Hi everybody. I hope everything is good. This time I would like to share about a person called “Chanakya.” I happened to read about the 100 best sutras written by Chanakya in a book recently. After reading it, I was really inspired by his writing. So, I decided to dig deeper into him and his history. When I read through, I get to know more about him than just his writing style. So, I decided to share about it in my blog post. Scroll down to read more about it.
WHO IS CHANAKYA?
Chanakya was an ancient Indian polymath (a person who has wide knowledge) who was also a teacher, strategist (skilled in planning action or political policies), author, legal advisor (in court or kingdom), philosopher, economist, and jurist (good knowledge of law).
Chanakya’s birth name was Vishnugupta. He was born around 350 B.C. He was born into a poor brahmin family in Takshashila (located in Pakistan). His parents' whereabouts and their names were not known. Still, some studies show that his father’s name was Chanak and his mother’s name was Chaneshvari. But according to Hemachandra, a Jain writer, Chanakya was born in the Chanaka Village of the Golla region, and his father’s name was Chanin and his mother’s name was Chaneshvari.
EDUCATION!
Chanakya did his schooling in Takshashila (an ancient center of learning that was located in the north-western part of India). He was a highly educated person who was well versed in different subjects (economics, politics, war strategies, medicine, and astrology). Chanakya learned about all the Vedas and political policies in his early childhood days.
Chanakya wrote many books based on ethics and statesmanship (experienced in government art and administration). But the most famous book written by him was Arthashastra (based on the science of politics and economics between the 2nd century BCE and the 3rd century CE). His pen name was Kautilya. He played a major role in the establishment of the Maurya empire (Pataliputra around 350–295 BCE).
CAREER!
Chanakya started his career as a teacher and gradually became the ally (one who supports a person or group in their ongoing struggles or activities (mostly military troops of the king those days)) of the emperor Chandragupta (he was the founder of the Maura Empire). He was known for unifying India under a common administration. Also played a pivotal role in saving India from administration mismanagement. Being a legal adviser to Chandragupta, he helped him conquer the most powerful Nanda Dynasty (lack of proper administration) of Pataliputra in the Magadha region (west-central Bihar state). This victory helps Chandragupta attain more powers.
WISDOM TOOTH!
In spite of being poor, Chanakya always remained a smart and sharp kid during his school years. So out of curiosity, her mother thought of meeting an astrologer to check on her son's future. She was a bit shocked to find out that her son’s wisdom tooth would help him become a ruler in the future. But the sad part was that he might forget his mother after becoming king. When Chanakya came to know about the talisman saying, he broke his wisdom tooth in front of his mother and promised her, followed by the words, "Mother, don’t cry. I will take care of you."
MARRIAGE!
Chanakya never falls for appearance, and he always believes that personality and humanity are more important than external beauty. So, he decided to marry a woman named Yashodhara from a brahmin family. Though she was not as fair as Chanakya, he had chosen her as his bride. This led to criticism, but he never reacted to it.
MEETING WITH NANDA DYNASTY EMPIRE!
Chanakya went to attend a ceremony at his wife’s brother's place, and people over there made fun of his poverty. Yashodhara felt bad and suggested her husband meet the Nanda Dynasty Emperor to gain money or gifts through his skills.
Chanakya was waiting for the opportunity to enter the kingdom. In the meantime, news spread across the region that King Dhanananda was organizing a food meal ceremony for the brahmins at Pushpapuri. Chanakya used this opportunity to enter the kingdom and shared his advice to correct improper administration methods. But the king seemed very arrogant and rejected Chanakya’s advice. Even made fun of his appearance. This made Chanakya very furious, and he took a vow to destroy the Nanda empire from the root. The king ordered the people to arrest him. But Chanakya somehow escaped from them and found a place in the forest around the Magadh region to hide himself.
In the forest, he met Pabbata, who was one of the rivals of the Nanda empire. Chanakya was able to persuade him with his wisdom, and he gained 80 crores of gold coins from him. He decided to hide those coins by digging a big hole in the forest.
REVENGE!
After hiding for a few days in the forest, Chanakya was looking for the right person to get his revenge against the Nanda Empire. In his search, he met Chandragupta and sought help from him. Using 1000 coins, he got help from the forest people (who know every nook and cranny) along with Chandragupta and Pabbata. Chanakya trained both of them. He decided to find the best warrior among the two, so a fight was held between them. Chandragupta won the fight by beheading Pabbata.
After this, Chanakya trained Chandragupta for 7 years (learn all about military skills to attack) and decided to take revenge against the Nanda Empire. By forming a small army with Chandragupta as leader, they started attacking the capital of the Nanda empire. But before the huge army and military force of King Dhanananda, they lost the fight. Chanakya burned his arms as a result of the loss (unplanned decisions lead to failure). Chanakya was left clueless and desperately roaming in the forest.
During this state, he happens to hear the scolding of a mother towards her son. You should not touch the hot bread in the middle after heating. Try eating it from the sides and then from the middle. Don’t be lame like Chanakya, who started attacking the capital of the Nanda Empire instead of capturing the surrounding territories. From this, Chanakya and Chandragupta learned their lesson. They both decided to capture the smaller territories first and also build their army effectively. Chanakya helped them buy all the necessary weapons using the hidden gold coins he had. Finally, an army was ready with full force. They started capturing the territories. If the King of the smaller kingdom refused to hand over the power, Chanakya killed them by using women. As per Jain text, Chanakya used to mix small doses of poison in the food and make the girls eat it. This turns the girl poisonous. So, the girls can kill the king just by kissing him. These girls are called Vishkanya.
Thinking of a solution in anger is useless. Calm your mind and put all of you into the plan, and you will succeed eventually. Chanakya believed in this and implemented it. This time, they won the attack against the Nanda Empire and killed King Dhanananda. This leads to the birth of the Maurya Empire, and Chandragupta is officially crowned king.
After his victory, he honoured Chanakya by appointing him as the prime minister of the kingdom. Chanakya was given the power to take all important decisions that bring welfare to the people. He even appointed bodyguards (both male and female) to protect the king.
Chanakya, out of concern for protecting the King from getting poisoned, used to add a small dose of poison to the King’s food daily. One day, Chandragupta’s pregnant wife ate the food plated for the king by mistake. To save the child, Chanakya cut off the womb of Chandragupta’s wife and took the baby out. The baby was saved and named Bindusara (covered with blood strains).
KARMA!
As days passed, Bindusara became the king of Chandragupta and followed his father’s path. Chanakya continued to be the prime minister of the kingdom. One of the ministers, Subandhu, always had an eye on taking over Chanakya’s position, so he was desperately waiting for an opportunity. After hearing the birth story of the king Bindusara, he decided to share it with the king (Chanakya was the reason for his mother’s death, and he only stabbed her). This made Bindusara lose his temper. Before his action, Chanakya decided to leave the kingdom to avoid further fuss.
Sometimes, Bindusara felt bad for his action when he recalled all the effort of Chanakya behind the birth of the Maurya empire. So, he sent his people along with the minister, Subandhu, to find Chanakya’s whereabouts.
Subandhu somehow found the place of Chanakya’s (a hut near the forest where he lived as a monk). As he was afraid of losing his position, he decided to kill Chanakya by setting fire to the hut. He rushed back to the kingdom with a cooked-up story: Chanakya committed suicide because he was insulted by you.
This proves that someone who seeks revenge and kills someone ends up with the same fate. Chanakya died in 273 BC.
FEW TAKEAWAYS FROM CHANAKYA’s!
Never judge a person by his present conditions, because time can change anything.
Don’t be too honest, because straight trees are often chosen to be cut first.
Learn from the mistakes of others; we can’t live long enough to make them all by ourselves.
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