Biography of Chanakya complete biography for Class 10, Class 12, and Graduation and other classes.
India : Great Diplomat
Birth— Death : Around 300 B.C.
Chanakya is famous in the history of India as a sage-like person who by his political shrewdness and expediency helped in the establishment of the mighty Mauryan empire. Chanakya was wise, clever, foresighted, determined, and deeply read in economics, diplomacy, and politics. There is a legend that Chanakya was once invited to the court of the Nanda rulers of Magadha where he was insulted. Chanakya took a vow to cause the downfall of the Nanda dynasty. With the help of a brave and capable general, Chandragupta, he succeeded in fulfilling his vow and founded a new Mauryan dynasty in Magadha. He expelled the Greek invaders from India with his help again. Chanakya served as a friend, philosopher, and guide to Chandragupta Maurya. Chanakya is also believed to be the author of Arthshastra, the classical Indian treatise on statecraft. It lays down the rules of government and also gives a detailed account of the contemporary state administration.
Chanakya was born in a poor Brahmin family in Taxila. His real name was Vishnugupta. Chanakya is also known as `Kautilya’ because of his `Kut-Niti’ or diplomacy. He was educated at Taxila, a great educational center in those times. In his personal life, Chanakya was like an ascetic and the legend goes that he lived in a mud hut near the royal palace. A very famous Sanskrit play, Mudrarakshasa, has for its theme one of the diplomatic feats of Chanakya.
