Chanakya

Chanakya (IAST: ; c. 350-283 BCE) was an adviser and  Prime minister to  Chandragupta Maurya (c. 340-293 BCE). He played a key role in helping Chandragupta in the establishment of Maurya Empire.

Early Life

Chanakya was born into a Brahmin family. He learned about politics, astrology, war, and medicine. He studied at Takshashila, a famous school in ancient India. He became very knowledgeable and later became a teacher. The word Kautilya means "Crookedness", and he was also known as Chanakya and Kautilya.

Helping Chandragupta

When Chanakya saw that India was not united and foreign rulers were invading, he wanted to change that. He met Chandragupta, a brave and intelligent boy. Chanakya trained him and helped him fight against the Nanda kings.

Together, they won, and Chandragupta became the first Maurya emperor around 321 BCE. Chanakya became his chief minister, which led to him helping Chandragupta govern the kingdom.

Arthashastra

Chanakya [Kautilya] wrote a book called Arthashastra meaning "science of wealth" or "Manual of Politics". It is a book about how to run a government, manage money, fight wars, and keep peace. It is one of the oldest books on politics in the world. The Mauryan Empire was governed by the system noted in Arthashastra, which was similar to Machiavellian system.

Media

 Television series Chanakya is a fictionalized account of the life and times of Chanakya.
 A book has been published in English titled  'Chanakya on Management"{18} in which each of the 216 sutras on raja-neeti has been translated and commented upon. Clearly, the entire system of thought propounded by Chanakya is based on following good ethical principles.
 In his Arthasastra, Chanakya has discussed widely various economic issues. A book written by Ratan Lal Basu & Rajkumar Sen has dealt exhaustively with these economic concepts of Chanakya and their relevance for the modern world.Ratan Lal Basu & Rajkumar Sen: Ancient Indian Economic Thought, Relevance for Today, , Rawat Publications, New Delhi, 2008
 Many eminent Kautilya experts from all over the world had discussed various aspects of Kautilya's thought in an International Conference held in 1902 at Oriental Research Institute, Mysore, India to celebrate the Centenary of discovery of the manuscript of the Arthashastra by R. Shamasastry. Most of the papers presented in the Conference have been compiled in an edited volume by Raj Kumar Sen and Ratan Lal Basu.Raj Kumar Sen & Ratan Lal Basu (eds): Economics in Arthasastra, , Deep& Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2006

 References 

Other websites

Chanakya Nitishastra: English translation by Miles Davis.
 Chanakya – Bharatpedia
 Chanakya – Grokipedia
Category:Indian people
Category:Ancient writers
Category:350s BC births
Category:280s BC deaths