Biography of “Chanakya “
Chanakya (370-283 BCE) was an Indian teacher, philosopher, and royal advisor.
Originally a professor of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University, Chanakya managed the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta’s rise to power at a young age. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both Chandragupta and his son Bindusara.
Chanakya was educated at Takshashila, an ancient center of learning located in north-western ancient India (present-day Pakistan). He later became a teacher (acharya) at the same place. Chanakya’s life was connected to two cities: Takshashila and Pataliputra (present-day Patna in Bihar, India). Pataliputra was the capital of the Magadha kingdom, which was connected to Takshashila by Uttarapatha, the northern high road of commerce. Chanakya is also known by the name Kautilya and Vishnu Gupta.
The Arthashastra discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail. The text also outlines the duties of a ruler. Some scholars believe that Arthashastra is actually a compilation of a number of earlier texts written by various authors, and Chanakya might have been one of these authors.
The real cause of Chanakya’s death is unknown and disputed. According to one legend, he retired to the jungle and starved himself to death. According to another legend mentioned by the Jain writer, Hemachandra, Subandhu, one of Bindusara’s ministers, did not like Chanakya. One day he told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the murder of his mother. Bindusara asked the nurses, who confirmed the story of his birth. Bindusara was horrified and enraged. Chanakya, who was an old man by this time, learned that the King was angry with him, he decided to end his life. In accordance with the Jain tradition, he decided to starve himself to death. By this time, the King had found out the full story: Chanakya was not directly responsible for his mother’s death, which 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, burned Chanakya alive.
