Chanakya

Also known as Indian Machiavelli

Chanakya (ISO: '''', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and the establishment of the Maurya Empire. According to these narratives, Chanakya served as the chief adviser and prime minister to both emperors Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara.

AI overview

Chanakya was a Brahmin who, according to legendary accounts from the 4th to 11th century CE, helped the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta gain power and establish the Maurya Empire, and then served as chief adviser and prime minister to both Chandragupta and his son Bindusara. His story matters because it has been preserved across multiple historical traditions and illustrates the influential political and advisory role played by intellectuals in ancient Indian empire-building.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: 1921
Died: .·
Works: 20

Top works

Against the cold war
Communism in Indian politics
CPI-M, promises, prospects, problems
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Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 60
Total plays: 135

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Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)<sup>1</sup>
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N-Fused Imidazoles As Novel Anticancer Agents That Inhibit Catalytic Activity of Topoisomerase IIα and Induce Apoptosis in G1/S Phase
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Euglena sp. as a suitable source of lipids for potential use as biofuel and sustainable wastewater treatment
· 2013 · cited 142x

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Quotes

“If a king is energetic, his subjects will be equally energetic. If he is reckless, they will not only be reckless likewise, but also eat into his works. Besides, a reckless king will easily fall into the hands of his enemies. Hence the king shall ever be wakeful.”
“All urgent calls he shall hear at once, but never put off; for when postponed, they will prove too hard or impossible to accomplish.”
“The king who is situated anywhere immediately on the circumference of the conqueror's territory is termed the enemy.The king who is likewise situated close to the enemy, but separated from the conqueror only by the enemy, is termed the friend (of the conqueror).”
“Don't judge the future of a person based on his present conditions, because time has the power to change black coal to shiny diamond.”
“A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.”
“Till the enemy's weakness is known , he should be kept on friendly terms.”

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Key facts

Person.name: Chanakya
Person.image: Chanakya artistic depiction.jpg
Person.caption: Chanakya as depicted on the cover of R. Shamasastry's 1915 translation of Arthashastra
Person.birth_place: Chanaka village in Golla region, South India (Jain legends);or in Takshashila (Buddhist legends)
Person.death_place: Pataliputra, Maurya Empire
Person.occupation: Political advisor, prime minister
Person.era: 4th century BC–3rd century BCE
Person.known_for: Prominent role in the foundation of the Maurya Empire
Person.relatives: Chanaka (father)

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Wikidata facts

Image: Chanakya artistic depiction.jpg

Show 8 more facts

date of death: 0283-00-00
date of birth: 0375-00-00
nickname: Indian Machiavelli
birth name: विष्णुगुप्त
Commons category: Chanakya
quotation or excerpt: The area extending from the Himalayas in the north to the sea and a thousand yojanas wide from east to west is the area of operation of the King-Emperor.
floruit: 0400-00-00
P13311: Olinda

Sources (3)

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~38 min read

Article

26 sections

Contents

Chanakya-Chandragupta ''katha'' (legend)
Buddhist version (5th-6th cent. CE)
Source
Narrative
Jain version (12th cent. CE, based on 1st-8th cent. CE sources)
Source
Narrative
Kashmiri version (11th cent. CE)
Source
Kashmiri narrative
Mudrarakshasa version (4th-8th cent. CE)
Source
Mudrarakshasa narrative (4th-8th cent. CE)
Legacy
Identification with Kautilya, author of the ''Arthashastra''
Naming
In popular culture
Plays
Film and television
Arthashastra
Fiction
See also
Notes
References
Sources
External links

Chanakya (ISO: ', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and the establishment of the Maurya Empire. According to these narratives, Chanakya served as the chief adviser and prime minister to both emperors Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara.

Conventionally, Chanakya was identified with Kauṭilya and synonymously Vishnugupta', the author of the ancient Indian politico-economic treatise Arthashastra. Arthashastra is now thought with high probability to have been composed by multiple authors during the early centuries of the common era—several centuries after the Mauryan period—the backdated identification with Chanakya to have served to add prestige to the work.