The sun hung low on the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow over the landscapes of western India, still nursing the wounds inflicted by Alexander the Great's invasion. The echoes of past battles lingered in the air, as the people and kingdoms attempted to rebuild what had been shattered. Unbeknownst to them, a formidable force led by the strategic genius Chanakya and the ambitious ruler Chandragupta was quietly amassing on the horizon.
In our last episode, Chanakya, a strategic genius, observes weaknesses in Magadha's leadership. Recognizing the need for a centralized empire, he seeks a worthy leader, ultimately choosing Chandragupta. Whether through fate or strategic alliance, Chandragupta becomes Chanakya's protege, learning war, diplomacy, and statecraft. Their journey unfolds amidst tales of Chandragupta's humble beginnings and the pursuit of destiny.
Starting from the turbulent period following the Macedonian invasion in north-west India, Chandragupta strategically marshaled his forces to challenge the waning Greco-Macedonian authority. According to some, he may even have formed an alliance with the legendary Porus, the very man who had nearly defeated Alexander the Great. Although truth be told we are pretty sure he was already dead by this point, Storytellers like to weave him into the story as he is one of the greats and he did live around this time so it is possible, but at the same time we have multiple written accounts saying he died fighting one of Alexanders generals.
However, Porus’s family kingdom of Taxila, would play a big part in Chandragupta's rise. Chanakya had been teaching there, and knew the land and the ruler quite well. An alliance was definitely formed, whether it was with Porus or another. Indeed, this kingdom, along with many other formidable Indian kingdoms, were severely weakened by Alexander’s invasion. Easy pickings. One by one, they fell to Chandragupta's advancing armies, until finally most of Punjab was under his control.
Victorious, Chandragupta and Chanakya now set their sights on Magadha. However, upon reaching Magadha, they faced an insurmountable force led by Dhanananda. Chandragupta's army was crushed, yet through ingenious financial maneuvers, they scraped together enough resources to raise another army. Slowly but surely, they advanced into Magadha territory, nearing the capital.
Whilst this was going on, behind the scenes, Chanakya recognized that military might alone wouldn't dismantle Dhanananda's entrenched power. Thus began a war of intricate maneuvers, marked by intrigues, plots, and counter-plots. Chanakya attempted to weakened Dhanananda by targeting his allies, loyalists, and chief minister Rakshasa.
Tales of what would happen next would go down in legend. The ancient Sanskrit drama, Mudrarakshasa, vividly portrays these clandestine battles for supremacy. Chandragupta, blending military prowess with strategic finesse, ascended the throne in Pataliputra, defeating Dhanananda, who mysteriously disappeared from historical records-some accounts suggest he left without a trace, while others propose he met his demise. Nevertheless, both narratives obscure Dhanananda's name from history. Having conquered the city, Chandragupta and Chanakya, miraculously discovered the kingdom's treasury, and using this newfound wealth, they decided to crown Chandragupta as king.
Seated on the imperial throne, Chandragupta envisioned expanding his rule. Mauryan armies marched west and south, claiming territories as far as present-day Karnataka. The Mauryan empire stretched over Bihar, Orissa, Bengal, and extended west and north.
Chandragupta's ambitions collided with Seleucus I Nicator, a former general of Alexander the Great, who held sway over much of the eastern part of his former king's empire. The ensuing war aimed to diminish Greek influence and fortify Chandragupta's realm, culminating in a treaty in 301 BCE. Chandragupta acquired lands between Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta now ruled over the biggest empire the people of India had ever saw, it had unified all of the great Indian powers into one, minus a few in the south.
But conquering this empire was in theory the easy part. The next bit of the plan would require time, patiences and cunning. It was time to build a state.
SOURCES:
www.worldhistory.org/
www.britannica.com/
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MUSIC : by Alexander Nakarada
Music: by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
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