Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahabharata: Upayana Parva c5.91

c5.91

This siege of Madhyamikā is supported to some extent by the grammarian Patañjali (a contemporary of the Śuṅga King, Puṣyamitra) who to illustrate the use of the imperfect tense (to denote an event which had recently happened) quotes the example.⁵⁸ ‘The Yavana was besieging Sāketa: The Yavana was besieging Madhyamikā.’ The siege of Madhyamikā is attributed to Apollodotus by Tarn⁵⁹ who concludes that the country was conquered and the Śibis⁶⁰ whose coins have been found at Nagarī near Chittor and whose original country was about Jhang in the Southern Panjab were brought and settled there by Apollodotus.⁶¹ This is however a pure speculation. The possibility is that the turmoil which must have followed in the wake of the Greek invasion compelled the Śibis to seek refuge elsewhere and their settlement at Madhyamikā probably was affected after the retirement of the Greeks. All these events must have happened by 175 B.C.⁶²