Rajja Sourav Singh Sarmal
In the field of Chandrabhaga, a stalwart Dogra shot a poisoned arrow at the Greek Commander Alexander. The arrow was the symbol of retaliation for Durgara’s honour. Alexander, hit by the arrow, with blood gushing from his body, fell down. Soon later, the Greek soldiers covered their unconscious commander with guard. It’s for this reason that Greek chroniclers and historians have called the Chandrabhaga River as Sandro Fagus, meaning the river which devoured Alexander.
But who were these Dogras that managed to bring down one of history’s greatest conquerors? The Land of Durgara, home to the noble lineage of Dogras, has always been known for its insuperable courage, indomitable bravery, self-esteem, dignity, self-reliance and non-compromising spirit. Its literal boundaries forming the Greater Durgara included the ancient Janpadas of Gabdika, Audumbara, Trigarta, Takka, Madra and Darvabhisara; covering much area of present-day Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and undivided Punjab.
Due to their war-like character, Dogras always gave tough resistance to invaders and fought for the protection of their sovereignty. Potent Dogras not only baffled and thwarted the misdemeanor of foreign raiders but also provided sanctuary and succor to people tormented and driven out by them.
One such incident occurred during the times of Alexander when his victorious army invaded the subcontinent after subduing Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Bactria. The warriors of Durgara made him retreat due to their resistance.
The Dogras achieved the unique distinction of shattering Alexander’s dream of world subjection on the strength of their bravery and courage. This became an important part of the history of Greece. The Dogra Annals gives elaborate details of the events of those times.
Ambhi was the sovereign of Takshasila but he submitted to Alexander in order to form an alliance against Kingdom of Abhisara and Raja Porus (Paurava Sen or Puru Sen of Dogra records) who was the ruler of Madra i.e. the territories on both sides of the river Chenab. Goti-Pani was the capital of Paurava which was positioned on the east ot the Behat (Jhelum), nearly around modern Gujrat city.
Porus had a daughter Mangla Dei who caught infatuation and passion for Raja Ajay Singh of Jammu and was married to him. When Alexander invaded the frontiers of Paurava Sen, Dogra Forces from Darva-Abhisara, Madra and Trigarta formed an alliance and fought a pitched battle known as Battle of Hydaspes near Nandana.
In this battle, Raja Ajay Singh was killed while fighting on the side of his father-in-Law. Puru’s elephant defended Puru and courageously & dauntlessly repulsed adversary assaulters during entire battle. When King was wounded with arrows, kneeled down and softly lowered Porus with his trunk and gently drew every arrow from his body.
The tough fight of Dogra warriors made Alexander subscribe to a Peace convention with Porus. His territory was protected as well as thirty-seven considerable towns and multitude of townlets were added to his extensive territory. The King of Abhisara finding hopeless again proffered his submission.
Later, on advice from Mohdi, a renegade from Darius III’s court Jammu Raja Ajay Singh’s son Bijay Singh presented himself before Alexander on his way back. He ultimately restored him his ancestral principality. His descendants extended Jammu’s territory up to Jehlum and one Ram Gupt constructed Ramgarh fort in Khari area on Jehlum river banks.
Alexander moving in a direction more easterly than before crossed Chandrabhaga where his advance was baffled by rebellious Dogras. After making acceptable arrangements for underpinning and reinforcement, Alexander continued eastwards passing near ancient Sialkot fortress but brave fortified Dogra forces thwarted Alexander’s forces in Basholi area in hills’ bottom along Ravi river. The Dogras prepared a specific power array strategy to fight Alexander. More than 1200 among Alexander’s soldiers were wounded in this battle and numerous lost their lives. This was greater loss for Alexander as after this his army lost confidence.
They were about to cross Bias river but he found that his soldiers no longer followed him with wonted amenability and alacrity. They were indisposed to do more distant adventures so he sought to rouse their enthusiasm by an eloquent address reciting glories of their stupendous vanquishing from the Hellespont to the Hyphasis and promised them the dominion and riches of all Asia. But his glowing words fell on unintentional cognizance and were accepted with painful silence which remained unbroken for a long time. At last Alexander with a heavy heart gave orders for retreat in September 326 B.C. It was the resistance of Dogras which actually made him retreat but it’s unfortunate that the laurels achieved by Dogra warriors haven’t been stressed with applicable depiction and they’ve always been the victim of literal prejudices.
The story of the Dogras is one of bravery and courage in the face of adversity. Their resistance against one of history’s greatest conquerors is a testament to their indomitable spirit and their place in history as defenders of their land and people.
(The author is a Columnist)
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