Chanakya Biography 
Chanakya was an Indian teacher, philosopher, and royal advisor who lived during the period - 370–283 BCE. He is considered as the pioneer of the field of economics and political science in India. He is also known by the names - Kautilya and Vishnu Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise called Arthasastra (Economics), precursor to classical economics. His work was lost at the end of the Gupta dynasty and was rediscovered in 1915.
There is only a little purely historical information about Chanakya and is identified as the four distinct accounts of the ancient Chankya-Chandragupta legend. They are available in Jainism, Buddhism, Kashmiri and Vishakhadatta derivations with a few common elements. In all versions, it is told that King Dhana Nanda insults Chanakya, prompting him to swear revenge and destroy the Nanda Empire. The second fact is that in search of one worthy successor, he finds the young Chandragupta Maurya and the third fact is that Chanakya and Chandragupta bring down the Nanda Empire using their brains.
Chanakya's birthplace is also a matter of controversy as it is recorded in 4 ways in 4 legends. Buddhist text Mahavamsa Tika describes his birth place to be Taxila while Jain scriptures, such as Adbidhana Chintamani says, he was a native of south India. As per Jain work, Parishishtaparva, Chanakya was born in Golla region in the Canaka village. According to some sources, Chanakya was Brahmin scholar from north India who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Chanakya was educated at Takshashila and later became an acharya (teacher) of the same place. His life is connected to Takshashila and Pataliputra, capital of the Magadha kingdom. Chankaya and Chandragupta defeated the powerful Nanda Empire and established the new Maurya Empire. Chanakya continued to serve as an advisor to Chandragupta. There are two beliefs surrounding his death as well. In one legend, Chanakya retired to the jungle where he starved himself to death while the other says, he became a victim of conspiracy by Subandhu, one of Bindusara's ministers.
Published: N/A
Updated: March 01, 2014
