Alcibiades

Would be interesting if that were the case.I guess its not impossible,but its also a bit hard to accept completely on the basis of what little we do know.

However,there is a surprising abudance of folklore and legend about Alexander in India.Like the case with the Jews,he seems to be one of the few foreign invaders/would-be invaders who many Indians grudgingly admire (when they are not making political propaganda of his defeat at Hydaspes).

And Parashuraman is correct.Other most common names in the Near/Middle East for Alexander are Iskandar and Eskandar.

Rosi

The word 'skanda' in Sanskrit means 'spurting' or 'flowing'. Skanda was also one of the names of Lord Shiva's son Kartikeya.


The Hindu : Skanda - unique manifestation

I don't think Skanda has anything to do with Alexander.

Shaheen

In Pakistan we remember him as Iskander e Azam (Alexander the Great) and were taught to admire him back at school due to his treatment of Porus after Hydaspes. There has also been some talk of building a monument in Jhelum to commemorat the event. The Janjua Rajputs who have a major presence in that region are said to be descendents of Porus and have martial traditions which is why the British heavily employed them in their army. Amir Khan, the British boxer is also Janjua.

okamido

In the link I gave in post 9, it is supposed to be a bastardization of (I)skanda(r), rather than the sanskrit word. That was why I was curious if there was any validity to it.

Rosi

To be slightly pedantic, modern-day Pakistan would be more accurate. He doesn't figure in the public conscious of India as we know it today, he is given hardly any coverage in Indian history text books.

The first time I ever heard of Alexander having come to India was in the context of the movie Alexander (starring that Irish chap). I had heard of Seleucus though but that was only cos I'd seen an Indian drama series based on Chandragupta Maurya.

As Parshuraman alluded to earlier, that site seems dubious.

AFAIK Alexander is known as Sikander in India but that's the name that came over from Central Asia, I guess. I don't know what the Indians of the time referred to him as.

okamido

So the premise is just to speculative? I figured as much but it was interesting enough to ask around.

Rosi

I think it's a bit too far-fetched, yes.

Alcibiades

Yes,I think you are right,Rosie. I saw my mistake after I wrote that post.Its common mistake for westerners,to confuse some aspects of Pakistan and India,I guess.

Again,I believe you are correct here,too.

I have always wondered why all the regions conquered by Alexander (and modern day countries living in them),have all adopted different names for Alex,rather than simply Alexander.I'm fairly certain it all started because Persians could not easily pronounce "Alexander",and so they adopted the form that was much easier for them, "Iskandar".However,why all the other Middle Eastern languages/nations have done the same?Do they too have difficulty saying "Alexander"?I think it is more likely they taught,starting with Medieval Arabs,that that was actually his real name,and so (again) changed it to suit their linguistic requirments.

I believe that's how the "Sikander" form got into India,through Arabs,during their conquests.They have changed from "Iskandar" to "Sikandar".

Of course,I could be completely wrong about all this.

Shaheen

Persian had a big influence on the Islamic world and was the language of the learned. Like Latin was in the west. Thus other languages of the region just adopted their name for Alexander.

Arabs did not really conquer "India". They conquered Sindh but most of Islamic invasions were done by central asian Persianized Turks. As for the variants Sikander/Iskander both of them are understood to be the same name, atleast in Pakistan. Our first president was called Iskander Mirza

ib-issi

As we are in speculative , the bit they seem to have left of is the AL beginning, this could not have anything to do with it being the start of the name ALLAH could it ??
just a passing thought .