Palace of Porus

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Nick,I am struck by the similarity of the name Pimprama in Alexander Romance to Piprawa in modern Nepal which is identified by most scholars as the birth-place of Gotama. In my scheme of things this means that there was an ancient city Pimprama or Piprawa in Seistan or the north-west the memory off which was later carried over to modern Nepal. This of course does not bring us any closer to Porus' Palace but it has to be noted that the ancient home of the Mauryas is said to be Pippali-vana which again may be related to Pimprama.Regards,Dr. Pal

[NickWelman]

Thanks dr. Pal. I had always wondered where the name Pimprama came from - it is only in the Romances, nowhere else. Still, I would like one day to see something like a map of ancient India according to your findings. (Most maps I know generally show Taxila, Muttra (Mathura), and Pataliputra and Pattala only... A more detailed map might be something of interest.)
Regards -
Nick

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Nick,
One name of a contemporary of Gotama, King Bimbisara of Magadha, may have something to do with the name Pimprama. The name Bimbisara is some kind of a puzzle as it does not have a clear etymology in Sanskrit. Also this Magadha was in the north-west, not in the Patna area which became Magadha later.
Regards,
Dr. Pal