87 Facts About Chanakya

Chanakya was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor.

Chanakya is traditionally identified as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra, a text dated to roughly between the fourth century BCE and the third century CE.

Chanakya's works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire in the sixth century CE and not rediscovered until the early 20th century.

Around 321 BCE, Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire.

Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both emperors Chandragupta and his son Bindusara.

Chanakya suggests that Vishnugupta was a redactor of the original work of Kautilya.

Chanakya's birthplace was the Chanaka village in Golla vishaya.

The identity of "Golla" is not certain, but Hemachandra states that Chanakya was a Dramila, implying that he was a native of South India.

Chanakya grew up to be a learned shravaka, and married a Brahmin woman.

Chanakya's relatives mocked her for being married to a poor man.

Enraged, Chanakya vowed to uproot Nanda and his entire establishment, like "a great wind uproots a tree".

Chanakya knew that he was prophesied to become a power behind the throne.

When Chandragupta grew up, Chanakya came to his village and saw him playing "king" among a group of boys.

The boy told Chanakya to take the cows nearby, declaring that nobody would disobey his order.

Chanakya took Chandragupta to conquer Pataliputra, the capital of Nanda.

Chanakya assembled an army using the wealth he had acquired through alchemy.

Chanakya asked Chandragupta to jump into the lake, and disguised himself as a meditating ascetic.

The woman told her son that by not starting from the cooler edges, he was being foolish like Chanakya, who attacked the capital before conquering the bordering regions.

Chanakya realized his mistake, and made a new plan to defeat Nanda.

Chanakya formed an alliance with Parvataka, the king of a mountain kingdom called Himavatkuta, offering him half of Nanda's kingdom.

Chanakya entered this town disguised as a Shaivite mendicant, and declared that the siege would end if the idols of the seven mothers were removed from the town's temple.

Chanakya approved the marriage, and Parvataka collapsed when he touched the girl during the wedding.

Chanakya then started consolidating the power by eliminating Nanda's loyalists, who had been harassing people in various parts of the kingdom.

Chanakya learned about a weaver who would burn any part of his house infested with cockroaches.

Chanakya assigned the responsibility of crushing the rebels to this weaver.

Chanakya burned a village that had refused him food in the past.

Chanakya filled the royal treasury by inviting rich merchants to his home, getting them drunk and gambling with a loaded dice.

Chanakya sensed their presence by covering the palace floor with a powder, and tracing their footprints.

Chanakya complained about the young monks' behavior to the head monk Acharya Susthita.

The Acharya blamed people for not being charitable towards monks, so Chanakya started giving generous alms to the monks.

Chanakya decided to prove to him that these men were not worthy of his patronage.

Chanakya covered the floor of the palace area near the women's rooms with powder and left the non-Jain monks there.

Chanakya used to mix small doses of poison in Chandragupta's food to make him immune to poisoning attempts.

Chanakya cut open the dead queen's belly and took out the baby.

Chanakya asked Bindusara to appoint a man named Subandhu as one of his ministers.

So, he told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the death of his mother.

Bindusara confirmed the allegations with the nurses, who told him that Chanakya had cut open the belly of his mother.

Meanwhile, Bindusara learned the detailed circumstances of his birth, and implored Chanakya to resume his ministerial duties.

Subandhu, while pretending to appease Chanakya, burned him to death.

Chanakya had anticipated this, and before retiring, he had set up a cursed trap for Subandhu.

Chanakya had left behind a chest with a hundred locks.

Chanakya was born with canine teeth, which were believed to be a mark of royalty.

Chanakya's mother feared that he would neglect her after becoming a king.

Chanakya had an ugly appearance, accentuated by his broken teeth and crooked feet.

Chanakya broke his sacred thread in anger, and cursed the king.

The king ordered his arrest, but Chanakya escaped in the disguise of an Ajivika.

Chanakya befriended Dhananada's son Pabbata, and instigated him to seize the throne.

Chanakya had two potential successors to Dhana Nanda: Pabbata and Chandragupta.

Chanakya gave each of them an amulet to be worn around the neck with a woolen thread.

Some time later, when Pabbata was sleeping, Chanakya challenged Chandragupta to complete the same task.

When Chandragupta became an adult, Chanakya dug up his hidden treasure of gold coins, and assembled an army.

The army of Chanadragupta and Chanakya invaded Dhana Nanda's kingdom, but disbanded after facing a severe defeat.

Chanakya ordered a fisherman to find the place where Dhana Nanda had hidden his treasure.

Chanakya anointed Chandragupta as the new king, and tasked a man named Paniyatappa with eliminating rebels and robbers from the kingdom.

Chanakya started mixing small doses of poison in the new king's food to make him immune to poisoning attempts by the enemies.

Chanakya arrived just as the queen ate the poisoned morsel.

Chanakya cut off the queen's head and cut open her belly with a sword to take out the foetus.

Chanakya was named Bindusara because his body was spotted with drops of goat's blood.

Chanakya invited Chanakya to the king's assembly, promising him 100,000 gold coins for presiding over a ritual ceremony.

Chanakya felt insulted, but Shakatala blamed the king for this dishonour.

Chanakya then untied his topknot, and vowed not to re-tie it until the king was destroyed.

Chanakya anointed Chandragupta, the son of the real king Nanda, as the new king.

Chanakya made a plan to dethrone Nanda, and replace him with Chandragupta, his son by a lesser queen.

Chanakya engineered Chandragupta's alliance with another powerful king Parvateshvara, and the two rulers agreed to divide Nanda's territory after subjugating him.

Chanakya had this girl assassinate Parvata instead, with the blame going to Rakshasa.

Chanakya became aware of them by noticing a trail of ants carrying the leftovers of their food.

Chanakya then arranged for the assassins to be burned to death.

Chanakya convinced him that Rakshasa was responsible for killing his brother, and agreed to share half of Nanda's kingdom with him.

Secretly Chanakya hatched a plan to get Vairodhaka killed.

Chanakya knew that the chief architect of Pataliputra was a Rakshasa loyalist.

Chanakya asked this architect to build a triumphal arch for Chandragupta's procession to the royal palace.

Chanakya arranged the procession to be held at midnight citing astrological reasons, but actually to ensure poor visibility.

Chanakya then invited Vairodhaka to lead the procession on Chandragupta's elephant, and accompanied by Chandragupta's bodyguards.

In Pataliputra, Chanakya's agent informed him that three Rakshasa loyalists remained in the capital: the Jain monk Jiva-siddhi, the scribe Shakata-dasa and the jewellers' guild chief Chandana-dasa.

Chanakya's agent got hold of this signet-ring, and brought it to Chanakya.

Chanakya asked some of Chandragupta's princes to fake defection to Malayaketu's camp.

Sometime after this, another of Chanakya's agents, disguised as a jeweller, sold Parvata's jewels to Rakshasa.

Chandragupta pretended to dismiss Chanakya, and declared that Rakshasa would make a better minister.

Shortly after this, a messenger came to Rakshasa's house and informed him that Chandragupta had dismissed Chanakya while praising him.

Jiva-siddhi, a spy of Chanakya, told him that he could start immediately.

An angry Malayaketu summoned Rakshasa, who arrived wearing Parvata's jewels that Chanakya's agent had sold him.

One of Chanakya's spies, disguised as a friend of Chandana-dasa, got in touch with him.

Chanakya told Rakshasa that Chandana-dasa was about to be executed for refusing to divulge the location of Rakshasa's family.

Chanakya then bound his top knot, having achieved his objective, and retired.

Chanakya is regarded as a great thinker and diplomat in India.

Chanakya uses different terms to describe war other than dharma-yuddha, such as kutayudhha.

Several modern adaptations of the legend of Chanakya narrate his story in a semi-fictional form, extending these legends.