Birth of the Maurya Dynasty

ASR

Birth of the Maurya Dynasty

Change is inevitable. History proves this with instances of several kings, one of whom was Chandragupta Maurya. Conventionally, a king chooses his chief advisor, but this was an unusual story where the rage of a scholar to avenge oneself gave birth to one of the greatest political coups in Indian history, where an ordinary person became a great king. This scholar, Chanakya, chose his king and was the mastermind behind the genesis of the Mauryan dynasty.

Source: Wikimedia commons The flag of the Maurya Empire

Chandragupta Maurya was the first and foremost king of the Mauryan dynasty. Tied crucially to his story, is the story of his Guru Chanakya who shaped his life and moulded him from scratch. Kautilya, also popularly known as Chanakya was the ultimate reason for the Rise of the Mauryan dynasty and was its fountainhead.

There are different versions of the legends that have spread throughout history regarding his role in the fall of the Nanda empire. The ultimate base was the same, Chanakya wanted to get revenge on Dhananand, the emperor of Magadha. The reason for revenge was his humiliation which again has several fables associated with it. Some say that Chanakya had a wisdom tooth and it was believed that one who had a wisdom tooth would become a king one day. This led to fears of his mother due to the prediction of an astrologer that Chanakya will leave her once he becomes a king. The concerned son broke his wisdom tooth and promised his mother that he would never leave her.

Chanakya, with his broken tooth and dark skin, was always subjected to others’ mockery. This infuriated him very much. One day, he went to the palace of Dhananand to receive alms. There, he was insulted for his looks and his plans for the expansion of the king’s territory. He untied his hair and vowed to tie it again only after the destruction of Dhananand and his empire.

Kamalapida in disguise entered the Magadha empire with a lion in a cage without any doors. He challenged the people to bring the lion out without breaking the bars of the cage. Messages from the Magadha king spread that anyone who solved the mystery would be rewarded. None showed up but Chandra Gupta did. He observed the lion and said that it was made of wax. He set fire to the cage and proved it. As promised, Chandra got his freedom and became in charge of the state's guest house.

One day, he met a scholar who passed by and invited him to the guest house. He was none other than Chanakya. Chandra Gupta honored Chanakya by serving him with great reverence. At that time, Dhananand came and asked Chanakya to give him the seat of honor but he ignored him. In anger, the king pulled him up and his hair became untied. He cursed Dhananand that he would destroy him and then only would tie his hair.

Later that night, Chandra Gupta narrated his past to Chanakya. Listening to his story, Chanakya and Chandra Gupta started to plot against Dhananand. Though there are many versions of the stories of Chanakya and Chandra Gupta, the major core is that Chanakya had been humiliated by Dhananand and wanted revenge on him with the help of a boy named Chandra Gupta Maurya. This eventually led to the downfall of the Nandas and the emergence of the Maurya dynasty.

Pabbata, son of Dhananand, somehow got befriended by Chanakya. Chanakya had a great plan for the fall of Dhananand. He, with the help of a ring from Pabbata, earned eighty crore gold coins which were kept in a huge pit for later purposes. He was in search of an audacious man who could execute his great plan against Dhananand. It was then, that he met Chandra Gupta Maurya.

Chanakya now had two options. Either to defeat Dhananand through his own son or through Chandra Gupta. To find the best one amongst these boys, he conducted a small test. He asked Pabbata to remove the woolen thread from Chandra Gupta without waking him up. This woolen thread is called janeu, ans is a sacred thread received as a rite of passage by someone studying under a guru. Pabbata failed this test. When the same was asked to Chandra Gupta, he beheaded Pabbata and removed the thread. This fearless act of his impressed Chanakya very much.

Another version goes that Maurya, the father of Chandra Gupta was the uncle of Dhananand. Dhananand considered Maurya an enemy to the throne, so he decided to capture Maurya and his sons. One day after hunting, he invited them to dine with him. Once they stepped in, the doors of what was actually a prison were closed. All of them died of starvation except the younger one, Chandra Gupta. Somehow, he managed to escape. Knowing this news, King Parvata of Parvatadesh sent Kamalpida, his trusted spy to find the surviving Maurya.