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Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य 350-283 BCE)was an adviser to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta (340-293 BCE), and architect of his rise to power. Kautilya and Vishnugupta, the names by which the ancient Indian political treatise called the Arthaśāstra identifies its author, are traditionally identified with Chanakya. Chanakya has been considered as the pioneer of the field of economics, having first writen about the subject a millennium and a half before Ibn Khaldun's birth time. He is known as "The Indian Machiavelli" in the Western world. Chanakya was a professor at Takshashila University and is widely believed to be responsible for the creation of Mauryan empire, the first of its kind on the Indian subcontinent.


He is generally called Chanakya but, in his capacity as author of the Arthaśhāstra, is generally referred to as Kautilya which means kautil niti. He was the master of shrewd act of diplomacy. He believed in four ways Enticement, Sowing dession, Punishment or War. The Arthaśhāstra identifies its author by the name Kautilya, except for one verse which refers to him by the name Vishnugupta. One of the earliest Sanskrit literature to explicitly identify Chanakya with Vishnugupta was Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra in the 3rd century BC.

Chanakya's Works
Two books are attributed to Chanakya: Arthashastra and Nitishastra which is also known as Chanakya Niti. The Arthashastra discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail. Nitishastra is a treatise on the ideal way of life, and shows Chanakya's in depth study of the Indian way of life.

Some brass tacks from Chanakya's jeevan chakra

• Chanakya was born with a complete set of teeth, a sign that he would become king, which is inappropriate for a Brahmin like Chanakya. Chāṇakya's teeth were therefore broken and it was prophesied that he will rule through another.


• The Nanda King throws Chānakya out of his court, prompting Chānakya to swear revenge.


• Chānakya searches for one worthy for him to rule through. Chānakya encounters a young Chandragupta Maurya who is a born leader even as a child.


• Chānakya's initial attempt to overthrow Nanda fails, whereupon he comes across a mother scolding her child for burning himself by eating from the middle of a bun or bowl of porridge rather than the cooler edge. Chāṇakya realizes his initial strategic error and, instead of attacking the heart of Nanda territory, slowly chips away at its edges.


• Chānakya changed his alliance with the mountain king Parvata due to his obstinacy and non-adherence to the principles of the treaty as agreed.


• Chānakya enlists the services of a fanatical weaver to rid the kingdom of rebels.


• Chānakya adds poison to the food eaten by Chandragupta Maurya, now king, in order to make him immune. Unaware, Chandragupta feeds some of his food to his queen, who is in her ninth month of pregnancy. In order to save the heir to the throne, Chānakya cuts the queen open and extracts the fetus, who is named Bindusara because he was touched by a drop (bindu) of blood of poison.


• Chānakya's political rivalry with Subandhu leads to his death.

Chanakya was an intelligent saint. Once, it is said that Mauryan forces had to hide in a cave. There was no food. Soldiers were starving.They could not come out of the cave either, as there was a threat to their lives. Chanakya saw an ant taking a grain of rice, Whereas, there was no sign of food or grain anywhere. Moreover, the rice grain was cooked. He ordered the soldiers to search and they found that their enemies had been dining under the cave. Somewhat like, at the ground floor. As soon as they saw this, they escaped and thus were saved.

Kautilya was educated at Taxila or Takshashila, in present day Pakistan. The new states (in present-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) by the northern high road of commerce along the base of the Himalayas maintained contact with Takshasilâ and at the eastern end of the northern high road (uttarapatha) was the kingdom of Magadha with its capital city, Pataliputra, now known as Patna. Chanakya's life was connected to these two cities, Pataliputra and Takshasilâ.

In his early years he was tutored extensively in the Vedas - Chanakya memorized them completely at a very early age. He was also taught mathematics, geography and science along with religion. Later he travelled to Takshasilâ, where he became a teacher of politics. Chanakya taught subjects using the best of practical knowledge acquired by the teachers. The age of entering the University was sixteen. The branches of study most sought after around India at that time ranged from law, medicine, warfare and other disciplines. Two of his more famous students were Bhadrabhatta and Purushdutta.

Chanakya's Demise
Chanakya lived to a ripe old age and died around 283 BC and was cremated by his grandson/disciple Radhagupta who succeeded Rakshasa Katyayan (great-grand son of Prabuddha Katyayan, who attained Nirvana during the same period as Gautam Budhha) as Prime Minister of the Maurya Empire and was instrumental in backing Ashoka to the throne. There were three non-traditional belief paths in society those days, Jaina, Buddhist and Ajivaka. Ajivaka practising Chanakya brought about the downfall of the Jaina Nandas and their coterie of Jaina ministers. (Chanakya 's uncle was Jain, too, and a group of Jains backed Chanakya in his political machinations). Later on, Chandragupta Maurya took Jainism on abdicating his throne which passed to his Son Bindusara who was an Ajivaka. Even Ashoka was practising Ajivaka who before accession to throne became Buddhist.

Later on, Ajivikism which was the official religion of the empire since the Kalinga War (261 BC) and for 14 years afterwards, declined and merged into traditional Hinduism. What has been left are a mish mash of contradictory Buddhist and Jaina legends.

According to a legend which is a later jaina invention, while Chanakya served as the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya, he started adding small amounts of poison in Chandragupta's food so that he would get used to it. The aim of this was to prevent the Emperor from being poisoned by enemies. One day the queen, Durdha, shared the food with the Emperor while she was pregnant. Since she was not used to eating poisoned food, she died. Chanakya decided that the baby should not die; hence he cut open the belly of the queen and took out the baby. A drop (bindu in Sanskrit) of poison had passed to the baby's head, and hence Chanakya named him Bindusara. Bindusara would go on to become a great king and to father the greatest Mauryan Emperor since Chandragupta - Asoka.

When Bindusara became a youth, Chandragupta gave up the throne and followed the Jain saint Bhadrabahu to present day Karnataka and settled in a place known as Shravana Belagola. He lived as an ascetic for some years and died of voluntary starvation according to Jain tradition.

Chanakya meanwhile stayed as the Prime Minister of Bindusara. Bindusara also had a minister named Subandhu who did not like Chanakya. One day he told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the murder of his mother. Bindusara asked the nurses who confirmed this story and he became very angry with Chanakya.

It is said that Chanakya, on hearing that the Emperor was angry with him, thought that anyway he was at the end of his life. He donated all his wealth to the poor, widows and orphans and sat on a dung heap, prepared to die by total abstinence from food and drink. Bindusara meanwhile heard the full story of his birth from the nurses and rushed to beg forgiveness of Chanakya. But Chanakya would not relent. Bindusara went back and vent his fury on Subandhu, who asked for time to beg for forgiveness from Chanakya.

Subandhu, who still hated Chanakya, wanted to make sure that Chanakya did not return to the city. So he arranged for a ceremony of respect, but unnoticed by anyone, slipped a smoldering charcoal ember inside the dung heap. Aided by the wind, the dung heap swiftly caught fire, and the man behind the Mauryan Empire and the author of Arthashastra was burned to death.

His main philosophy was "A debt should be paid off till the last penny; An enemy should be destroyed without a trace." Ironically, Subandhu followed his main philosophy and destroyed him without a trace.

Chanakya - You may call him a selfish and callous person or you may call him a practical pursuer of politics, but its a white fact that he is a legend who made an impact over the ways to rule with his well-acclaimed "Chanakya Niti"

Hand picked Quotes from Chanakya Niti Shaastra"

• A human being should strive for four things in life — dharma (duty), artha (money), kama (pleasure) and moksha (salvation). A person who hasn't striven for even one of these things has wasted life.


• A debt should be paid off till the last penny, and an enemy should be destroyed till last trace.


• A man is great by deeds, not by birth.


• A person should not be too honest. Just as straight trees are chopped-down first, honest people are taken advantage of first.


• A rich man has many friends.


• A woman is four times as shy, six times as brave and eight times as lusty as a man.


• An egoist can be won over by being respected, a crazy person can be won over by allowing him to behave in an insane manner and a wise person can be won over by truth.


• As centesimal droppings will fill a pot so also are knowledge, virtue and wealth gradually obtained.


• As soon as the fear approaches near, attack it and destroy it.


• Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher of poison with milk on top.


• Before you start any work, always ask yourself three questions — Why am I doing it? What the results might be? And Will I be successful? Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.


• Books are as useless to a stupid person as a mirror is useless to a blind person.


• Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education surpasses the beauty and the youth.


• Even if a snake is not venomous, it should pretend to be.


• God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.


• He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious, whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.


• Don't hesitate to learn something even from the most lowly of creatures.


• In a state where the ruler lives like a common man, the citizens live like kings. And in the state where the ruler lives like a king, the citizens live like beggars.


• Jealousy is another name for failure.


• Never go on a long journey alone.


• Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness.


• Once you start working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.


• One who is in search of knowledge should give up the search of pleasure and the one who is in search of pleasure should give up the search of knowledge.


• The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.


• The four greatest enemies of a man are — the father who has taken a loan, the characterless mother, the beautiful but promiscuous wife and the stupid child.


• The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.


• The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.


• There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.


• Whores don't live in company of poor men, birds don't build nests on a tree that doesn't bear fruits and citizens never support a weak administration.


• Wise men should never go into a country where there are no means of earning one's livelihood, where the people have no dread of anybody, have no sense of shame, no intelligence, or a charitable disposition.

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References and other citations

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanakya


• http://www.worldofbiography.com/9046-Chanakya/


• http://www.philosophy.ru/library/asiatica/indica/authors/kautilya/canakya_niti_sastra.html


• Chanakya TV Serial Online

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The Char Dhams consists of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites and has not been constant but changes based on the actual pilgrimage practice.
In the 8th century, the famous reformer and philosopher, Shankaracharya grouped the Hindu pilgrimage circuit into 4 sites namely the Char Dhams which originally consisted of four important temples,


>> Puri (in Orissa) - the place where Lord Krishna took an avtar as Jagannatha.

>> Rameshwaram (in Tamil Nadu) - place where Lord Rama built a bridge accross to Lanka.

>> Dwarika (in Gujrat) - was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna.

>> Badrinath (in Uttrakhand) - Goddess Lakshmi took the form of the berries to provide sustenance to Lord Vishnu during his long penance in the harsh Himalayan climate.

So these were the original Char Dhams stated by Shankaracharya. But with the changing times and developments around the intractable inclines of Himalayas, new paths opened up and it became easy to go to places that were once sought impossible. This altogether changed the Hindu pilgrimage culture and the new Char Dhams were recognized which are all located in the Gharwal section of Uttrakhand ---

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A.R. Rahman composed a modern version of India's National song, "Vande Matram" as "Maa Tujhe Salaam". The composition invokes you from within to respect your motherland & rise and stand for her just as much as the original National Song does.

Check out the video & lyrics,

"Maa Tujhe Salaam"

Yahan vahan saara jahan dekh liya Ab tak bhi tere jaisa koi nahin Main assi nahin, sau din duniya
ghooma hai Naahi kaahe tere jaisa koi nahin Main gaya jahan bhi, bas teri yaad thi Jo mere saath
thi mujhko tadpaati rulaati Sab se pyaari teri soorat Pyaar hai bas tera, pyaar hi Maa tujhe
salaam, maa tujhe salaam Amma tujhe salaam Vande maataram, vande maataram Vande maataram, vande
maataram Vande maataram, vande maataram Janam janam tera hoon deewana main Jhoomoon naachoon
gaaoon tere pyaar ka taraana Main jeena nahin soch nahin duniya ki daulat nahin Bas lootunga tere
pyaar ka khazaana Ek nazar jab teri hoti hai pyaar ki Duniya tab to meri chamke damke maheke
re Tera chehra sooraj jaisa chaand si thand hai pyaar mein Vande maataram, vande maataram Vande
maataram, vande maataram Vande maataram, vande maataram Tere paas hi main aa raha hoon Apni
baahein khol de Zor se mujhko gale laga le Mujhko phir voh pyaar de Tu hi zindagi hai, tu hi meri
mohabbat hai Tere hi pairon mein jannat hai Tu hi dil, tu jaan, amma Maa tujhe salaam, maa tujhe
salaam Amma tujhe salaam, maa tujhe salaam Vande maataram, vande maataram Vande maataram, vande
maataram Vande maataram, vande maataram Vande maataram, vande maataram


Once again, the maestro proved his extraordinary talent!

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Spend some time to know a little more about our Motherland India and I am sure your integrity will rise as high as the Himalayas, but my friend do not loose a grab of our culture which teaches us to be humble n polite always.

• India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.



• The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.



• Sanskrit is considered the mother of all higher languages. Sanskrit is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.



• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization. It is the only system which takes the holistic view of the person being treated.



• Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by her wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered American continent by mistake.



• The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.



• Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.



• The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.



• Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were propounded by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BC during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).



• According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world.



• The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 BC a beautiful lake aptly called 'Sudarshana' was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.



• Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was reportedly invented in India.



• Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery.



• Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipments were used. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.



• When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in the Sindhu Valley Civilization.



• The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age ). The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.



• The first six Mughal Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.



• The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.



• India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).



• The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.



• The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.



• India has the most post offices in the world.



• The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people.

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