Chanakya facts for kids
Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य Cāṇakya, Tamil: சாணக்கியர்; c. 350-283 BCE) was an adviser and a prime minister to Chandragupta Maurya (c. 340-293 BCE). Chanakya helped Chandragupta create the Maurya Empire. Chanakya is considered a pioneer (someone who explores a new area) in economics. He wrote about economics a very long time before Ibn Khaldun.
Identity
He is generally called Chanakya (taken from his father's name "Chanak") but, in his capacity as author of the Arthaśhāstra, is generally referred to as Kautilya derived from his gotra's name "KOTIL"(Kautilya means "of Kotil"). He believed in four ways: Treating with Equality, Enticement, Punishment or War and Sowing Dissension. The Arthaśhāstra identifies its author by the name Kautilya, except for one verse which refers to him by the name Vishnugupta. One of the earliest Sanskrit literatures to explicitly identify Chanakya with Vishnugupta was Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra in the 3rd century BC.
Media
- Television series Chanakya is a fictionalized account of the life and times of Chanakya.
- A book has been published in English titled 'Chanakya on Management"{18} in which each of the 216 sutras on raja-neeti has been translated and commented upon. Clearly, the entire system of thought propounded by Chanakya is based on following good ethical principles.
- In his Arthasastra, Chanakya has discussed widely various economic issues. A book written by Ratan Lal Basu & Rajkumar Sen has dealt exhaustively with these economic concepts of Chanakya and their relevance for the modern world.
- Many eminent Kautilya experts from all over the world had discussed various aspects of Kautilya's thought in an International Conference held in 1902 at Oriental Research Institute, Mysore, India to celebrate the Centenary of discovery of the manuscript of the Arthashastra by R. Shamasastry. Most of the papers presented in the Conference have been compiled in an edited volume by Raj Kumar Sen and Ratan Lal Basu.
See also
In Spanish: Chanakia para niños
