Chanakya, The Economist

By Manoswatta (Beauty) Das, Teacher in charge Dept. of Bengali, Future Wings Academy

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗸𝘆𝗮 (The Economist):

Chanakya (375 BCE - 283 BCE) was in fact the principal of economics and political science in ancient Takshashila Bihar. The Mauryas of Chandra Gupta, the first king of the Maurya dynasty,established the empire with his help. Chandra Gupta ruled from 321-297 BCE. Chanakya was the Prime Minister and adviser to Chandra Gupta, & his son Bindusara also.

● 𝕎𝕙𝕠 𝕎𝕒𝕤 ℍ𝕖: Very little historical information is available about Chanakya, most of the sources are based on fiction rather than historiography.𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑛 identifies four sources for the relationship between Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya; These are the 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐡𝐚 & its Pali Tika 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐢, The Jain treatise by Hemchandra; The Jain scriptures refer to Advidhan Chintamani Chanakya as 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚, which means he was the native of South India. "𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫" by Somdev and the two Kashmiri books "𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐢" by Kshemendra & the Sanskrit Drama "𝐌𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐑𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐚" by Visakhadatta.

● ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 : This wise and talented Brahmin was born in the fourth century BC in the village of Chanaka in Takshashila, from which his Other name "𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗸𝘆𝗮" Originated. Though there are differences of opinion about his birth.According to some, he was born in Takshashila in the Punjab province of Pakistan; According to some, Kautilya or Chanakya was born in a village called Chanak,in a Brahmin family. There are several theories about his birthplace. According to the Buddhist scripture 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗮̄𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗸𝗮̄ He was born in Takshashila. According to the appendix to Hemchandra,Chanakya was born in the village of Chanak to a Brahmin named Chanin and his wife Chaneshwari.According to another source, 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐤 was his father's name. Since he was descended from the ‘𝗞𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗮’, he adopted the pseudonym ‘𝗞𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝘆𝗮’ to perpetuate

it.

● Chanakya was educated at Takshila University, one of the most famous educational institutions in ancient India, & later served as its principal. He was a scholar of the Vedas & a worshiper of Vishnu.He was also known as "𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗻𝘂𝗚𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗮" cause his parents gave him this name. He also had the pseudonym "𝗞𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝘆𝗮",which he adopted in his famous Sanskrit book '𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚'.

● It is said that the last king of the Nanda dynasty insulted Chanakya. Chanakya vows to avenge this humiliation. Meanwhile, the young Chandra Gupta, who was kind of a military officer of Nanda Raja, was also conspiring to seize the throne. His conspiracy fails and he has to flee to save his life. While Chandra Gupta was living in exile and exile in the forest of Bindhan, he accidentally met Chanakya. Chandra Gupta accepted Chanakya as his guru, advisor and counselor to reach his life goal. Later He became the Prime Minister of Chandra Gupta Maurya.

● 𝗠𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘀:

(Mudrārākṣasa, The Signet of the Minister)

Chanakya's role in the fall of the Nanda Empire is described in a Sanskrit play called Mudrarakshasa by Visakhadatta. We can know very few things About Chanakya from it.

■ Chanakya advised the king in his blackened book Arthashastra and "Chanakya-Neeti"

● "आतुरे व्यसने प्राप्ते दुर्भिक्षे शत्रुसंकटे।

राजद्वारे शमशाने च यस्तिष्ठति स वान्धवः"

He who is together with you in festivities, distress, drought, and in crisis caused by an enemy attack, in the royal courts and in the crematorium is your real friend.

● विद्वत्वं च नृपत्वं च न एव तुल्ये कदाचन्।

स्वदेशे पूज्यते राजा विद्वान् सर्वत्र पूज्यते॥

Intelligence and kingdom can never be compared. A king is respected in his own land whereas a wise man is respected everywhere.

● "पुष्पे गन्धं तिले तैलं काष्ठे वह्निः पयोघृतम्।

इक्षौ गुड़ं तथा देहे पश्यात्मानं विवेकतः।।

Discern the soul in the body just like you feel fragrance in a flower, oil in the oilseed, fire in wood, ghee in milk and jaggery in the sugarcane.

● "A king who cannot comprehend the movements of the enemy and only complains that he has been stabbed in the back should be dethroned."

● Economic corruption has always been there and it was nothing new even in the Chanakya era. That is why he wrote, “All initiatives depend on money. That is why most attention should be paid to the treasury. There are forty ways to embezzle funds.

● Chanakya says in his proverb, "Sudha from poison, gold from dirty place, wisdom from a lowly person and a good-looking wife from a lowly family - all these are acceptable."

● “The desires of the mind should not be banished. These desires should be used like the hum of a song. ”

● “For those who are hardworking, it is not impossible to achieve anything. No country is foreign to an educated person. Sweet talkers have no enemies.”

● "It is meaningless to go to the holy place when the mind is pure."

● This is A LifeTime book! Too Ancient Period Books But Still extremely necessary Book