Puru
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Porus Porus or Puru, the son of king Chandra Sen [citation needed], was the last Shoorsaini king. He was the overlord of the fertile area of the Punjab between the rivers Jhelum and Beas. Porus is also termed in history as the 'Lord of the Mountains.' His bravery and gallantry has become an embodiment of Indian heroism. Prof. P.D.Oak provides powerful arguments in his book – “Mistakes of Indian History” – (Bhartiya Itihas ki Bhari Bhulein), that in the war with Alexander the Great, Porus had in fact won and Alexander had been defeated. That is why Porus did not allow Alexander to return by the route he arrived. Alexander had to carve out a new path for his return.
The most shrewd politician of ancient India – Chanakya (Kautilya), the architect of the Mauryan Empire heavily depended on the military help of Porus to groom and raise Chandragupta as the future ruler of Patliputra. Chanakya's plan was based on the military might of Porus and they agreed to partition the Empire into equal halves. Porus sent his son as the commander of his army to pursue the task of ousting the Nanda ruler of Patliputra. It was the fearful might of Porus' forces that scared Nanda’s army and Chanakya was successful in besieging the city and securing a victory. But as was the temperament of Chanakya, he betrayed the son of Porus and got him treacherously assassinated. The brave Shoorsaini, true to his royal lineage fell victim to Brahamanical intrigues and evil design.
The Purus are a tribe, or a confederation of tribes, mentioned in the Rigveda. RV 7.96.2 locates them at the banks of the Sarasvati River. There were several factions of Purus one being the Bharatas. Purus against King Sudas and hence, siding with the Iranic tribes (e.g. Parsu) were defeated at the Battle of the Ten Kings.
The modern Punjabi Khatri Puri caste traces its lineage to the Puru tribe.
