Number of words: 603

According to legend, Chanakya travelled east to Pataliputra (modern Patna), the capital of the powerful kingdom of Magadh to ask for help against Alexander. But he was insulted and thrown out. An angry Chanakya decided to return to Taxila to plot his revenge. On the way he came across a boy called Chandragupta Maurya. There are many stories about Chandragupta’s origins and how the two met, but these cannot be verified.

Chanakya took the boy back with him and began to train him to become a king. He also wrote the Arthashastra (Treatise on Prosperity), a detailed manual on how to run the future empire. When Alexander died, Chanakya decided that this was the right time to put together a band of rebels and fight for power. However, their initial efforts at throwing over the Nanda king of Magadh failed. It is said that Chandragupta had to flee into the forests to escape. He was so tired that he fell into a deep slumber. A lion appeared and licked him clean of all the grime and dust. Then it stood guard over him till he awoke. When Chandragupta realized what had happened, he accepted it as a good omen and attacked the Nandas once again. It’s quite possible that this rather fantastical tale was cooked up by later Mauryan supporters but once again, it underlines the symbolic importance of the lion.

After many years of effort, Chanakya managed to put together a large army, possibly with the help of the hill tribes of Himachal. He and Chandragupta slowly took control of the north-west of the country. Then they set their eyes on the Gangetic plains. Around 321 BCE, they defeated the Nanda king of Magadh and became the most powerful in the subcontinent. However, Chanakya did not take the throne for himself. He crowned Chandragupta Maurya instead. Then they spent over a decade establishing control over central India.

By around 305 BCE, Chandragupta felt confident enough to directly confront the Macedonians left behind by Alexander. One of Alexander’s most trusted generals, Seleucus Nikator, was in control of the conqueror’s Asian domains, including Persia and Central Asia. He also laid claim to the Indian territories conquered by Alexander. Judging by the terms of a treaty between the two in 303 BCE, it appears as if the Mauryan army decisively won the war. Chandragupta gained control over Baluchistan and Afghanistan. Seleucus also gave his daughter in marriage to a Mauryan prince, possibly Chandragupta himself or his son.

For three generations, the Mauryan empire covered the whole subcontinent from the edge of eastern Iran to what is now Bangladesh. Only the Southernmost tip of India was out of their direct control. At its height, it was the largest and most populous empire in the world, much greater than Alexander’s domains and those of Shi Huangdi in China. It also lasted for a much longer duration as a complete unit.

But there was something unique about this empire-building. Chanakya was happy to remain a minister and according to one version, he actually went back to teach in Taxila once the empire had been stabilized. Chandragupta Maurya himself placed his son Bindusara on the throne and became a Jain monk, giving up all his wealth and comforts. He took the Dakshina Path and travelled down to Sravana Belagola (in Karnataka) and according to Jain tradition, starved himself to death to cleanse his soul. The hill on which he spent his last days meditating and fasting is still called Chandragiri in his honour.

Excerpted from Page 72-74 of ‘The Incredible History of the Geography of India by Saneev Sanyal