Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c8.s3.81

c8.s3.81

It is interesting to note that there is evidence of the existence of an ancient Pāṇḍu country in the Punjab. Ptolemy’s Geography¹ places the country of Pandouoi (i.e. Pāṇḍava) about the Bidaspes=Vitastā=Jhelam and includes in it Sagala=Sākala=Siālkot. Poros (i. e. Puru or Paurava), contemporary of Alexander, evidently belonged to this Pāṇḍu country. The *Vedic Index* suggests that either the Jhelam region was the early home of the Purus where some remained while others migrated to the east, or that region was later conquered by the Purus who had been settled in the east. But it is difficult to determine how this ancient tradition finds an echo in the late medieval text before us.