CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

KING OF HEARTS

Though his origins are disputed, it is clear that a devious and disgruntled brahman Chanayaka(aka Kautilya) took young Chandragupta under his wing to overthrow the Nanda dynasty. At the time, the infamous Greek conqueror Alexander the Great had left Punjab, leaving a power vacuum and conflict that Chandragupta and his mentor took advantage of.

As the creator and founder of the most extensive empire ever forged by an Indian dynasty, you can think of Chandragupta as an ‘Indian Julius Caesar’. He ruled his empire with Chanayaka’s epic and powerful political guidebook, the Arthashastra “a guide not only for the acquisition of this world but of the next”

EMPIRE

 Maurya Dynasty

CROWNED 

Age 20

REIGN

321 BCE – 297 BCE (24 years)

SUCCESSOR 

Bindusara Maurya

SPOUSE 

Queen Durdhara

LIVED 

340 BCE – 298 BCE (42 years)

 

REFERENCES

  • Keay, John. (2000). India: A history. New York: Grove Press ISBN 0-8021-3797-0
  • Mookerji, R. (1966). Chandragupta Maurya and his times (4th ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 8120804058
  • Alkazi, R. (1996). Ancient Indian costume (Abridged ed.). New Delhi: National Book Trust. ISBN 8123716877 (excerpt available online)
  • Chandragupta | emperor of India. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015, from www.britannica.com
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