Chanakya The great-Thinker, Statesman, Politician, Philosopher and a royal advisor-VishnuGupt Chanakya, popularly Known as Acharya chanakya was son of the famous Acharya(Professor) named Chanak in city of Patliputra(Present Day Patana. The researchers say that Acharya Chanak had a stock of encient bhojpatra or Hand written documenys(On Bhoj patra the skins of trees were used as paper as there were no papers in those days). Wife of Acharya Chanak delivered a male child in about 370 BC. It is said that the child had a full set of all 32 teeth fully grown up in his mouth. The astrologers declared this as not a good sign and advised to removed the entire set of teeth but Acharya Chanak refused to accept the proposal of the astrologers. The child was named Vishnu Gupta, who late became The Acharya Chanakya the great. This child later became a famous acharya(professor) and Head of the department of Econoics and Politics at the then Texla University. Acharya was a leading character in war against Alexander. The great Nanda dynasty met her end as a result of Acharya Chanakya’s complain against Magadh. His most important work is unification of the split Janapads and establishing a powerful Magadh empire under the kingdom of King Chandragupta Mourya. He was the Prime Minister of the Magadh empire.
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| Chanakya The great-Thinker, Statesman, Politician, Philosopher and a loyal advisor |
1 | Birth | 370 BC, Opinionions of Historions differ |
2 | Father’s name | Acharya Chanak(Areknowned Teacher at Patliputra, present day Patna, Bihar} |
3 | Birth Name | Vishnu Gupt |
4 | Education | Mainly at Takshashila(Texla) |
5 | Almamater | Takshashila(Texla) |
6 | Profession | Head of the department of Political Science at Takshashila University and later Prime Minister (Maha Amatya/Mahamantri of Magadh, The Great Kingdom of King Chandra Gupta Mourya and Bindusar. |
7 | Famous works | Leading the war against Alexander’s Representatives in India, Founder of Mouryan Empire in India and unification of India |
8 | Literary Works | Arthshastra and Chanakya neeti |
9 | Religious faith | Hinduism |
10 | Death | 283 BC, Opinionions of Historions differ |
Chanakya basically was a professor of economics and political science at the ancient Taxila University. He successfully managed the Chandra Gupta's, (The first Mouryan Emperor) rise to power at a very young age, ,. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Mauryan empire said to rule the subcontinent's most widely archaeologically first empire in history, which is credited for being. Chanakya PM (General Amatya / General Secretary Chandragupta and his son both worked as Bindusar.
Basically Chanakya was professor(Acharya) of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University. He was instrumental in Mouryan Emperor Chandra Gupta’s rise to power at a very young age of about 20 years. Entire credit of establishing of the great Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent goes to Acharya Chanakya. Chanakya served as the Prime Minister(Maha Amatya/Maha Mantri to Chandragupta and and also his son Bindusar for a short period.
he was the pioneer of the field of economics and Political Science in India and often called the "Indian Machiavelli” although his works predate Machiavelli's by about 1,800 years. Thus must be called the chanakya and not chanakya sa Machiavelli. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Dynasty and later rediscovered by 1915.
Chanakya Used an established network of spies
To ones astonishment, tips and tricks of the ultra modern espionage, intelligence are still based on the tricks of Chanakya.
Why Chanakya is called the Kautilya
Chanakya him self to admit the fact that he is honest with the honest and Vajra Kutil(Extemaly Cunning) with the cunning(Kutil), thus he was nicknamed as Kautilya.
Why He was Named Chanakya
The real name of Chanakya was not Chanakya but it was Vishnu Gupta Visnnu Gupta. As his father’s name was Chanak(Acharya Chanak) and in those days there was a tradition that father’s name were added as title to the son’s name to distinguish the clan thus Chanak’s son Vishnu Gupta became Vishnu Gupta Chanakya.
Birth Place of Chanakya
There are controversies about the Birth birthplace of Chanakya and there are multiple theories about his origin. His birthplace was Takshshila according to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa Tika, he was a native of South India according to the Jain scriptures, Adbidhana Chintamani. Jain writer Hemchandra’s Parishishtaparva, says Chanakya was born in the Canaka village of the Golla region, to a Jain Brahmin and he was son of Canin and his wife Canesvari.Most of yhe sources say his father's name was Chanak and Chanakaya's name derives from his father's name.
Early life of Chanakya
Chanakya got his formal education at Takshshila(Texla) University which was a famous ancient centre of learning. Takshshila(Texla) was located in north-western region of ancient India (present-day Pakistan). Later he became a famous professor (acharya) and head of the department of Economics and Political Science at at the same place, the Takshshila(Texla) University. Chanakya's was connected to two cities, Pataliputra by birth and Takshshila(Texla) by education and profession. Takshashila and Patliputra (the capital of the Magadh kingdom present-day Patna in Bihar, India). were connected to each other by the northern high way of commerce.
Conflict of Chanakya With Magadha Eperor an role in destruction of Magadha
According to “Mudrarakshasa” a famous play written between 4th to 8th century AD, Sakatar an unhappy royal minister in the king Nand’s court, knowing that Chanakya would not be treated well in the court introduced Chanakya to the Nanda king,. King Nand Insulted Chanakya at the court and angree Chanakya untied his Sikha(Choti), (lock of hair) and swore that he would not tie it back till he destroyed the Nanda kingdom.
According to Mudrarakshasa, Chandragupta was son of a royal concubine named Mura. He spent his childhood in the Nand’s royal palace. Chanakya met Chandragupta and they both signed a pact with Parvateshwar(Popularly known King Poras) of north-west India to ensure victory over the Nanda empire. They organiseda a combined army of Shaka,Yavana(Greek), Kirata, Kamboja and Vahlik soldiers and removed king Nand from the throne. Later the territories snached from Nanda empire were divided between Parvateshwar and Chanakya's associate Chandragupta.
After Parvateshwar's demise, his son Malayaketu claimed to be the real king and sought control of all the former Nanda territories. He got support of Katyayan (Popularly Known as Rakshasaa), the former Nanda minister, several of whose attempts to kill Chandragupta were foiled by Chanakya’s alertness. As part of their game plan, Chanakya and Chandragupta faked a rift between themselves. As a sham, Chandragupta removed Chanakya from his ministerial post, while declaring that Rakshasa is better than him. Chanakya's agents in Malayaketu's court then turned the king against Rakshasa by suggesting that Rakshasa was poised to replace Chanakya in Chandragupta's court.
The activities by Chanakya's spies played a key role to further widened the rift between Malayaketu and Rakshasa. His spies also fooled Malayaketu to believe that some of his allies were planning to join Chandragupta and Malayaketu promptly order to kill his suspected allies. In the end, Rakshasa joined Chandragupta and Malayaketu's coaliation is completely failed by Chanakya's strategic plans.
Chandragupta was the son of the chief of the Mourya clan of Pippalivana according to the Buddhist texts,. Chanakya was highly impressed once he saw him leading a band of local youth and picked Chandragupta to prepare him to lead the anti-Nanda revolt.
The story of the legend Chanakya and Chandra gupta Mourya narrated by some of the modern writers looks like a fiction. In Chandragupta (1911), a play by Dwijiendralal Ray, the Nanda king exiles his half-brother Chandragupta. Chandragupta joins the army of Alexander the great, Later, with help from Chanakya and Katyayan (the former Prime Minister of Magadha), Chandragupta defeats Nanda. Nanda was put to death by Chanakya.
Chanakya (2001) by B. K. Chaturvedi and Chanakya’s Chant (2010) by Ashwin Sanghi (Both are Twenty-first-century works) also present fictional narratives about Chanakya's life. According to these, Acharya Chanak, Chanakya's father was friend of Shaktar, the Prime Minister of the Magadha. Chanakya loved Suvashini. Shaktar's daughter. Shaktar had lost his political clout to another rival minister Katyayan (Rakshasa). One night, Shaktar was imprisoned by King Dhana Nanda. Chanak openly criticised the misrule of the king Nanda and thus the rivalry of the Chanakya's family with King Dhana Nanda started. The king executed Chanak and after the execution of Chanak, the Magadha minister Katyayan sent Chanakya to Acharya Pundarikaksha of Takshashila(Texla). Chanakya completed his formal education at Takshashila and became a professor and the head of the department of Economics and Political Science there at Takshashila(Texla) University. He returned to Pataliputra after some years, to meet his mother and came to know that she was dead. He also learnt that the Nanda’s administration had further deteriorated under the growing influence of Rakshasa, who married Suvashini. Chanakya visited the royal court to king Nanda. He was insulted there and imprisoned by the king. Chanakya was rescued by the men of General Maurya, another person who despised with the king's rule. Chanakya took Chandragupta Maurya to Takshashila, where he trained the young man.
King Ambhi of Takshashila, was jealous with king Parwateshwar, made allied with the invader Alexander the Great to defeat Parvateshwar. Chanakya and Chandragupta gathered and organised people discontented with Ambhi's rule and also formed an alliance with Parvateshwar to defeat the Nanda king. Their attempts of conquering Magadha were unsuccessful in the beginning but they did not give up. Once, Chanakya came across a mother scolding her child for burning himself by eating from the middle of a bowl of porridge rather than the cooler edge. Chanakya realized his strategic mistakes by seeing this incident. In fact he was attacking Magadha, the center of the Nanda territory first. He changed his strategy to focus on capturing the areas located at the peripharies of the Nanda empire. Suvashini helped him to drive a wedge between the king and Rakshasa. Finally, the last Nanda king was defeated and a new empire with Chandragupta Maurya as the emperor was established. After the successful establishment of the Mauryan Empire, Chanakya continued to serve as an advisor to Chandragupta.
Death of Chanakya
The real cause and date of Chanakya's death is not known and disputed. Scholars have different opinions on this point. According to one legend, he retired from his post of mahaamatya(Prime Minister) and went to the forest(jungle) and starved himself to death.
According to another legend the Jain writer Hemchandra, Subandhu, was a minister in Bindusara's and he did not like Chanakya. One day he narrated a false storey to king Bindusara, that Chanakya was the person who was real responsible for the murder of his mother. Bindusara asked the nurses and the nurse confirmed the story of his birth. Bindusara was horrified and enraged after listening the story. Chanakya, by this time was quite an old man and while he learnt that the King was angry on him, he decided to end his life. According to the Jain tradition, he decided to starve himself to death. By this time, the King came to know the real story that Chanakya was not directly responsible for his mother's death ant it was an accident. He asked Subandhu to convince Chanakya to give up his plan to kill himself. However, Subandhu, pretending to conduct a ceremony for Chanakya, burnt Chanakya alive. And this was the tragic end of an era.
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