Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya (reign: 321–298 BCE) was the founder of the Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya
Empire in ancient India.[1][7] He was born in a humble family, orphaned and
abandoned, raised as a son by another pastoral family, was picked up, taught and
counselled by Chanakya, the author of the Arthashastra.[1][8][note 1] Chandragupta
thereafter built one of the largest empires ever in the Indian subcontinent.[1][10][11]
According to Jain sources, he then renounced it all, and became a monk in the Jain
tradition.[12] Chandragupta is claimed, by the historic Jain texts, to have followed
Jainism in his life, by first renouncing all his wealth and power, going away with
Jaina monks into the Deccan region (now Karnataka), and ultimately performing
Sallekhana – the Jain religious ritual of peacefully welcoming death by
fasting.[note 2] His grandson was emperorAshoka, famous for his historic pillars and
for his role in helping spread Buddhism outside of ancient India.[13][14]
Chandragupta's life and accomplishments are described in ancient Hindu, Buddhist
and Greek texts, but they vary significantly in details from the Jaina accounts.[15]
Megasthenes served as a Greek ambassador in his court for four years.[7] In Greek
and Latin accounts, Chandragupta is known asSandrokottos and Androcottus.[16] A modern statue depicting
Chandragupta Maurya,
Chandragupta Maurya was a pivotal figure in the history of India. Prior to his
Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi
consolidation of power, Alexander the Great had invaded the northwest Indian
1st Mauryan emperor
subcontinent, then abandoned further campaigning in 324 BCE, leaving a legacy of
Indian subcontinental regions ruled by Indo-Greek and local rulers.[17] The region Reign c. 321 – c. 297 BCE[1][2]
was divided into Mahajanapadas, while the Nanda Empire dominated the Indo- Successor Bindusara (son)
Gangetic Plain.[18] Chandragupta, with the counsel of his Chief Minister Chanakya
(the Brahmin also known as Kautilya),[19] created a new empire, applied the Died 297 BC[2]
principles of statecraft, built a large army and continued expanding the boundaries of Shravanabelagola,
his empire. Greek rulers such as Seleucus I Nicator avoided war with him, entered Karnataka (Jain
into marriage alliances instead, and retreated into Persia.[20] Chandragupta's empire legend)[3]
extended from Bengal to most of the Indian subcontinent, except the southernmost Spouse Durdhara ( daughter of
regions (now Tamil Nadu, Kerala and nearby) and Kalinga (now Odisha Dhanananda- jain
region).[21][10] It was the largest ancient empire documented in Indian tradition) and a
history.[22][23][24] daughter of Seleucus I
Nicator
After unifying much of India, Chandragupta and Chanakya passed a series of major
Issue Bindusara
economic and political reforms. He established a strong central administration from
Pataliputra (now Patna), patterned after Chanakya's text on governance and politics, Dynasty Maurya
the Arthashastra.[25] Chandragupta's India was characterised by an efficient and Mother Mura[4][5]
highly organised structure. The empire built infrastructure such as irrigation, Religion Hinduism[4] later
temples, mines and roads, leading to a strong economy.[26][27] With internal and Jainism[6]
external trade thriving and agriculture flourishing, the empire built a large and
trained permanent army to help expand and protect its boundaries. Greek records suggest that art and city architecture thrived during
his rule.[28] Chandragupta's reign, as well the dynasty that followed him, was an era when many religions thrived in India, with
Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika gaining prominence along with theBrahmanism traditions.[29][30]
 Contents
Biographical sources
Early life
Building the Empire
Eastward expansion and the end of Nanda empire
Conquest of Seleucid northwest regions
War and marriage alliance with Seleucus
Southern conquest
Army
Rule, succession and death
Infrastructure projects
Arts and architecture
Succession
Death
In popular culture
See also
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

Biographical sources
The sources which describe the life of Chandragupta Maurya vary in details, and are found in Jain, Buddhist, Brahmanic (Hindu),
Latin and Greek literature:[31]

Jain sources are Bhadrabahu's Kalpasutra and Hemachandra's Parisishtaparvan.

Brahmanical sources are thePuranas, Chanakya's Arthashastra, Vishakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa, Somadeva's
Kathasaritsagara and Kshemendra's Brihatkathamanjari.
Buddhist sources are Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Mahavamsa tika and Mahabodhivamsa.
Greek and Latin sources include those byNearchus, Onesicritus, Aristobublus, Strabo, Megasthenes, Diodorus,
Arrian, Pliny the Elder, Plutarch and Justin.

Early life
Chandragupta's ancestry, birth year and family as well as early life are unclear.[32] This contrasts with abundant historical records,
both in Indian and classical European sources, that describe his reign and empire.[33] The Greek and Latin literature phonetically
transcribes Chandragupta, referring to him with the names "Sandrokottos" or "Androcottus".[16][34] According to Radhakumud
Mookerji

The Greek sources are the oldest recorded versions available, and mention his rise in 322/321 BCE after Alexander
the Great ended his campaign in 324 BCE and began returning to Greece from northwest India. These sources state
Chandragupta to be of non-princely and non-warrior ancestry , to be of a humble commoner birth.[35][36]
The Buddhist sources, written centuries later, claim that both Chandragupta and his grandson, the great patron of
Buddhism called Ashoka, were of noble lineage. Some texts link him to the same family of Sakyas from which the
Buddha came, adding that his epithetMoriya (Sanskrit: Maurya, Mayura) comes fromMora, which in Pali means
peacock. Most Buddhist texts state that Chandragupta was a Kshatriya, the Hindu warrior class in Magadha and a
student of Chanakya.[25][1] The Buddhist texts are inconsistent, with some including legends about a city named
"Moriya-nagara" where all buildings were made of bricks colored like the peacock's resplendent neck. [37]

The Jain sources, also written centuries later

, claim Chandragupta to be the son of a village chief, a village known for
raising peacocks.[37]
 The Hindu sources are similarly from later centuries. They state that
Chandragupta was a student of Chanakya (also called Kautilya) of
humble birth.[38] The Puranas composed after about the 3rd century CE
mention that Kautilya was a Brahmin, praise Kautilya, mention
Chandragupta but most are silent about his lineage or origins. [38] A few
Hindu texts state that he was born to a Shudra woman, alternatively in a
peacock rearing family – a profession that is neither priestly nor
warrior.[38] An Ashokan pillar discovered and excavated in Nandangarh,
suggests that a peacock was the emblem of Maurya dynasty and likely
linked to the dynastic lineage.[39]
According to Kaushik Roy, both Chandragupta Maurya and the Nanda dynasty he
Design of a peacock, on the railing of
replaced were of Shudra lineage.[9] After his birth, he was orphaned and abandoned,
the Bharhut Stupa.
raised as a son by a cowherding pastoral family, then, according to Buddhist texts,
was picked up, taught and counselled by Chanakya.[1][8] The Buddhist literature,
which places the Mauryas in the same royal dynasty as the Buddha, states that
Chandragupta, though born near Patna (Bihar) in Magadha, was taken by Chanakya
for his training and education to Taxila, a town in what is now northern Pakistan.
There he studied for eight years.[8] The Greek and Hindu texts state that Kautilya
(Chanakya) was a native of the northwest Indian subcontinent, and Chandragupta
was his resident student for eight years.[40][41]

Building the Empire

According to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa
Chanakya
tika, Chandragupta and his guru Chanakya
began recruiting an army after he
completed his studies at Taxila (now in Design of a peacock, on the stairway
balustrade of the Great Stupa at
Pakistan).[42] This was a period of wars,
Sanchi.
given that Alexander the Great had invaded
the northwest subcontinent from Caucasus
Indicus (also called Paropamisadae in ancient texts, now called the Hindu Kush mountain
range). Alexander and the Greeks abandoned further campaigns of expansion in 324 BCE,
and began a retreat to Greece, leaving a legacy of Indian subcontinent regions ruled by new
Greek governors and local rulers. A supply of warriors was already in place, and the future
emperor and his teacher chose to build alliances with local rulers and a small mercenary
army of their own. Chanakya also identified talent for future administration.[43] By 323
BCE, within a year of Alexander's retreat, this newly formed group had defeated some of
Chandragupta's guru was
Chanakya, with whom he the Greek-ruled cities in the northwest subcontinent.[44] Each victory led to an expanded
studied as a child and with army and territory. Chanakya provided the strategy, Chandragupta the execution, and
whose counsel he built the together they began expanding eastward towardsMagadha (Gangetic plains).[45]
Empire. (An image is a 1915
artistic portrait of Chanakya.)
Eastward expansion and the end of Nanda empire
Historically reliable details of Chandragupta's campaign into Pataliputra are unavailable; the
legends written centuries later are inconsistent. According to Buddhist texts such as Milindapanha, which state Chandragupta
descended from Sakyas (the family of the Buddha), Magadha was ruled by the evil Nanda dynasty, which Chandragupta, with
Chanakya's counsel, easily conquered to restore dhamma.[46][47] In contrast, Hindu and Jain records suggest that campaign was
bitterly fought, because the Nanda dynasty had a well trained, powerful army. Chandragupta and Chanakya built alliances and a
formidable army of their own first.[48][47]
The Mudrarakshasa of Vishakhadatta as well as the Jain work Parishishtaparvan,
Nanda Empire
for example, state that Chandragupta allied with a Himalayan king called
Parvatka.[49] 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 Nanda's
armies.[50] He was eventually able to defeat Bhadrasala and Dhana Nanda in a series
of battles, culminating in the siege of the capital cityPataliputra[51] and the conquest
of the Nanda Empire around 322 BCE.[51] With the end of the Nanda dynasty, and
possessing the resources of the Gangetic plains, Chandragupta put to work the
statecraft strategies of Chanakya.[52] In his efforts to expand and consolidate an
empire, Chandragupta may have allied with the King of Simhapura in Rajputana and The Nanda Empire at its greatest
extent under Dhana Nanda circa 323
Gajapati, King of Kalinga (modern day Orissa).[53]
BCE
The conquest was fictionalised in
Eastern Satraps
Mudrarakshasa, a political drama
in Sanskrit by Vishakadatta composed 600 years later, probably sometime between
300 CE and 700 CE.[9] In another work, Questions of Milinda, Bhaddasala is named
as a Nanda general during the conquest.[9] Plutarch does not discuss this conquest,
but does estimate that Chandragupta's army would later number 600,000 by the time
it had subdued all of India,[54] an estimate also given by Pliny. Pliny and Plutarch
also estimated the Nanda Army strength in the east as 200,000 infantry, 80,000
cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants. These estimates were based in part
of the earlier work of the Seleucid ambassador to the Maurya,Megasthenes.[55]

In the fictional work of doubtful historicity Mudrarakshasa, Chandragupta was said

to have first acquired Punjab, and then combined forces with a local king named
Parvatka under the advice of Chanakya, and advanced upon the Nanda Empire.[56]
Chandragupta had defeated the Chandragupta laid siege to Kusumapura (or Pataliputra, now Patna), the capital of
remaining Macedonian satrapies in Magadha, with the help of mercenaries from areas already conquered and by
the northwest of the Indian deploying guerrilla warfare methods.[9][57] P. K. Bhattacharyya states that the
subcontinent by 317 BCE.
empire was built by a gradual conquest of provinces after the initial consolidation of
Magadha.[54]

Conquest of Seleucid northwest regions

After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Chandragupta and his Brahmin counsellor and chief minister Chanakya began their empire
building in the north-western Indian subcontinent (modern-day Pakistan).[58][59] Alexander had left satrapies (described as "prefects"
in classical Western sources) in place in 324 BCE. Chandragupta's mercenaries may have assassinated two of his governors, Nicanor
and Philip.[60][51] The satrapies he fought probably included Eudemus, who left the territory in 317 BCE; and Peithon, governing
cities near the Indus River until he too left for Babylon in 316 BCE. The Roman historian Justin, about 500 years later
, described how
"wild lions and elephants" instinctively revered him, and how he conquered the north-west:

While he (Sandrocottus [Chandragupta]) 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, 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.

— Marcus Junianus Justinus, 2nd-century CE, Epitome of the Philippic History of

Pompeius Trogus, Book XV, Translator: John Selby Watson, XV.4.19

War and marriage alliance with Seleucus

Seleucus I Nicator, a Macedonian general of Alexander, who, in 312 BCE,
Maurya empire
established the Seleucid Kingdom with its capital at Babylon, reconquered most
of Alexander's former empire in Asia and put under his own authority the eastern
territories as far as Bactria and the Indus (Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian
Wars 55),[61] and in 305 BCE he entered into conflict with Chandragupta[62] (in
Greek Sandrocottus):

Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms

and persuasive in council, he acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia,
'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapuria,
Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had Chandragupta extended the borders of
been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the his empire towards Seleucid Persia after
boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after his conflict with Seleucus c. 305 BCE.
that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus
was subject to Seleucus. He crossed the Indus and waged war
with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on
the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding
with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of
these exploits were performed before the death of Antigonus and
some afterward.

— Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55

According to R. C. Majumdar and D. D. Kosambi, Seleucus appears to have fared poorly, having ceded large territories west of the
Indus to Chandragupta. The Maurya Empire added Arachosia (modern Kandahar), Gedrosia (modern Balochistan), Paropamisadae
(or Gandhara).[63][64][a]

According to Strabo, Chandragupta engaged in a marital alliance withSeleucus to formalise the peace treaty:[66]

The Indians occupy in part some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians:
Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But Seleucus Nicator gave them
to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract (Epigamia, Greek: Ἐπιγαμία), and received in return five
hundred elephants.

— Strabo 15.2.1(9)[68]

The details of the engagement treaty are not known,[69] but since the extensive sources available on Seleucus never mention an
Indian princess, it is thought that the marital alliance went the other way, with Chandragupta himself or his son Bindusara marrying a
Seleucid princess, in accordance with contemporary Greek practices to form dynastic alliances.[70] An Indian Puranic source, the
Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana, described the marriage of Chandragupta with a Greek ("Yavana") princess, daughter of
Seleucus,[71] before accurately detailing early Mauryan genealogy:
 "Chandragupta married with a daughter of Suluva, the Yavana king
Marriage
of Pausasa.[72] Thus, he mixed the Buddhists and the Yavanas. He
ruled for 60 years. From him, Vindusara was born and ruled for the
same number of years as his father. His son was Ashoka."

— Pratisarga Parva[73][74][71]

In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, which played a key role in
the victory of Seleucus at the Battle of Ipsus.[75][66][76][77] In addition to this treaty,
"Chandra Gupta Maurya entertains
Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later his bride from Babylon": a conjectural
Antiochos sent Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Maurya court at Pataliputra interpretation of the "marriage
(modern Patna in Bihar state).[78] agreement" between the Seleucids
and Chandragupta Maurya, related
According to Greek sources, the two rulers maintained friendly relations and by Appian.[67]
presents continued to be exchanged between them. Classical sources have recorded
that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus exchanged presents, such as
when Chandragupta sent variousaphrodisiacs to Seleucus:[70] Megasthenes

"And Theophrastus says that some contrivances are of wondrous

efficacy in such matters as to make people more amorous. And
Phylarchus confirms him, by reference to some of the presents which
Sandrakottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which were
to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection,
while some, on the contrary, were to banish love" Athenaeus of
Naucratis, "The deipnosophists" Book I, chapter 32 [79][70]

According to Arrian, Megasthenes

lived in Arachosia and travelled to
Southern conquest Pataliputra, as ambassador from
After annexing Seleucus' provinces west of the Indus river, Chandragupta had a vast Seleucus to Chandragupta.

empire extending across the northern parts of theIndian Sub-continent, from the Bay
of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. Chandragupta then began expanding his empire
Maurya empire
further south beyond the barrier of the Vindhya Range and into the Deccan
Plateau.[51] By the time his conquests were complete, Chandragupta's empire
extended over most of the Indian subcontinent.[80]

A "Moriya" war in south is referred three times in the Tamil work Ahananuru, and
once in Purananuru. These mention how Moriya army chariots cut through rocks,
but it is unclear if this refers to Chandragupta Maurya or the Moriyas in the Deccan
region of the 5th century CE.[81]

The extent of Chandragupta's empire

Army are unclear. If Jain texts are correct,
Chandragupta's army was large, well trained and paid directly by the state as it may have included the Deccan
regions.[10]
suggested by his counsellor Chanakya. It was estimated at hundreds of thousands of
soldiers in Greek accounts.[82] For example, his army is mentioned to have 400,000
soldiers, according toStrabo:

Megasthenes was in the camp of Sandrocottus, which consisted of 400,000 men.

— Strabo, Geographica, 15.1.53

Pliny the Elder, who also drew from Megasthenes' work, gives even larger numbers of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000
war elephants.[83] Mudrarakshasa mentions that Chandragupta's army consisted of Sakas, Yavanas (Greeks), Kiratas, Kambojas,
Parasikas and Bahlikas.[84]

Rule, succession and death

Chandragupta Maurya applied the statecraft and economic policies described in Chanakya's Arthashastra.[11][85][86] There are
varying accounts in the historic, legendary and hagiographic literature of various Indian religions about Chandragupta, but these
claims, state Allchin and Erdosy, are suspect. They add that the evidence is, however, not limited to texts, but include those
discovered at archeological sites, epigraphy in the centuries that followed and the numismatic data, and "one cannot but be struck by
the many close correspondences between the (Hindu) Arthashastra and the two other major sources the (Buddhist) Asokan
inscriptions and (Greek) Megasthenes text".[87]

The Maurya rule was a structured administration, where Chandragupta had a council of ministers (amatya), the empire was organized
into territories (janapada), centers of regional power were protected with forts (durga), state operations funded with treasury
(kosa).[88]

Infrastructure projects
Ancient epigraphical evidence suggests that Chandragupta Maurya, under counsel
Coins
from Chanakya, started and completed many irrigation reservoirs and networks
across the Indian subcontinent in order to ensure food supplies for civilian
population and the army, a practice continued by his dynastic successors.[87]
Regional prosperity in agriculture was one of the required duties of his state
Silver punch mark coin of theMaurya officials.[89] Rudradaman inscriptions found in Gujarat mention that it repaired and
empire, with symbols of wheel and enlarged, 400 years later, the irrigation infrastructure built by Chandragupta and
elephant (3rd century BCE) enhanced by Asoka.[90]

Chandragupta's state also started mines, centers to produce goods, and networks for
trading these goods. His rule developed land routes for goods transportation within the Indian subcontinent, disfavoring water
transport. Chandragupta expanded "roads suitable for carts", preferring these over those narrow tracts that allowed only pack
animals.[91]

According to Kaushik Roy, the Maurya dynasty rulers, beginning with Chandragupta, were "great road builders".[27] This was a
tradition the Greek ambassador Megasthenes credited to Chandragupta with the completion of a thousand-mile-long highway
connecting Chandragupta's capital Pataliputra in Bihar to Taxila in the northwest where he studied. The other major strategic road
infrastructure credited to this tradition spread from Pataliputra in various directions: one connecting it to Nepal, Kapilavastu, Kalsi
(now Dehradun), Sasaram (now Mirzapur), Kalinga (now Odisha), Andhra and Karnataka.[27] This infrastructure not only boosted
ficiently than ever before.[27]
trade and commerce, states Roy, but also helped move his armies rapidly and more ef

Chandragupta and his counsel Chanakya seeded weapon manufacturing centers, and kept it a monopoly of the state. However, the
state encouraged competing private parties to operate mines and supply these centers.[97] They considered economic prosperity as
essential to the pursuit of dharma (morality), adopting a policy of avoiding war with diplomacy, yet continuously preparing the army
for war to defend its interests, and other ideas in theArthashastra.[98][99]

Arts and architecture

The evidence of arts and architecture during Chandragupta's time is limited, predominantly texts such as those by Megasthenes and
Kautilya's Arthashastra. The edict inscriptions and carvings on monumental pillars are attributed to his grandson Ashoka. The texts
[100]
imply cities, public works and prosperous architecture, but the historicity of these is in question.
Archeological discoveries in the modern age, such as Didarganj Yakshi discovered in 1917
Statue
buried beneath the banks of the River Ganges suggest exceptional artisanal
accomplishment.[92][93] It has been dated to the 3rd century BCE by many scholars,[92][93]
but later dates such as 2nd century BCE or the Kushan era (1st-4th century CE) have also
been proposed. The competing theories are that the arts linked to Chandragupta Maurya's
dynasty was learnt from the Greeks and West Asia in the years Alexander the Great waged
war, while the other credits more ancient indigenous Indian tradition. According to
Frederick Asher, "we cannot pretend to have definitive answers; and perhaps, as with most
[101]
art, we must recognize that there is no single answer or explanation".

Succession
After Chandragupta's renunciation, his sonBindusara succeeded as the Maurya Emperor. He
maintained friendly relations with Greek governors in Asia and Egypt. Bindusara's son
Ashoka became one of the most influential rulers in India's history due to his extension of
the Empire to the entire Indian subcontinent as well as his role in the worldwide propagation
of Buddhism.

Death
According to Jain accounts written more than
Inscription
1,000 years later, such as those in Brihakathā
kośa (931 CE) of Harishena,Bhadrabāhu charita
(1450 CE) of Ratnanandi, Munivaṃsa bhyudaya
(1680 CE) and Rajavali kathe, Chandragupta
renounced his throne and followed Jain teacher Didarganj Yakshi, discovered
in 1917 buried in the banks of
Bhadrabahu to south India.[102][103][104] He is
Ganges. Dating varies from
said to have lived as an ascetic at
the 3rd century BCE,[92][93] to
Shravanabelagola for several years before fasting
the 2nd century CE.[94][95][96]
to death, as per the Jain practice of
sallekhana.[105]

Shravanabelagola relief created Along with texts, several Jain monumental inscriptions dating from the 7th-15th century
nearly 1,000 years after the refer to Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta in conjunction. This evidence is very late and
death of Chadragupta. It depicts anachronistic, and questionable in its historicity, but suggests the importance of
the Jain legend about his arrival Chandragupta Maurya in Jain culture.[105][106] The hill on which Chandragupta is stated
with Bhadrabahu.
in Jain tradition to have performed asceticism is now known as Chandragiri hill, and there
is a temple named Chandragupta basadi there.[3]

The Hindu texts acknowledge the close relationship between the Jain community in Pataliputra and the royal court, and that the
champion of Brahmanism Chanakya himself employed Jains as his emissaries. This indirectly confirms the possible influence of Jain
thought on Chandragupta.[107]

According to Kaushik Roy, Chandragupta renounced his wealth and power, crowned his son as his successor about 298 BCE, and
died about 297 BCE.[9]

In popular culture
D. L. Roy wrote a Bengali drama namedChandragupta based on the life of Chandragupta. The story of the play is
loosely borrowed from thePuranas and the Greek history.[108]
 The Courtesan
Chanakya's role in the formation of the Maurya Empire is the essence of a historical/spiritual novel
and the Sadhu by Dr. Mysore N. Prakash. [109]

The story of Chanakya and Chandragupta was made into a film inTelugu in 1977 titled Chanakya Chandragupta.
Akkineni Nageswara Raoplayed the role of Chanakya, while N. T. Rama Rao portrayed Chandragupta.[110]
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").[111]
In 2011, a television series calledChandragupta Maurya was telecast on Imagine TV in which the titular role was
played by Rushiraj Pawar & Ashish Sharma.[112][113][114]
In 2016, television seriesChandra Nandini, a fictionalized version of Chandragupta and fictional character Nandini's
romance saga. In real life, Chandragupta married only twice, first toDurdhara who died while giving birth to
Bindusara and 17 years after his wife's death to Helen, daughter ofSeleucus I Nicator in a peace treaty. Fictional
Nandini as per show is described as daughter ofMahapadma Nanda which is completely untrue as there exists no
evidence in any historical texts. The role of Chandragupta Maurya is played by actorRajat Tokas [115]
The Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamphonouring Chandragupta Maurya in 2001.[116]

See also
Ancient Macedonian army List of Indian monarchs
Bhagirathi Mali Mauryan art
Greco-Bactrian Shashigupta
Indo-Greek Kingdom Bahubali

Notes
1. According to Kaushik Roy, Chandragupta Maurya was a Shudra lineage king.[9]
2. Old Jaina texts 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.[10]

a. 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 ."[65] Seleucus "must [...] have held Aria",
and furthermore, his "sonAntiochos was active there fifteen years later." (Grainger, John D. 1990, 2014. Seleukos
Nikator: Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom. Routledge. p. 109).

References
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Further reading
Habib, Irfan. and Jha, Vivekanand. Mauryan India: A People's History of India, New Delhi, Tulika Books, 2016
Bongard-Levin, G. M. Mauryan India (Stosius Inc./Advent Books Division May 1986)ISBN 0-86590-826-5

External links
 Mudrarakshas, Bharatendu Harischandra (1925, in Hindi)
Indica by Megasthenes

Preceded by Mauryan Emperor Succeeded by

Nanda Empire 322–298 BC Bindusara

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