Posts Tagged ‘Indian history’
“As befits a king”
Imagine a rushing river in pitch blackness separating a Greek emperor and an Indian king. The Greek emperor uses a strategy of false alarms to lull his opponent into a sense of ease and then crosses the river under the cover of a thunderstorm.
The Indian king’s archers and elephants now face the Greek emperor’s spears and chariots…
This is a historical story of the battle between King Porous and Emperor Alexander at the banks of the river Jhellum. Filled with segments of political allies, betrayals and even mutual respect and admiration ….the essence of the story has been captured in the Amar Chitra Katha comic – Paurava & Alexander.
King Porus in battle watched by Emperor Alexander
This popular story was immortalized with the dialogue between the two opponents:
Alexander :“Tell me how would you like to be treated”
Porus :“Treat me Alexander, as befits a king”
In this era, how would one king treat another? Do we always remember to treat our friends “As befits a friend”? Modern life lessons from ancient stories wouldn’t you say?
