, the Mulla Pass in
Balochistan and Gedrosia.
Eearchus demonstrated that the sea voyage
around the coast o f Makaran offered few d if f ic u lt ie s to s a ilo r s ,
once th e lo c a l in fo r m a t io n had been gained which he lacked.
“The Immediate formation of Greek Kingdoms in Western Asia
ensured from the f i r s t a certain amount o f exchange o f ideas between
India ani Europe. The establishm ent of the Graeco - Bactrian
monarchy in the middle of the third century B.O. brought about the
actu al wvg subjugation o f certa in Indian d is t r ic t s by Greek Kings.
1. V.A. Smith ^ Ancient and Hindu India, p. 67
<£U <3i-T. GtCWv-vVb*^ *TVvs~
\
Y 'V
170
Though t h i s
surfaced during th e l a t e r Indo«rGreek p erio d
I n i t i a l c r e d it may be given to
Alexander f o r opening up
d ire c t communication w ith India*
Thus during a b r ie f p e rio d , th e G reat
f o o t-p r in ts on th e ’sands of tim e’ .
conqueror
l e f t h is
“Whatever H e lle n is tic elements in ^ndian c i v iliz a ti o n
can be d ete c te d
in v asio n .
were a ls o
d ir e c t consequence of
In th e end he adds
p en e trate d deeply
"The
Greek in flu e n c e
In d ian p o lity and
th e
to
le a rn
th e lesso n s tau g h t
The Kings
of
to
th e ir
elephants
of
in f e r io r
of A lexander's
S ix teen th
sc ien c e
Hind
by th e
unchanged
showed no d is p o s itio n
sharp
sword of Alexander.
p re fe rre d tog© on in th e old way, tr u s tin g
and
in f a n tr y .
c h a rio ts supported by enormous
They n ever m astered
cav alry which
cen tu ry
In d ian s
n ev er
s tr u c tu r e of s o c ie ty
r e s tin g on th e c a s te b a s is remained s u b s ta n tia lly
and even in m ilita r y
A lexander's
w ith
equal
were
rep eated
su c c e ss”. 1
1* Y.A. Smith ) Ancient & Hindu In d ia , p . 67*
th e
shock
h o sts
ta c tic s
by Babar in th e