Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya Biography

Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire and the first emperor of unified India as one state. He ruled from 324 BCE until his voluntary retirement in 297 BCE. A pivotal figure in the history of India, Chandragupta succeeded in conquering and subjugating almost all of small kingdoms of India by the end of his reign, except Kalinga and Tamil Nadu. It was the largest empire yet seen in Indian history, extending from Pakistan in the north to Deccan Plateau in the south. Chandragupta’s empire was an efficient and highly organised bureaucratic structure with a large civil service, mainly organized by Chanakya’s work on politics, the Arthashastra.

His name is recorded as Sandrokottos and Androcottus in Greek and Latin accounts, best known for conquering Alexander the Great's easternmost satrapies, and for defeating Alexander's successors, Seleucus I Nicator, in battle. Later he married Seleucus's daughter to formalize an alliance, which stimulated India's trade and contact with the western world. After Alexander’s death, his generals had divided up his empire into satrapies and introduced territory rule. Maurya’s chief advisor Chanakya is still popular among the mass for his tactics, cleverness and administrative power. His rule witnessed several religious reforms across the country. He accepted Jainism and abdicated his throne in favour of his son Bindusara. Later he moved towards south India and is said to have ended his life at through voluntary starvation, as per Jain practice of sallekhana aged 41 or 42. The great ruler Ashoka is his grandson.

Very little records are available about Chandragupta’s childhood and ancestry. Maurya was born sometime around 340 BCE, reportedly in Patna. Some texts claim that both of Chandragupta’s parents were of the Kshatriya caste while a few say his mother belonged to the lower caste, Shudra. Nothing is known about his childhood and youth till he took the power of Nanda Empire. It was Chanakya who taught his tactics to raise an army and helped him in his rule through different Hindu sutras.

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Updated: July 19, 2018