The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c30.s2.21

v1.c30.s2.21

Çākala was a city of the Madras, who are mentioned in the Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upanishad (III, 3, 1; 7, 1) probably as early as 600 B.C., and who appear in the epics to occupy the district of Siālkot between the rivers Chenāb and Rāvi. Here Alexander found the second Paurava king, whose dominions he annexed to the satrapy of his relation and rival, the great Paurava, who ruled over the adjacent territory between the Jhelum and the Chenāb. We may conclude then that the kings of the Madras claimed to be Pūrus, and that their dominions together with their capital, Çākala, twice passed under the sway of the Yavanas—under Alexander and under his successor, Menander. At a later date, in the early part of the sixth century A.D., Çākala became the capital of the Hūṇa conqueror, Mihirakula¹.