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.

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)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: male
Place of birth: Taxila
Place of death: Patna
Occupation: politician
Position held: professor
Languages spoken: Sanskrit
Religion: Hinduism
Notable work: Arthashastra
Image: Chanakya artistic depiction.jpg

Show 12 more facts

date of death: 0283-00-00
student: Bindusara
date of birth: 0375-00-00
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
nickname: Indian Machiavelli
birth name: विष्णुगुप्त
described by source: Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
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
writing language: Sanskrit
P13311: Olinda

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~38 min read

Encyclopedic overview

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chanakya” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.