Chanakya
Darani Vasudevan
Chanakya
Darani Vasudevan
Preface, Chanakya was a great teacher and Philosopher of Ancient India. His contribution paved way for the establishment of the great Mauryan Empire in India. This book is a biography of the Ancient legend Chanakya. Hope you would enjoy reading it....
-V. Darani M.Sc., M.Phil., SET
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Chanakya
also
Vishnugupta
was
known a
as
teacher,
Kautilya
or
philosopher,
economist, jurist and royal adviser of Ancient India. He was born in Chanakya village in Golla region and had written Arthasastra, the ancient Indian political treatise. This text dates back roughly between 2nd century BC and 3rd century AD. His work is considered as an important precursor to classical economics and he is regarded as pioneer in the field of Indian political science and economics. He is well known for his prominent role in the establishment of Mauryan Empire which was the first empire to rule most of the Indian subcontinent.
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He also served as a lecturer of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University. His works were lost at the end of Gupta Empire and were rediscovered in 1905 by Librarian Rudrapatna Shamasastry in an uncatalogued
group
of
ancient
palm
manuscripts donated by an unknown pandit to the Oriental Research institute, Mysore. His great
writings
are
Arthashastra
and
Chanakya nithi. Arthashastra is a summary of political thoughts of Chanakya. „Arthashastra‟ is a Sanskrit word meaning “The science of material grain.” The ideas in the book are purely
practical
and
unsentimental.
Arthashastra discusses the monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, war strategies and
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international relations. It also enlisted an outline of the duties of a ruler. Chanakya nithi is a collection of aphorisms collected by chanakya from various shastras. He
served
as
the
chief
advisor
of
Chandragupta Maurya, the first emperor of Mauryan Empire. He has mastered vedic literature and is also believed to have some knowledge on Zoroastrianism. At the time of Chanakya, India was mostly composed of many small independent states with Magadha kingdom as an exception. This kingdom controlled most parts of North India and was ruled by Nanda kings. Chanakya played a prominent role in the defeat of
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Magadha kingdom and also the rise of Mauryan Empire. In 322 BC Chandragupta defeated Nanda kings and established Mauryan dynasty which ruled India until 185 BC. Chandragupta defeated the Generals of Alexander the Great in Gandhara (present Afghanistan). He gained public support as he ended the corrupt Nanda rule. Chanakya was always admired for his brilliance. Once he noted a group of ants carrying grain out of a crack in the palace floor. While examining the crack he discovered Nanda soldiers hidden in the basement for a surprise attack. Chanakya emptied the building, locked up the Nanda soldiers and burnt down the palace. Chanakya
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helped Chandragupta to turn Mauryan Empire into a powerful government. The life history of the legend as mentioned in the Buddhist and Jainist scripts are entirely different. As per the Buddhist texts, Nanda kings were robbers who turned rulers and established the Nanda dynasty. Chanakya was a Brahmin from Takshashila who was well versed in three Vedas and politics. He had canine teeth which were considered as a mark of royalty in those days. His mother was afraid that mark would separate her dearest son from her. To console her, Chanakya broke his teeth. He was ugly in appearance and his broken teeth made his face look more terrific. He also had
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crooked feet. One auspicious day, Nanda king organized
an
alms
giving
ceremony
for
Brahmins. Chanakya attended the ceremony as he was a Brahmin. But king Dhana Nanda was disgusted by the look of Chanakya and ordered to throw him out of the assembly. Chanakya felt insulted which made him angry. He cursed the king and took a vow to destroy his empire. The king ordered the soldiers to arrest Chanakya but he managed to escape to Ajivika. He gained friendship of Dhana Nandaâ&#x20AC;&#x;s son Pabbata and triggered him to seize the throne from his father. Pabbata gave a signet ring to Chanakya and helped his escape through a secret door in the palace. Chanakya escaped to vinjha forest where he
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made 800 million kahapanas (gold coins) using a magical technique he learnt which allowed him to gain 8 gold coins out of 1. He hid that money safely in the forest and he started seeking someone who could help in achieving his ambition of destroying Nandas. One day he found a group of young children playing in which young Chandragupta played the role of King. The other boys played the roles of vassals, ministers and robbers. When robbers were brought before the king, he ordered to cut off their limbs. The action was
performed
according
to
his
order.
Chandragupta miraculously re attached the cut limbs to his body. Chandragupta was basically from royal family but was brought
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up by a hunter after his father was killed. The devatas caused his mother to abandon him. Chanakya was stunned by Chandragupta‟s miraculous power. He paid 1000 gold coins to Chandragupta‟s
foster
father
to
take
Chandragupta along with him for teaching trade. Chanakya now had two successors for Dhana Nanda: Pabbata and Chandragupta. He present each one of them an amulet tied by a woollen thread. Inorder to test them, he asked Pabbata to remove Chandragupta‟s amulet without breaking it as well as without waking up him. But unfortunately Pabbata failed. When Chanakya asked Chandragupta to remove Pabbata‟s amulet, he accomplished it successfully by cutting off Pabbata‟s head.
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For the next 7 years Chanakya trained Chandragupta. He taught him all the war skills and royal duties. When Chandragupta became an adult, Chanakya assembled an army with his hidden treasure. Chanakya and Chandragupta invaded Nanda kingdom with their force but got defeated. They both disguised and wandered in the kingdom
during
which
they
overheard
conversation between a mother and her son. The child ate the middle of the cake and had thrown away the edges. For this the mother scolded him as he was eating food like Chandragupta who focussed his attack on the central part of the kingdom instead of conquering
the
border
villages
first.
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Chanakya and Chandragupta realized their mistake. They formed a new army for the second attack this time conquering the border
villages
Chandraguptaâ&#x20AC;&#x;s
first.
army
Gradually
advanced
to
the
kingdomâ&#x20AC;&#x;s capital Pataliputra. They killed Dhana Nanda and conquered the kingdom. Chanakya ordered a fisherman to find the hidden treasure of Dhana Nanda. When fisherman informed the location, Chanakya killed
him
without
any
delay.
Chanakya
crowned Chandragupta as the new king and rooted
the
great
Mauryan
empire.
He
appointed Paniyatappa for eliminating rebels and robbers from the kingdom.
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Chanakya started mixing small doses of poison to Chandragupta‟s food to make him immune to poison attacks by enemies in future. Chandragupta was completely unaware of this. One day he asked his pregnant wife to have food from his plate. The queen was just 7 days away from delivery. To save the infant in her womb, Chanakya cut off her head and cut open her belly with a sword to take the foetus out. He placed the foetus in the belly of a goat every day for seven days. After seven days Chandragupta‟s son was born. Chanakya named him Bindusara because his body was with drops (bindu) of goat‟s blood.
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According to Jain texts, Chanakya was the son of two jains Chanin and Chaneshvari. His birth place was Chanakya village in Golla Vishya. He was born with a full set of teeth which was a sign that he would become a king in future according to the belief of the monks. Chanin didnâ&#x20AC;&#x;t wish his son to become a king, so he broke Chanakyaâ&#x20AC;&#x;s teeth. The monks then prophesized that the baby would become a power behind the throne. Chanakya grew up as a learned shravaka and he married a Brahmin woman. Her relatives teased her for marrying a poor man. Chanakya decided to visit Pataliputra for getting donation from King Dhana Nanda who was famous for his generosity towards Brahmins.
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In the royal court, Chanakya sat on the King‟s as he waited for king‟s arrival. A servant girl offered Chanakya another seat but he used that for keeping his kamandal (water pot). The girl offered hi four more seats for him to sit but he used those for keeping his things. The servant girl was annoyed and she kicked him
off
the
throne.
Insulted
by
this,
Chanakya vowed to uproot the entire Nanda kingdom just like “a great wind uproots a tree.” He started seeking for a worthy person to accomplish his task during which he helped a pregnant daughter of a village chief with a condition that she must giver her son to him. The woman delivered Chandragupta.
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When Chandragupta grew up , Chanakya came to the village to see him. He saw young Chandragupta
playing
the
role
of
king.
Inorder to test him, Chanakya asked him for donation. Chandragupta asked Chanakya to take the cows nearby as nobody would disobey the Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x;s order. This attitude and power
inspired
Chandragupta
for
Chanakya. war.
He
trained
Chanakya
then
formed an army with the wealth he obtained through alchemy. His army was defeated in the first battle. They fled the battle field and reached a lake. On sighting an enemy soldier, Chanakya asked Chandragupta to jump into the lake and he disguised as a meditating saint. The soldier asked disguised
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Chanakya whether he saw Chandragupta. Chanakya pointed at the lake. When the soldier jumped into the lake, Chanakya took his sword and killed him. When Chandragupta came out of the lake, Chanakya questioned him “what went in your mind when I disclosed your location to the enemy?” Chandragupta
replied
that
his
master‟s
decision would be the best. Chanakya was satisfied with the answer. Once he cut open the belly of a Brahmin who had just eaten his food and took out the food to feed hungry Chandragupta. One day while wandering they overheard a woman scolding her son. The child had burnt his finger as he touched the middle of a bowl of hot gruel. The woman told
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her son not to be a fool like Chanakya who attacked the capital first before conquering the bordering edges. She asked her son to start from the cooler edges of the bowl. Chanakya realized his mistake and devised a new plan to defeat Nanda. This time he joined hands with Parvataka, the king of a mountain kingdom Himavatkuta with a deal to offer half of the Nanda dynasty to him. They attacked the Nanda kingdom from its border. But one village offered a strong resistance to the attack owing to the supernatural powers of deities in a temple. Chanakya disguised as a Shaivite Mendicant and entered the village. There he lied that the kingdom would be defeated if the idols of the deities in the
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temple are not removed. People did as he said. Chanakya at one ordered his army to attack the village and captured it. Gradually they captured the capital Pataliputa and defeated
the
Nanda
empire.
Chanakya
crowned Chandragupta as the King. While leaving the city, Nanda kingâ&#x20AC;&#x;s daughter saw Chandragupta and fell in love with him. She got out of the cart. 9 spokes of the cart wheel broke as she got down. Chanakya considered this as an omen and declared that Chandraguptaâ&#x20AC;&#x;s dynasty would last for 9 generations. Parvataka fell in love with one of the visha kanyas (poison girl) of the Nanda empire. Chanakya approved their marriage too. Parvataka collapsed as he touched the
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bride during the wedding. Chanakya ordered Chandragupta to not call the physician. Parvataka
died
and
hence
Chandragupta
became the sole ruler of the kingdom. Chanakya then eliminated loyalties of Nanda who had been harassing people in various parts of the kingdom. Chanakya also burnt a village that has refused to offer him food in the past. He called rich merchants to his house, provided them alcoholic drinks and engaged them in gambling. This way he filled the royal treasury. The kingdom suffered famine for around 12 years. Two jain monks ate food from kingâ&#x20AC;&#x;s table after applying a magical ointment that made them invisible. Chanakya traced their presence by covering
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the palace floor with powder. The next day Chanakya smoked the room that cause tears in the eyes of the monks which washed away the
ointment
in
the
face.
Chanakya
complained the young monks‟ behaviour to Acharya who was the head of all monks. Acharya
blamed
people
for
not
being
charitable towards monks. Chanakya started giving alms to the monks. Chandragupta patronized non-Jain monks, but Chanakya realized that these men are not worth for king‟s trust. In order to prove this, Chanakya covered the floor near the women‟s room with powder. The foot prints of the non-Jain monks proved that they peeked inside women‟s room through the windows.
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Chandragupta appointed
realized
Jain
his
monks
as
mistake his
and
spiritual
counsellors. Chanakya used to add a pinch of poison to Chandragupta‟s plate to make him immune to the poison attack by enemies in future. Unfortunately, Chandragupta‟s pregnant wife ate the food and died. Inorder to save the infant in her womb, Chanakya cut open the dead queen‟s belly and took the baby out. The baby who was touched by a drop (bindu) of poison was named as Bindusara. Chandragupta
became
a
Jain
monk
and
Chanakya crowned Bindusara as the new king. Chanakya recommended Bindusara to appoint Subandhu as one of his ministers. But
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Subandhu was jealous of Chanakya and wished to obtain his position in the court. So he conveyed Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the death of his mother. Bindusara asked the nurses to confirm the news. Bindusara started to hate Chanakya. Chanakya was very old and he decided to starve himself to death, a practice followed by old Jain monks. Bindusara came to know the circumstances of his birth and hence he requested Chanakya to resume his position in ministry. But Chanakya refused. So Bindusara asked Subandhu to convince Chanakya to give up his suicide plan. Subandhu pretended to appeal to Chanakya but burnt him alive. Subandhu then took possession of Chanakyaâ&#x20AC;&#x;s
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house. Chanakya guessed this well and hence before retiring he left a cursed trap for Subandhu in his life. He had left behind a chest
with
hundreds
of
locks.
Greedy
Subandhu broke the locks without knowing the future consequences. He anticipated precious jewels but got a sweet smelling perfume. He inhaled it. His eyes got the glimpse of a bark note mentioning that â&#x20AC;&#x17E;anybody who smelled this perfume will have to either become a monk or face death.â&#x20AC;&#x; Subandhu tested this perfume on another man and fed him with luxurious food a thing which Jain monks abstain from. The man died and Subandhu became a monk to avoid death.
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Some stories mention that he retrieved to the forest as an ascetic after accomplishing his vow of destroying Nanda dynasty. There was also a tale that Chanakya served in the first seat of the Nanda kingdom. But King Dhana Nanda removed him from the first seat. Chanakya felt insulted and vowed that he will not tie his top knot until the destruction of the Nanda kingdom. Whatever
may
be
his
life
story,
his
intelligence remained unbeatable and the history left us with many evidences for his brilliance. He had appointed many loyal servants as spies serving the enemies which helped him to know the deadly plans of the enemies and he took proper precautions to
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destroy the evil plans. He formed the pillar for Mauryan empire. He used his intelligence to create chaos among the enemies. He served
as
the
chief
advisor
to
both
Chandragupta and Bindusara. His two great works Arthashastra and Chanakya nithi still hold eminent places in the Political history of India. The great teacher and Philosopher died at Pataliputra, India.
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