Political Thinkers and King Makers in The Literal Sense of The Word

Chanakya (c.350 - c.
275 BC) also known as Kautilya is one of the earliest known

political thinkers and king makers in the literal sense of the word.
The commonly told tale is that after Chanakya was humilated by the Nandas,
and chandragupta being thrown out of the nanda army, chanakya was
walking in a forest when the kusa grass hurt him by tripping him over. Since
the grass is extremely difficult to uproot, people let it grow without
destroying it but chanakya poured sugar syrup on the grass. When
Chandragupta asked him why, Chanakya replied that he was making the root
of the grass sweet which will attract ants and the ants will destroy the grass.
And that did happen. When asked why a simple grass was being destroyed
for vegenance, Chanakya replied that everyone owes a duty to the society
by removing noxious things, and he would remove even a king if the king
adopted adharma. Seeing Chanakya's intelligence and foresight,
Chandragupta asked to be accepted as a disciple.
Chanakya entered the palace of the Nandas. He saw ten gold plates and
thrones. He was told that nine were for the eight Nanda princes (who were
brothers) and their father Sarvarthasiddhi. The tenth was for the most
learned person in Vedas. It was occupied by Subandhu, whose incompetence
was widely known. Chanakya sat down in the tenth throne. The nine princes
and Subandhu entered the place and noticed Chanakya sitting on the throne.
The youngest two brothers, Sukalpa and Dhanananda, asked him to get up
and leave. Chanakya replies, 'I am the most qualified for the tenth throne. It
is my right to sit on it. If subandhu defeats me in a literary debate, I will
readily step down.'
The princes become angry but Chanakya remains calm and continues his
request for a debate. Sukalpa insults him by calling him a monkey but
Chanakya continues to be calm and says that the duty of the king is obey
the dharma. Since the tenth throne is to be given to the most learned man,
it is dharmic that a contest be held. Further, Chanakya notes that he may be
black like a monkey but scholars are noted for what is in them.
The princes get angry and ask the guards to throw him out by pulling him by
the tuft of the hair. At this instance, Chanakya takes the famous oath, 'I will
not tie my tuft of hair until I uproot the whole Nanda dynasty and establish
dharma in magadha. Rulers like you have spoiled Bharat. The tuft of hair
which you arrogantly pull now will be like a serpent which comes back to bite
you.'
According to the Buddhist legend, the Nanda kings who preceded Chandragupta were robbersturned-rulers.[12] Chanakya (IAST: Cnakka in Mahavamsa) was a Brahmin from Takksila
(Takshashila). He was well-versed in three Vedas and politics. He had canine teeth, which were
believed to be a mark of royalty. His mother feared that he would neglect her after becoming a king.
[15]
To pacify her, Chanakya broke his teeth.[16]
Chanakya had an ugly appearance, accentuated by his broken teeth and crooked feet. One day, the
king Dhana Nanda organized an alms-giving ceremony for Brahmins. Chanakya went to
Pupphapura (Pushpapura) to attend this ceremony. Disgusted by his ugly appearance, the king
ordered him to be thrown out of the assembly. Chanakya then broke his sacred thread in anger, and
cursed the king. The king ordered his arrest, but Chanakya escaped in the disguise of an Ajivika. He
befriended Dhananada's son Pabbata, and instigated him to seize the throne. With help of a signet
ring given by the prince, Chanakya fled the palace through a secret door.[16]
Chanakya then escaped to the Vinjha forest. There, he made 800 million gold coins (kahapanas)
using a secret technique that allowed him to turn 1 coin into 8 coins. After hiding this money, he
started searching for a person worthy of replacing Dhana Nanda. [16] One day, he saw a group of
children playing: the young Chandragupta (called Chandagutta in Mahavamsa) played the role of a
king, while other boys pretended to be vassals, ministers, or robbers. The "robbers" were brought
before Chandragupta, who ordered their limbs to be cut off, but then miraculously re-attached them.
Chandragupta had been born in a royal family, but was brought up by a hunter after his father was
killed by an usurper, and the devatas caused his mother to abandon him. Astonished by his
miraculous powers, Chanakya paid 1000 gold coins to his foster-father, and took him away
promising to teach him a trade.[17]
Chanakya now had two potential successors to Dhana Nanda: Pabbata and Chandragupta. He gave
each of them an amulet to be worn around the neck with a woolen thread. One day, he decided to
test them. While Chandragupta was asleep, he asked Pabbata to remove Chandragupta's woolen
thread without breaking it and without waking up Chandragupta. Pabbata failed to accomplish this
task. Some time later, when Pabbata was sleeping, Chanakya challenged Chandragupta to
complete the same task. Chandragupta retrieved the woolen thread by cutting off Pabbata's head.
For the next 7 years, Chanakya trained Chandragupta for royal duties. When Chandragupta became
an adult, Chanakya dug up his hidden treasure of gold coins, and assembled an army.[17]
The army of Chanadragupta and Chanakya invaded Dhana Nanda's kingdom, but disbanded after
facing a severe defeat. While wandering in disguise, the two men once listened to the conversation
between a woman and her son. The child had eaten the middle of a cake, and thrown away the
edges. The woman scolded him, saying that he was eating food like Chandragupta, who attacked
the central part of the kingdom instead of conquering the border villages first. Chanakya and
Chandragupta realized their mistake. They assembled a new army, and started conquering the
border villages. Gradually, they advanced to the kingdom's capital Pataliputra (Pt aliputta
in Mahavamsa), where they killed the king Dhana Nanda. Chanakya ordered a fisherman to find the
place where Dhana Nanda had hidden his treasure. As soon as the fishermen informed Chanakya
about its location, Chanakya had him killed. Chanakya then anointed Chandragupta as the new king,
and tasked a man named Paniyatappa with eliminating rebels and robbers from the kingdom.[18]

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Chanakya (c.350 - c.

275 BC) also known as Kautilya is one of the earliest known

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