Chanakya

Chanakya ( , ; c. 350-283 BCE) was an adviser and a prime minister to Chandragupta Maurya (c. 340-293 BCE). Chanakya helped Chandragupta create the Maurya Empire. Chanakya is considered a pioneer (someone who explores a new area) in economics. He wrote about economics a very long time before Ibn Khaldun.
Chanakya's Teachings
Shloka 1- naatyntN srlairbhaavyN gtvaa pshy vnsthliim / chidynte srlaasttr kubjaastisstthnti paadpaaH //
English- Do not be very upright in your dealings, as you would see in forest, the straight trees are cut down while the crooked ones are left standing.
Shloka 2- kH kaalH kaani mitraanni ko deshH kau vyyaagmau / kshcaahN kaa c me shktiriti cintyN muhurmuhuH //
English- Consider again and again the following: the right time, the right friends, the right place, the right means of income, the right ways of spending, and from whom you derive your power.
Shloka 3- yo dhruvaanni prityjy adhruvN prissevte / dhruvaanni tsy nshynti caadhruvN nssttmev hi // 01-13
English- He who gives up what is imperishable for that which is perishable, loses that which is imperishable; and doubtlessly loses that which is perishable also.
Shloka 4- gunnairuttmtaaN yaati noccairaasnsNsthitH / praasaadshikhrstho'pi kaakH kiN gruddaayte // 16-06
English- Greatness comes from good qualities and not from a high position. A crow doesn't become a Garuda (the chief of the feathered race) just by sitting on the top of a palace.
Shloka 5- atirupenaave sitaa: atigrvenaa urvshi atidaanthaa krnn purush-shresstth nisspaap srsvti naard yaati bkhaan| svrgaarohn prissevte smraatt| at:purussottm rghuraam, anaagh yaati ayodhyaa me raamraajy|
English- There can be no beautiful and compassionate woman like Sita. There can be no beautiful but proudy woman like Urvashi. There can be no man like Karna, the supremest of all men(purush-shresstth).
His glories and heroism has been narrated by Narada and Saraswati and eventually he attains the highest goal of a human and unites with his brothers in heaven and becomes the king of the Swarga. There can be no great men like Rama, the purushottam himself. He is sinless and eventually he also becomes the king of Ayodhya and brings Ram-Rajya on earth.
Shloka 6- noccairaasnsNsthitH jnyaan at:ahNkaar baalii, at: jnyaan kRssnn kaakH lNkesh, smaaj kre bkhaan|
English- Knowledge is the most powerful tool in this world. Gyaanis are always respected in this world no matter what. Despite their clans were destroyed, Bali, Krishna and Ravana still have their names in this world because of their 'Gyaan'.
Identity
He is generally called Chanakya (taken from his father's name "Chanak") but, in his capacity as author of the Arthashastra, is generally referred to as Kautilya derived from his gotra's name "KOTIL"(Kautilya means "of Kotil"). He believed in four ways: Treating with Equality, Enticement, Punishment or War and Sowing disagreement. The Arthashastra identifies its author by the name Kautilya, except for one verse which refers to him by the name Vishnugupta. One of the earliest Sanskrit literatures to explicitly identify Chanakya with Vishnugupta was Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra in the 3rd century BC.
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.
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.
References
Other websites
Chanakya Nitishastra: English translation by Miles Davis.
Indian people
Jainism
Ancient writers
350s BC births
280s BC deaths