Chanakya

Bio:

Introduction :Kautilya or Chanakya was an ancient Indian economist, philosopher and royal adviser between 360 and 263 BC. He authored a famous book on political science, Arthashastra. He was one of the leading economists of ancient India at that time. His policies played an important role in the development of the economy. He was also called Machiavelli of India for his scholarship in political science.

Early life : Historically, he was born in 350 BC into a Brahmin family. However, the details of his place of birth are unclear to historians. However, according to the author Hemachandra, Chanakya was born in the village of Chanaka in the Golla region. He studied economics, political science, war strategy, medicine and astrology at Takshila. According to historians, he was fluent in Greek and Persian. He was also well versed in Vedic literature. After graduation, he worked as a teacher in the Department of Political Science and Economics at Takshila.

Debut as a consultant : According to historians, at a later time, Raja Dhan Nanda met Chanyak. Despite being a powerful king, he was unpopular with his subjects. King Dhan Nanda insults Chanyak. And that is why Chanakya was looking for a worthy man to bring down King Dhan Nanda. At that time the young Chandragupta met Maurya with him, and together these two formed an alliance with some more powerful rulers to help them. Chanakya was extremely intelligent and a diplomat. He very cleverly and strategically succeeded in bringing down the Nanda dynasty of Pataliputra in the Magadha region. After the defeat of Nanda Raja, he established a new empire with Chandragupta Maurya as emperor and he served as his loyal political advisor. After King Chandragupta, Chanakya defeated the generals of Alexander the Great in Gandhara, Afghanistan, based on his diplomatic tactics. With the conquest of the Punjab, the initial territory controlled by Chandragupta was further expanded across the whole of northern India from the Indus River in the west to the Bay of East Bengal. As a result, the Mauryan Empire became a powerful empire at that time. According to a legend mentioned in Jain texts, Chanakya used to mix small amounts of poison in the food of Emperor Chandragupta to build his immunity against the poisonous efforts of the enemy but the emperor, unaware of this, shared his food with the pregnant queen Duradhara. Chanakya cut off the queen's stomach to save the emperor's child. That child is known as Bindusara. Chandragupta of Bindusara became the next king of Maurya and Chanakya was Bindusa's advisor for some years.

Death : This economist and diplomat died in 275 BC. Although the details of Chanakya's death are shrouded in mystery. It is known that he lived a long life but it is not clear to historians how he actually died. However, according to legend, Chanakya retired from the forest and died of starvation. According to some, he died as a result of a political conspiracy during the Bindusara period.

Conclusion :The diplomatic enclave in New Delhi has been named in honor of Chanakyapuri Chanakya. Several other places and institutes have also been named after Chanakya. Several television series and books have been made about him.