The origins of the Pauravas is still doubted. Modern scholars are of the theory that Porus was a descendant of the Puru tribe, however the theory was debunked. According to historian Ishwari Prasad, Porus might have been a YaduvanshiShurasena. He argued that Porus' vanguard soldiers carried a banner of Heracles whom Megasthenes—who travelled to India after Porus had been supplanted by Chandragupta—explicitly identified with the Shurasenas of Mathura. This Heracles of Megasthenes and Arrian has been identified by some scholars as Krishna and by others as his elder brother Baladeva, who were both the ancestors and patron deities of Shoorsainis. Iswhari Prashad and others, following his lead, found further support of this conclusion in the fact that a section of Shurasenas were supposed to have migrated westwards to Punjab and modern Afghanistan from Mathura and Dvārakā, after Krishna walked to heaven and had established new kingdoms there.
Porus as Paurava
Alexander's adversary Porus is considered "Paurava" due to the nearness of the name Porus to Paurava. However, in Indian literature and history Porus is not mentioned anywhere, and the Pauravas referred to in Indian literature are a much older kingdom per Purana and Mahabharata's writing. The Persian kings Darius and Xerxes of the Achaemenid Empire had no claim beyond the present-day Khyber Pass and had no knowledge of the Punjab region according to Strabo. Similarly, the people of the tributary rivers of the Indus, modern-day Punjab, also had never heard of the past Persian kings along with the people of the Indus, who according to Megasthenes were not even aware of the vast Achaemenid Empire. At the time of Alexander's invasion, the Pauravas were situated on or near the Jhelum River,until the Chenab River. This was not only the extant of Porus' Kingdom, but was also the eastern limit of the Macedonian Empire. Alexander defeated Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes. Due to Porus' display in the battlefield, Alexander appointed him as a Macedonian satrap and additionally granted Porus more land in the Indus. Alexander was initially set on venturing further into India. However, the battle of Hydaspes against Porus curbed this aspiration. Alexander's army would mutiny when opposed to the Nanda Empire and their subordinate Gangaridai. According to the Greek historianPlutarch, the previous conflict against Porus' much smaller army dissuaded their advance. Alexander died on his way back from India. The instability that ensued after Alexander's death resulted in a power struggle and dramatic changes in governance. Porus was soon assassinated by the Macedonia general Eudemus. By 316 BC, the Macedonian entity was conquered by Chandragupta Maurya, a young adventurer, who later conquered the Nanda Empire and founded the Indian Maurya Empire. After engaging and winning the Seleucid–Mauryan war for supremacy over the Indus Valley, Chandragupta gained controlled of modern-day Punjab and Afghanistan. This set the foundations of the Mauryan Empire, which would become the largest empire in the Indian subcontinent.
Post-Mauryan Empire
It appears that the Pauravas were annexed by the militant Yaudheya Republic. Following the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire, many regional entities emerged. The Taleshwar copper plates found in Almora, stated Brahmapura Kingdom rulers belonged to the royal lineage of Pauravas. The reinstated Paurava dynasty of Brahmapur was founded by Vishnuverman, and flourished in the 7th century AD. It is stated that these kings were brahminical in habitat and practices.
