Chanakya, the master of practical diplomacy, is accepted and admired as a daring genius by the Indian and Western scholars. This greatest diplomat of the world was brave enough to speak his powerful words filled with democratic values, with his head held high, in front of kings. Even after 2300 years of his legendary life, his ideas are still relevant in the present world. That is his glory. His deep foresight and high intelligence combined with inimitable diplomacy in the severe political framework always reflected his confidence and the ability to remain cool in demanding situations. He was a shrewd political figure who was often misunderstood for promoting unethical practices for protecting national interests, with the concept that ‘the end would justify the means’.

Who was Chanakya?

Chanakya, also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, was a professor and philosopher as well as the greatest diplomat the world has ever seen, who lived in India in the 4th century B.C., and played an important role in the rise of the Maurya Empire. He was the chief advisor in the royal kingdom of both Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara. He was believed to be a North Indian Brahmin, born in Taxila and educated in the University of Taxila. After serving as a Professor in the Taxila University, he landed up in the court of Magadha king Dhana Nanda. Disgraced by the king he took a vow to dethrone Nanda and his dynasty. With the help of Chandragupta, Chanakya destroyed the Nanda dynasty and gave rise to the Maurya Empire.

Chanakya’s Education

Chanakya studied all Vedas at a very early age. Right from childhood he was attracted to politics, where his intelligence and shrewdness was explicit from the beginning itself. He was an expert in politics and with tactful movements he knew how to destroy his political enemies forever. After studying Vedas and mastering practical political strategies he turned to economics, and continued it throughout his lifetime.

Takshashila, also known as Taxila, was the famous learning centre of the ancient India, which was the breeding ground of Chanakya, from where he studied religion, politics and economics. Takshashila was situated in the north-west part of ancient India, presently in Rawalpindi of Pakistan, and was a prominent learning centre with provision for accommodating 10,000 students at a time, and creating royal scholars in the fields of science, mathematics, religion, philosophy, politics, economics, astronomy, archery, hunting and all 18 arts.

Professor in Takshashila University

After studying in Takshashila University, he became a professor of the same university. His students were greatly inspired by their ideal teacher and were always ready to obey his orders to fight for justice. His students even acted as spies to collect secret information from his enemies.

That time, the country was facing internal and external threats. Rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms were looking for an opportunity to attack prosperous regions. At the same time foreign invaders were setting their armies ready to attack the weakened regions of our country, taking advantage of the grave situation of the country, disturbing its unity and integrity. At these critical moments of the history, Chanakya took an important decision to save the country from foreign invasion and to heighten the political and economic strength of the country.

Thus, Chanakya left Takshashila University and entered Pataliputra (the present-day Patna of Bihar), the capital of Magadha kingdom, to rewrite the political history of India and Pataliputra.

Vow to Dethrone Nanda King

The Nanda king Dhana Nanda ruling Pataliputra was greedy for money and used to collect heavy taxes from people for all sorts of unwanted things. In order to conquer the hearts of the people the king started giving gifts and charities to poor and a committee was formed to manage his activities. Being a scholar from the Takshashila, Chanakya became a member and sooner the president of the committee. Chanakya’s behavior was not like the other courtiers. He was absolutely professional and was not willing to praise the king like they do.

The Nanda king did not like his behaviour and removed Chanakya from his post without mentioning any specific reasons. Being insulted by the king for no reasons, Chanakya became furious and swore that he would dethrone the king and destroy the Nanda Kingdom forever.  

Chanakya and Chandragupta

Insulted by the Nanda king, Chanakya found a companion to work together against the Nanda king. It was Chandragupta, the aspiring ruler of Maurya kingdom, who has already taken a vow to destroy the Nanda rule. They applied several strategies to attack Nandas. There were mistakes in their movements, but they learned lessons from the mistakes and adopted new strategies based on the practical situations of life. They understood that war could not be won by attacking the centre. They started attacking the boarder areas, capturing and establishing physical control, moved inside step by step, conquered Pataliputra, dethroned Nanda king and installed Chandragupta as King, establishing the new Maurya Empire.

The Great Maurya Empire

Alexander the Great invaded India in 326 BC, before the establishment of Maurya Empire. He conquered the kingdoms between rivers Jhelum and Chenab, taking advantages of the disunity of local rulers, but never crossed Beas and had made no permanent political impact. But it led to the political unification, merging of smaller territories into big ones, thus strengthening the Maurya Empire, which was established in 322 BC, destroying the Nanda kingdom.

After the collapse of Nanda Empire, under the intelligent guidance of the penetrating brain of the skinny Brahmin, kings of neighbouring territories united under Chandragupta’s leadership and defeated the Greek King Seleucus, the Alexander’s follower, and liberated the countries from the Greek. There were two obstacles in front of Chanakya – the Nandas and the Alexander’s armies – but using his political tactics he conquered all enemies and united a major portion of the country. Chandragupta’s vast empire extended up to Persia in the North, Mysore in the south, Gujarat in the West and Bengal in the East; and it was the greatest Indian empire ever seen before.

The End of a Legend

In his old age, when Chandragupta left the throne to lead an ascetic life as per the Jain tradition, his son Bindusara became the king. Chanakya continued to be his advisor till his death. As per one legend, Chanakya was died due to a stratagem planned by Subandhu, one of the ministers of Bindusara. Subandhu, who was envious and did not like Chanakya, applied some treachery and burned him to death, under the pretension of arranging a ceremony.

Chanakya’s Visions

The vital role of Chanakya reminds us of an era where people have the obsession of taking revenges. But Chanakya was always concerned about the happiness of people and he dreamt about a secure kingdom with smooth administration. And hence his revenge was not personal revenge. He had broader visions regarding his country. In his vision, he foresaw a nation that was the leader of the whole world in all aspects, including economically, politically and socially. His famous books were Arthashastra and Chanakya Neeti (Neeti Shastra).

Arthashastra is a book on economics, which systematically discusses the economic policies of a nation, international relations, and war strategies in detail. It deals with a variety of subjects such as how to choose ambassadors, how to use spies, how to protect a king, law and order, and numerous others.

The contents of the book reflect his dreams about India. The main economic activities of the country were agriculture, commerce and cattle rearing. Chanakya considered agriculture as the most essential component of economy and insisted that the government should implement projects for supporting various processes, starting from sowing of seeds to the final stage of harvest.

He gave more importance to internal trade rather than external trade and suggested that a bare minimum tax should be collected at the entry point of goods and avoid the chance of tax evasion. He insisted that the tax structure should be such that it should not be a burden to the people.

Chanakya Neeti contains 455 sutras created by his clear mind about the ideal way of life. Chanakya was a man of wisdom, with a thorough knowledge of Vedas and religions, and he put forward great strategies that will guide people with the ideal ways for living in society. His policies are aimed at eradication of problems around the people by their roots. People, to be successful in life, should control their senses and stop running behind materials pleasures. Chanakya insisted that individuals should concentrate on spiritual development rather than material pleasures for developing internal strength.

Conclusion

There might be so many intelligent persons who were aware about neeti shastra, but it required a Chanakya to apply the principles practically in his life that made him an odd fish and an outstanding historical celebrity. To lead our country towards prosperity we need to understand the great principles taught by this Taxila scholar, and the right leaders who can guide us through the right path.

To conclude, let me quote few lines from Arthashastra written by the legendary diplomat Chanakya 2300 years ago:

“The happiness of commoners is the happiness of the king. Their welfare is his welfare. A king should never think of his personal interest or welfare, but should try to find his joy in the joy of his subjects.”

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanakya