Early life Very little is known about Chandraguptas youth and ancestry . What is known is gathered from later classical Sanskrit literature , as well as classical Greek and Latin sources which refer to Chandragupta by the names Sandracottos or Andracottus. [9] Many Indian literary traditions connect him with the Nanda Dynasty in modern day Bihar in eastern India. More than half a millennium later, the Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa calls him a Nandanvaya i.e. the descendant of Nanda (Act IV). Again more than a millennium later, Dhundiraja, a commentator of 18th century on Mudrarakshasa states that Chandragupta was the son of the Nanda king Sarvarthasiddhi by a wife named Mura, daughter of a Vrishala. Mudrarakshasa uses terms like kula-hina and Vrishala for Chandraguptas lineage. This reinforces Justins contention that Chandragupta had a humble origin. [10][11] On the other hand, the same play describes the Nandas as of Prathita-kula, i.e. illustrious, lineage. The medieval commentator on the Vishnu Purana informs us that Chandragupta was the son of a Nanda prince and a Hindi: dasi (English: maid) named Mura. The Buddhist text the Mahavamsa calls Chandragupta a member of a division of the ( Kshatriya ) clan called the Moriya. The Mahaparinibbana Sutta states that the Moriyas (Mauryas) belonged to the Kshatriya community of Pippalivana. These traditions indicate that Chandragupt came from a Kshatriya lineage. The Mahavamshatika connects him with the Shakya clan of the Buddha, a clan which also belongs to the race of Ādityas. [12] In Buddhist tradition,Chadragupta Maurya was a member of the Kshatriyas and that his son, Bindusara, and grandson, the famous Buddhist Ashoka (Asoka) were of Kshatriya lineage, perhaps of the Sakya line. (The Sakya line of Kshatriyas is considered to be the lineage of Gautama Buddha, and Ashoka Maurya billed himself as Buddhi Sakya in one of his inscriptions.) [13] A medieval inscription represents the Maurya clan as belonging to the solar race of Kshatriyas. It is stated that the Maurya line sprang from Suryavamsi Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva of the solar race. [ citation needed] Chandragupta was a student of Chanakya. Plutarch reports that he met with Alexander the Great probably around Takshasila in the northwest, and that he viewed the ruling Nanda Empire in a negative light: According to this text, the encounter would have happened around 326 BCE, suggesting a birth date for Chandragupta around 340 BCE. Plutarch and other Greco-Roman historians appreciated the gravity of Chandragupta Mauryas conquests. Justin describes the humble origins of Chandragupta, and explains how he later led a popular uprising against the Nanda king. [14] Foundation of the Maurya Empire Further information: Magadha and Maurya Empire Silver punch mark coin of the Maurya empire , with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE. Chandragupta Maurya, with the help of Chanakya, defeated the Magadha king and the army of the Chandravanshi clan. Following his victory, the defeated generals of Alexander settled in Gandhara (the Kamboja kingdom), todays Afghanistan . At the time of Alexander s invasion, Chanakya was a teacher in Takshasila. The king of Takshasila and Gandhara , Ambhi (also known as Taxiles), made a peace treaty with Alexander. Chanakya, however, planned to defeat the foreign invasion and sought help from other kings to unite and fight Alexander. Parvateshwara ( Porus), a king of Punjab, was the only local king who was able to challenge Alexander at the Battle of the Hydaspes River , but he was defeated. Chanakya then went further east to Magadha, to seek the help of Dhana Nanda, who ruled the vast Nanda Empire which extended from Bihar and Bengal in the east to Punjab and Sindh in the west, [14] but Dhana Nanda refused to help him. After this incident, Chanakya began to persuade his disciple Chandragupta of the need to build an empire that could protect Indian territories from foreign invasion. Nanda army The Nanda Empire at its greatest extent under Dhana Nanda circa 323 BCE. Main article: Nanda Dynasty According to Plutarch, at the time of the Battle of the Hydaspes River, the Nanda Empires army numbered 200,000 infantry , 80,000 cavalry , 8,000 chariots , and 7,000 war elephants, which discouraged Alexanders men and prevented their further progress into India: “ As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at‑arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants. And there was no boasting in these reports. For Androcottus, who reigned there not long afterwards, made a present to Seleucus of five hundred elephants, and with an army of six hundred thousand men overran and subdued all India. ” —Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Alexander 62.1-4 In order to defeat the powerful Nanda army, Chandragupta needed to raise a formidable army of his own. [14] Conquest of the Nanda Empire Further information: Nanda Dynasty Main article: Nanda War Chandraguptas empire when he founded it c. 320 BCE, by the time he was about 20 years old. Chanakya had trained and guided Chandragupta and together they planned the destruction of Dhana Nanda. The Mudrarakshasa of Visakhadutta as well as the Jain work Parisishtaparvan talk of Chandraguptas alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka, sometimes identified with Porus.[15] It is noted in the Chandraguptakatha that Chandragupta and Chanakya were initially rebuffed by the Nanda forces. Regardless, in the ensuing war, Chandragupta faced off against Bhadrasala, the commander of Dhana Nandas armies. He was eventually able to defeat Bhadrasala and Dhana Nanda in a series of battles, culminating in the siege of the capital city Pataliputra[14] and the conquest of the Nanda Empire around 321 BCE,[14] thus founding the powerful Maurya Empire in Northern India by the time he was about 20 years old. Conquest of Macedonian territories in India Main article: Seleucid–Mauryan war Chandragupta had defeated the remaining Macedonian satrapies in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent by 317 BCE. After Alexanders death in 323 BCE, Chandragupta turned his attention to Northwestern India (modern Pakistan), where he defeated the satrapies (described as prefects in classical Western sources) left in place by Alexander (according to Justin), and may have assassinated two of his governors, Nicanor and Philip. [3][14] The satrapies he fought may have included Eudemus , ruler in western Punjab until his departure in 317 BCE; and Peithon, son of Agenor, ruler of the Greek colonies along the Indus until his departure for Babylon in 316 BCE. The Roman historian Justin described how Sandrocottus ( Greek version of Chandraguptas name) conquered the northwest: “ Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India, when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness; who, after making a league with him, and settling his affairs in the east, proceeded to join in the war against Antigonus. As soon as the forces, therefore, of all the confederates were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight. ” —Justin, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV , XV.4.19 Expansion Conquest of Seleucus eastern territories Silver coin of Seleucus I Nicator , who fought Chandragupta Maurya, and later made an alliance with him. Chandragupta extended the borders of his empire towards Seleucid Persia after his conflict with Seleucus c. 305 BCE. Seleucus I Nicator, a Macedonian satrap of Alexander, reconquered most of Alexanders former empire and put under his own authority the eastern territories as far as Bactria and the Indus ( Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55), until in 305 BCE he entered into conflict with Chandragupta: The exact details of engagement are not known. As noted by scholars such as R. C. Majumdar and D. D. Kosambi, Seleucus appears to have fared poorly, having ceded large territories west of the Indus to Chandragupta. Due to his defeat, Seleucus surrendered Arachosia (modern Kandahar), Gedrosia (modern Balochistan), Paropamisadae (or Gandhara). [16][17] Mainstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received vast territory west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush, modern day Afghanistan , and the Balochistan province of Pakistan. [18][19] Archaeologically, concrete indications of Maurya rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka , are known as far as Kandhahar in southern Afghanistan. It is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war -elephants, [16][20][21][22][23][24] a military asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 302 BCE. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Maurya court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state). Later Ptolemy II Philadelphus , the ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka the Great , is also recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Maurya court. [25] Classical sources have also recorded that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus exchanged presents, such as when Chandragupta sent various aphrodisiacs to Seleucus: Southern conquest After annexing Seleucus eastern Persian provinces, Chandragupta had a vast empire extending across the northern parts of Indian Sub-continent , from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. Chandragupta then began expanding his empire further south beyond the barrier of the Vindhya Range and into the Deccan Plateau except the Tamil regions ( Pandya, Chera, Chola and Satyaputra) and Kalinga (modern day Odisha). [14] The famous Tamil poet Mamulanar of the Sangam literature also described how the Deccan Plateau was invaded by the Maurya army. [26] By the time his conquests were complete, Chandragupta had succeeded in unifying most of Southern Asia. Megasthenes later recorded the size of Chandraguptas army as 400,000 soldiers, according to Strabo : On the other hand, Pliny, who also drew from Megasthenes work, gives even larger numbers of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants: Jainism and death Purportedly the mark of Chandraguptas footprints in Karnataka, India, not far from the cave where he starved himself to death in accordance with Jain beliefs. According to Jain tradition, Chandragupta gave up his throne at the beginning of the third century BCE when he was forty-two years old and became an ascetic under the Jain saint Bhadrabahu, migrating south with them and ending his days in sallekhana (death by fasting) according to Jain spiritual tradition at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa in present day Karnataka , though fifth-century inscriptions in the area support the concept of a larger southern migration around that time. [clarification needed ][27] [28] Successors Main article: Maurya Empire Chandragupta Maurya renounced his throne to his son, Bindusara, who became the new Maurya Emperor. Bindusara maintained friendly relations with Greek governors in Asia and Egypt. Bindusaras son Ashoka the Great became one of the most influential kings in Indias history due to his important role in the history of Buddhism . In popular culture Chanakyas role in formation of the Maurya Empire is the essence of a historical/spiritual novel The Courtesan and the Sadhu by Dr. Mysore N. Prakash. [29] The story of Chanakya and Chandragupta was made into a film in Telugu Language in 1977 titled Chanakya Chandragupta . Akkineni Nageswara Rao played the role of Chanakya , while N. T. Rama Rao portrayed as Chandragupta .[30] The television series Chanakya is an account of the life and times of Chanakya, based on the play Mudra Rakshasa (The Signet Ring of Rakshasa). Also there was a television series on Imagine TV called Chandragupt Maurya[31] The Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring Chandragupta Maurya in 2001. [32] In the American comic strip Pearls Before Swine a girl named Carla mentions the story of him becoming an ascetic, although she says monk, and starving to death. [33] See also History portal India portal Bhagrathi community (Western UP) Alexander The Great Ancient Macedonian army Arthashastra Ashoka Bindusara Chanakya Dasaratha Maurya Samprati Greco-Bactrian Gupta Indo-Greek Kingdom List of Indian monarchs Mauryan art Sulehria Rags to riches References Notes 1. ^ The conquest of the Deccan is a matter of conjecture. Either Chandragupta or his son and successor Bindusara established Maurya rule over southern parts of India, except the Tamil regions. Old Jaina tets report that Chandragupta was a follower of that religion and ended his life in Karnataka by fasting unto death. If this report is true, Chandragupta may have started the conquest of the Deccan. [2] Footnotes 1. ^ Chandragupta Maurya and his times By Radha Kumud Mookerji, 4th ed. 1966, p.40. ISBN 81-208-0405-8 ; 81-208-0433-3 2. ^ a b Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (1998) [1986]. A History of India (Third ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 59–64. ISBN 0-415-15481-2 . 3. ^ a b Boesche, Roger (January 2003). Kautilyas Arthaśāstra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India . The Journal of Military History 67 (1): 9–37. doi: 10.1353/ jmh.2003.0006 . ISSN 0899-3718 . 4. ^ a b William Smith (ed), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1870, Vol 3 p. 705-6 5. ^ Shastri, Nilakantha (1967). Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Second ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 26. ISBN 81-208-0465-1 . 6. ^ Vaughn, Bruce (2004). Indian Geopolitics, the United States and Evolving Correlates of Power in Asia. Geopolitics 9 (2): 440–459 [442]. doi:10.1080/14650040490442944 . 7. ^ Goetz, H. (1955). Early Indian Sculptures from Nepal. Artibus Asiae 18 (1): 61–74. doi: 10.2307/3248838 . 8. ^ Sen, S. N. (1999). Ancient Indian History And Civilization . New Age International. p. 165. ISBN 978-8122411980 . 9. ^ Romila Thapar; Early India: From the Origins to Ad 1300. University of California Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0520242258 . p. 177. 10. ^ He (Seleucus) next made an expedition into India, which, after the death of Alexander, had shaken, as it were, the yoke of servitude from its neck, and put his governors to death. The author of this liberation was Sandrocottus, who afterwards, however, turned their semblance of liberty into slavery; for, making himself king, he oppressed the people whom he had delivered from a foreign power, with a cruel tyranny. This man was of mean origin, but was stimulated to aspire to regal power by supernatural encouragement; for, having offended Alexander by his boldness of speech, and orders being given to kill him, he saved himself by swiftness of foot; and while he was lying asleep, after his fatigue, a lion of great size having come up to him, licked off with his tongue the sweat that was running from him, and after gently waking him, left him. Being first prompted by this prodigy to conceive hopes of royal dignity, he drew together a band of robbers, and solicited the Indians to support his new sovereignty. Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India ( Justin Epitome of the Philippic History XV-4 ) 11. ^ There is a controversy about Justins account. Justin actually refers to a name Nandrum , which many scholars believe is reference to Nanda (Dhana Nanda of Magadha), while others say that it refers to Alexandrum, i.e., Alexander. It makes some difference which version one believes 12. ^ books.google.co.in/books? id=_SbiUXtBzAsC&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=mahavamsa+chandragupta+maurya +kshatriya&source=bl&ots=oMuXGB7lTK&sig=-2jgVmdjzXaZe5zdgLKNlYVu8Qc&hl=en&sa= X&ei=zuyrU4HsN4LjkAXEiIHoCg&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAQ 13. ^ india-religion.net/chandragupta-maurya.html 14. ^ a b c d e f g Radhakumud Mookerji; Chandragupta Maurya And His Times. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 1966. ISBN 978-8120804050 . p. 6. 15. ^ John Marshall Taxila , p. 18, and al. 16. ^ a b Ramesh Chandra Majumdar; Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 1977. ISBN 81-208-0436-8 . 17. ^ Aria (modern Herat) has been wrongly included in the list of ceded satrapies by some scholars [...] on the basis of wrong assessments of the passage of Strabo [...] and a statement by Pliny. (Raychaudhuri, H. C.; Mukherjee, B. N. 1996. Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty. Oxford University Press, p. 594). Seleucus must [...] have held Aria, and furthermore, his son Antiochos was active there fifteen years later. (Grainger, John D. 1990, 2014. Seleukos Nikator: Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom. Routledge. p. 109). 18. ^ Vincent A. Smith (1998). Asoka. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-1303-1 . 19. ^ Walter Eugene, Clark (1919). The Importance of Hellenism from the Point of View of Indic-Philology. Classical Philology 14 (4): 297–313. doi: 10.1086/360246 . 20. ^ Ancient India, (Kachroo ,p.196) 21. ^ The Imperial Gazetteer of India, (Hunter,p.167) 22. ^ The evolution of man and society, (Darlington ,p.223) 23. ^ Tarn, W. W. (1940). Two Notes on Seleucid History: 1. Seleucus 500 Elephants, 2. Tarmita. The Journal of Hellenic Studies 60 : 84–94. doi: 10.2307/626263 . 24. ^ Partha Sarathi Bose (2003). Alexander the Greats Art of Strategy. Gotham Books. ISBN 1-59240-053-1 . 25. ^ Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, Chap. 21 26. ^ A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century by Upinder Singh p.331 27. ^ Vilas Adinath Sangave (2006). Aspects of Jaina religion . Bharatiya Jnanpith. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-81-263-1273-3 . Retrieved 5 June 2013. 28. ^ A small temple marks the cave (Bhadrabahu Cave) where he is said to have died by fasting. There are two hills in Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa, Chandragiri (Chikkabetta) and Vindyagiri. The last shruta-kevali, Bhadrabahu and his pupil Chandragupta Maurya, are believed to have meditated there. Chandragupta Basadi, which was dedicated to Chandragupta Maurya, was originally built there by Emperor Ashoka in the third century BCE. 29. ^ The Courtesan and the Sadhu, A Novel about Maya, Dharma, and God, October 2008, Dharma Vision LLC., ISBN 978-0-9818237-0-6 , Library of Congress Control Number: 2008934274 30. ^ Chanakya Chandragupta, 1977 Telugu film at IMDb. 31. ^ TV, Imagine. Channel . TV Channel . 32. ^ COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP ON CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA , Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India 33. ^ Pearls before Swine for September 23, 2013 Further reading Kosambi, D.D. An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1985 Kalyani Chandrashekhar Gatole,Bhargava, P.L. Chandragupta Maurya, New Delhi:D.K. Printworld, 160 pp., 2002. Habib, Irfan. and Jha, Vivekanand. Mauryan India: A Peoples History of India,New Delhi:Tulika Books, 2004; 189pp Swearer, Donald. Buddhism and Society in Southeast Asia (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania: Anima Books, 1981) ISBN 0-89012-023-4 Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, [1967] c1952) ISBN 0-89684-167-7 Bongard-Levin, G. M. Mauryan India (Stosius Inc/Advent Books Division May 1986) ISBN 0-86590-826-5 Chand Chauhan, Gian. Origin and Growth of Feudalism in Early India: From the Mauryas to AD 650 (Munshiram Manoharlal January 2004) ISBN 81-215-1028-7 Keay, John. India: A History (Grove Press; 1 Grove Pr edition May 10, 2001) ISBN 0-8021-3797-0 Kalyani Chandrashekhar Gatole. Chandragupta Maurya aur Uska Kaal (Rajkamal Prakashan, Re Print 1990) ISBN 81-7171-088-1 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chandragupta Maurya. Shepherd boy Chandragupta Maurya at the Wayback Machine (archived July 5, 2010) 1911encyclopedia.org article on Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya by Purushottam Lal Bhargava (BTM format) Chandragupta Maurya mentioned in Bhagavata Purana Preceded by Nanda Empire Mauryan Emperor 322–298 BC Succeeded by Bindusara Read in another language Mobile Desktop Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of Use Privacy Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth. — Plutarch , Parallel Lives : Life of Alexander 62.9 “
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