Remember the days when people used to glue to the TV sets and wouldn’t have minded going to some one’s house to watch the tele soap . Yes india had few legendry serials like Ramanand sagar’s ramayan; BR Chopda’s Mahabharat and Chanakya, Vikram and Vetal
All the mentioned above still have the capability to hold people till date even after a decade or two and those who haven’t been in the era can still hear people praising and comparing them with the new ones.
Thill now you must have guessed that in no cases Im comparing the 2 legends iam just talking about the 2 tele serials here.
NDTV has started up a new venture named chadragupta maurya.Both of them on the same set of people just the eyes will be different one was from the perspective of Chankya the greatest professor of the time and other is from the eyes of Chandragupt maurya the disciple of chankya bound to conquer and rule India.
And since I didn’t wanted to miss story from any angle So I have seen the Old Chankya series again where as iam following the Chandragupta maurya on TV so here is the quick comparison I fond:-
- What ‘CHANKYA’ missed ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ captured the prior one hasn’t showed the way the professor/guru has trained the disciple about the life and what is the origin of the principles. which is actually worth to watch for everyone . It’s beautifully captured here where as ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ till now has missed on origin of Chankya the guru and his troubles. Infact Making of the professor and how and why he have this standing among all.
- One thing which really impressed me about the old ‘CHANKYA’ that the actors used were not all known but gr8 to perform their part and every one of them has made the mark in acting carrier till date infact even for a person who came for one episode. That’s the quality expected from the new ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ too. Yes the lead roles and immediate supports are doing gr8 job but other than that most of them can perform better.
- Now they have created a confusion in mind for old CM (Chandragupt Marya ) he was sold to Chankya by his mama (mothers brother) whereas here he runs out sells himself and have another branch of story in it. Also his mom is now acting as a servant to the king now in new one where as in older one it was not so.
- Also I can see that the reason, timing and the way chankya meets chandragupt are portrayed differently in both
- Then I somehow see that this Chandragupta in ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ have his personal rivalry from the king dhananand and has revenge in mind where as the older one was dedicated to his Guru ‘wish and his mission was India.
- Now in ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ there is some severe internal professional rivalry for the professor Chandragupta is going on which could be the possibility but
- ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ is jumping to war in 2 early stage he has not yet got his own team developed while ‘CHANKYA’ he was all well set in the team had his own bunches
- Now the one thing which is certainly being missed in the new one is the way people lived at that time the culture which made u feel more connected to the era.CM needs to invest some amount on making sets of the villages and houses.
- In New one the mother Noora dies rather sacrifices her life while in the older one she plays a role after the win of chandragupta wins magadh
I really wish that ‘CHANDRAGPT MAURYA’ should keep a note of in order to be another legend in history of Indian tele soaps
SO here comes Ashish sharma Playing the role of Bhiyaya ji turns out to be chandragupt maurya one who could look like Indian Hero 😉 New super hero in making i guess
- The ‘CHANKYA’ was very neutral in nature as it showed all sides of the political personas and given a clear picture of the heroes of the time in different cities and I strongly insist that directors should not infect it by the bitchy Strachey acting and scripting.
- Don’t over modernize or over picturing the things.
- It is strictly advised that script the episodes to and define the end of series now please don’t make it stretch on the names of TRP it dilutes the effect I have seen it with zhansi ki rani and all.
- These CG chankya are legendry on their own so have already lot to say on their own so Please don’t over exaggerate the truth. I know some times dramatization is required but please don’t overdo it.
- Make use of good actors
- Till date people use the patriotic songs sang in ‘CHANKYA’ in the form of group songs etc and all so it would be good that this generation also provides some to keep a track in future.
- Dressing /apparels, pictureization and dialogues are important part of the scheme so none of them should be beyond decency
- What CG people should do research on the backdrop of the era they use it highly urbanization kind of i see teen shades in some scenes which potrey lack of interest to work on real things of the show.
- Bottom line is still my first love is old chanakya 😀
Yes iam undoubtly impressed by the character of Chanakya in both or in legend.He is the real star maker so don’t miss the process watch it 😀
How to reach >>>
Want to See Chankya : online : http://www.filmylinks4u.net/2010/12/chanakya-1990-%E2%80%93-all-episodes/
Where as its worth having originals and they are available at all major book stores in cd’s /dvd’s . http://shopping.rediff.com/product/Chanakya-DVD-Set/10418716
For Chandragupta mauraya : Telecast time : 9 pm Friday and Saturday at NDTV India and could also be seen online at : http://apni.tv/serials/chandragupta-maurya.html
Added NOTE 12/02/2012 : Timings of Chandragupt Mayra is changed now it only comes on saturday 9pm to 10.30 pm and not on friday. Since 11 Feb 2012
I badly want to see any production house genuinely dealing with the stories of Panchtantra it will give them the desired wish to run the tele serial at infinite as they wish to do against the TRP’s .Its just that the stories has to be dealt well.Looking forward for great things ahead
Buddhu Box 
Coincidence – I also did the same thing…and you have written it in your blog…although I could-not complete the whole series of chanakya….But the character does-not fail to impress..He was one thinker….The only thing that makes me sad about Chanakya is the life he had to go through….Although it is that life only that made him what he was….Would like to quote one of his gurus from the serial “Hey ishwar, ise shakti de. Tu is bachche ki bahut kathin pariksha le rha hai. Ye bachcha naye bharat ka uday karega parantu tu itna kathor mat ban”.
Its worth watching and contemplating
Hey Kriti good to see ur post on Chanakya
I think new version is more influenced by Greek movies like gladiator , dont know any reference of slave warriors in Nanda or Alexander period , it might to added to increase viewership , moreover dialogues in older version were in pure hindi without adulteration
As far as I know the origin of Chandragupta Maurya is quite controversial some says he belong to herders ( what we have seen in older version) and some says abt her mother being servant to Nanda ( what is in newer version ) and Maurya being mountain warriors
However despite some shortcomings it is good to see
Chanakya back on telescreen
though I love older version in content and every aspect
MANISH Ji I love u. I Love your acting. Mujhe apko dekhne k liye pure ek hafte ka intazar krna padta. You r looking nice in any role but I like u in Chanakya role. Apka har ek expression bhut bhut accha lagta h. Meri age 25 years h. Maine apni life me is se accha show nhi dekha. Manish Ji I REALLY LIKE U & I LOVE U so much. You r looking so so good. Yor personality is very amazing. Plz reply me on my id. I m waiting for your reply. Or mujhe ummeed h ki aap mera dil nhi todenge
Plz Manish Ji, bs ek baar aap apni personal e-mail id de dijiye. I m big fan of yours. Aap ki acting mujhe bhut acchi lagti h. Chahe aap negative role hi kyon na kr rhe ho. Jis show me aap role krte the, wo maine sirf apke liye hi dekhe h or aaj bhi apke liye hi dekhti hu. Plz give me any id or contact number taki m aapse baat kr sku
Hi Ashu, this is his fanpage on facebook, hope to meet u on his fanpage..:)– https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chanakya-Manish-Wadhwa-in-Chandragupta-Maurya/178859822159648
and its his facebook profile-https://www.facebook.com/manishwadhwa23
Thanks again Kriti I guess it will help ashu out
Yes Govind I agree to you on that front the new ones have to work hard on showing the culture of that era which was free flowing in the older CHANAKYA .Also to much of background score is also spoiling the spirit. Lets see how for how long they can really hold the script in hand.
Hey Ashu Iam not sure that Manish Wadhwa aka Chanakya has got any chances to see your post till now.Though i believe he will feel lucky to know about a fan like you.He is indeed a nice actor.Iam afraid i will not be able to help you out on your search. My best wishes are with you
Writer of the article
Kriti Trivedi
This is for Ashu– https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chanakya-Manish-Wadhwa-in-Chandragupta-Maurya/178859822159648
Hi Kriti Trivedi,
I don’t know, how come I’ve landed on this site…but its really amazing!!! very good job dear..! I’m really amazed to see the defination of the word”Kriti”which you described because, u won’t believe even I use to write “Kriti-the creation” in all my creativity..!! aisa lagaa jaise main kisi aur ka nahi balki apna hi koi blog dekh rahi hou…! again must say Superb collection of thoughts and knowledge on farming,jhansi ki rani etc…that I have just gone through by chance…..SUPERB!!!
Hey let me say its a real pleasure to know some one with same name 🙂 well ur landing on this site i would say luck by chance 🙂
I would like to thank you with all my heart and that has surely encouraged me to write more.Keep visiting here 🙂
Have a sparkling life ahead
Kriti Trivedi
Hi Kriti Trivedi,
I don’t know, how come I’ve landed on this site…but its really amazing!!! very good job dear..! I’m really amazed to see the defination of the word”Kriti”which you described because, u won’t believe even I use to write “Kriti-the creation” in all my creativity..!! aisa lagaa jaise main kisi aur ka nahi balki apna hi koi blog dekh rahi hou…! again must say Superb collection of thoughts and knowledge on farming,jhansi ki rani etc…that I have just gone through by chance…..SUPERB!!!
Kriti Malik
hello manish ji really apka ye role superb kar rahe he.really believe me i am big fan of u.muzhe aap bahot ache lagte he.i never miss ur single episode also.
Very Interesting Article. Can you help me to find out the Best Book ever Conversation between Chanakya and Chandragupt. How Chanakya make him emperor.
Hi Naveen
Thanks 🙂 Till now i have found some authentic chankya neetin and neeti shastra books . However on the Union of Chandragupt and Chankya books are there but some how i could got a grab on them. Actually iam also looking for how he guided Bimbsar in absence of Chandragupt. Indeed chanakya is a mile stone in indian history.
Yes he is mile stone in Indian History, I’ll let you know whenever I find some relevent books.
the whold serial is a bluff since it shows chanakya wearing a sacred thread, he was not a brahmin certainly.
Hey Chetan would you suggest in which episode u caught the flaw :). As per the old chankaya he was son of a Brahmin only his father was Chanak . I would really love to see ur detailed research on the facts that he was not a Brahmin .
Do share
Happy reading
Kriti
I wish you would refresh your history knowledge before post inaccurate facts on wensites
Thanks for notifying i appreciate it will be a real help if you could quote where iam incorrect. Also this is not a historical comparison of characters but comparison of two tele serials based on my opinion. But still would to receive the guidance from history with your guidance 🙂 Please enlighten
Currently I found out some interesting books after googling, however I am started with
Mahan Chanakya :Jivani Aur Samgra, Sahitya By Ed. Rajeshwar Mishra:
1. Chanakya By Bhagwati Charan Verma
2. Chanakya Neeti By Dr. Ashwini Parashar – Diamond Pocket Books
3. Mahamatya Chankaya By Dr. Ashwini Parashar – Diamond Pocket Books
4. Vishnugupta Chanakya By Virendra Kumar Gupta – Rak Kamal Paper Backs
5. Mool Chankya niti By Vigyan Bhushan – Amar Satay Praksaan
6. Mahan Chanakya :Jivani Aur Samgra, Sahitya By Ed. Rajeshwar Mishra – Diamond Pocket Books
7. Chanakya Prapanch – K V Subanna, Vani Prakasan
8. Chanakya Sutra By Dr. Bhawaan Singh Rana – Diamond Pocket Books
Do you have any idea about above books.
Thanks for sharing Naveen
Unfortunately i didnt found any verry impressive notion of Chanakya Neeti till now but if its left to our interpretatations i can think of a book on every concept of his .Though have heard of Bhagwati Charan Verma book will grab it for sure.
Also a similar literaly work is art of war sun tzu he is the other chankya of the era.Iam sure u will enjoy reading that too.
Happy Reading
Kriti
it is my favurite fabulous outstanding show
Whatever may be the difference, but it is a great serial to know real heroes of India
Ya true it makes us feel Proud to be an indian and feel guilty that we r not contributing +vly in the making of new India
It was just a coincidence for me that I saw the entire Chanakya tv serial on Google videos just before they launched Chandragupta Maurya on TV.. First of all kudos to the team of both the serials for working so hard and try and depict the BC era..
As far as comparison standpoint.. I feel its too early to conclude on it since there’s lot more to come in the new tv serial, but there’s one thing for sure that the old one had less melodrama. I just don’t like when every now and then they start their mantra chanting of “twamewa mata cha pita twamewa…”, may be perhaps I hate typical soap opera with all those extra background music and melodrama.. Although, the old one was a low budget venture but it was able to very well connect to the CGM time. Also, the new one seem to use a lot of Urdu words (which we use these days in our conversations) in their dialogs… They should really work on their dialogs to ensure they use pure Hindi.. Besides this I personally don’t like the background music of the new one. Sometimes I feel its unnecessary.. Especially, the one when Karvinath use to be on the screen.. Perhaps this again might be due to my strong dislike of typical soap serials..
In terms of incidences the new one has loads of deviations.. like the Lokhandi incidence, CGM attempting to kill Dhananand, death of Mura and now CGM being part of Alexander’s army.. and like I said there’s lot more to come.. It would be interesting to watch how the story unfolds in the new one..
Ahh so true Vinay i too dislike the extra background scores and loud music , cant agree more on usage of words well now if we talk about in term of incidences then yes there are differences and some seem worth considering and some dont . But then its about CGM and last one was abt Chankaya , to me Chankya still holds much more interesting character than CGM, For sure it is a good attempt to potrey the character. Also at one point i think since there are lot many people for whom even this little hindi of the serial is tough to grasp so i guess they have to look over that pard dont know
Jo bhi ho, both serials i.e. Chankya nd CM r great. It must required to know the efforts taken by our Purvaj for saving Bharat by external attack. There r always gaps betn theory and practicals…nd discussion always going on continue.
chankya was a great man
There are no second thoughts to his greatness in fact i believe had it not been chanakya with CGM he would have been lost in ashes long back ,it was always chankya’s foresightedness and alertness that saved him
No doubt…thier will be comparison as the time passess/changes & their will be some loop hole in that due to accuracy problem…..so that is not a very big challenge need to be address of our time bcoz that can be understandable by mutual concern over it……BIGGEST things is that Do we really understand/feel the sacrifice given by Shri Acharya Chanakya & greatest pupil Chandragupt Maurya ????? in a porcess to create Aise Bharatvarsh… Jahan TAYAG ,SEVA KI BHAVAN HO AUR APNE SABHI NIJI SAWART KI BALI DE-SAKE……..KYA HUM ISE MEIN KISI TARAH KOI CONTRIBUTION KARE SAKTHEN HAIN YA NAHI…….kUYNI KI Shri Acharya Chanakya SIRF gayan ki murti nahi balki PRAYAS KA DOSRAA NAM BHI HAIN….???? Isi prayas mein ek kdum aagaye badte huye..kya hum iski cartoon series kare sakten hain….jise ki bacho (10-12 yrs) mein ruchi paida ho… aur ve bhi apne vichare rakhne sake……???.?? Kuyni ki khaten hain ki “Agar Foundation Strong Ho Toh Building Mazboot Hii Ho gee” …….Expect your Feedback
(iF Possible)on my email_id:sanjaynel@rediff.com
sanjay neel ji इसमें कोई दो मत नहीं है कि चाणक्य एक महान विभूति थे .
If this is to the contribution we can do then definitively we all have role in creating the india the way it is today even if we dont be so unselfish as they do but still we cant roll back and sit that boss this is not our Job.
Cartoon series could be a good idea, but chankya is more the subject of neeti shastra and that development in those critical terminology expects a level of understanding which kids of 2-8 year couldnt have
The Dhananad’s character is very bad. He is a smarat and the charater portaying is just horrible in the series also the backgroud melodydrama is bad.
Chanakya character is good but one loop hole is chanakya never discuss his agenda before execution of it,
I couldn’t agree more to you smruti they have added so much of stupid add on’s that it dilute’s the personality he was a crooked case-nova types king. Ya i again feel that chankya telling his schemes and reasons behind it is simply underestimating the audiences capacity . Sets also they havent worked in details for the era Thanks for comment smruti
I am sorry to say that the acting of dhanada is very good.
He is successful in maintaining the authencity of the serial .
He cleary shows the awful practicises which were going on that time
i think think acting of dhananda is very intresting than cm
Well Kushagra he acts well have u seen old Chankya and dhananand ? Compare the depth of charecters played. Here Danannad has made a joker some times with his tigid dhaa $$$$
And yes CM has standard emotions to potry so he is a limited actor
i amreally impressed with the charactor but i want that how he died whether natural or got trapped in conspiry i know the end of charactor am very anxious to know the fact whatever it might be
Joshi Ji Chankya takes samadhi while bimbsar son of chandragupta was ruling also Chandrgupt follows buddhism and leaves his kingdom to bimbsaar ruled by his son .
not budhism…but Jainism
excerpts from wiki ..
Chandragupta gave up his throne in 298 BCE, when he was 42 years-old, and became an ascetic under the Jain saint Acarya Bhadrabahu, migrating south with them and ending his days in “sallekhana” at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa, in present day Karnataka; though fifth-century inscriptions in the area support the concept of a larger southern migration around that time.[25] A small temple marks the cave (Bhadrabahu Cave) where he is said to have died by fasting.
On a personal note, I really like the comparision b/w the two serials. I also agree with you on the fact that his teaching and the words used will not be easy for all to grasp and thus some extra melodrama to make it catchy to all. apart from that , i think the shhow is good. however I have somehow started liking few music scores. especially the ” Meri Maa…” .
Hi Kriti, take this as positive feedback. Chanakya serial script, acting and everything need a of lot deep thinking and honest making. which i no where find in today’s acting or script(dailogues).Chandra gupte maurya doesn’t impress a bit. If you have seen chanakya..a lot of introspection is required…to do such big thing. One have to have the calibre which only by honest effort come.Not just ready made and quick fix research, taking material from 10 place and making a masala for making money.Quality improvement required dear!!
Ya I agree also i believe the serial has compromised on its quality even further . The Chankya (Old ) one still rocks.
Thanks for comments
Hello Kriti,
I have started watching the new Chandragupta Maurya on youtube. I am keen to know both the old Chanakya and the new Chandragupta Maurya are based on which Indian literature? The stories in the new Chandragupta Maurya seem pretty far fetched and I am not sure where they are coming from. It will be good to know. Also, on Chanakya in general which is a reliable Indian source?
Anand
really a nice serial describe our nationality,wisdom of our ancistor
I dont believe that the ndtv chandragupta maurya is historically accurate. It is glamorized and borrows direct plots from very unlikely sources. For example one scene depicting jailbreak of the child chandragupta is a direct copy of “The count of monte cristo” by a french author Alexander Dumas. This soap not only depicts shoddy research of the team behind this soap, but also marks very unsavory attempts of commercializing The only character worth seeing is that of chanakya’s. It should be seen as a fiction rather than with a historical prespective.
Hi Swayam I kind of agree to you and also i dont trust their sources much , what makes it more shabby is almost no interest in the background research on backgrounds , some times the episodes are more funny.. hff but thats Indian drama
True true. Yes some episodes are good. I watch this series despite myself…
Ya actually we choose from what is available
Hello,
I have asked this question above, since I did not see a reply I am posting again, I hope that is okay. The serial is entertaining, but hardly believable, it will be good to know what may have been the real stories.
What I want to know is, is there a reliable source of information on the life of Chandragupta and Chanakya? I can obviously do a search on the web and I have done that and gone through the stories posted on the web. However the stories about Chandragupta seem to all over the place. Some people claim that Chandragupta Maurya may not have been the Chandragupta that we currently think about, that is referred to as “Sandrokkotos” that Megasthenes refers to in his book Indika, but the Sandrokottos of Megasthenes may be actually Chandragupta Gupta. Implying that the Chandragupta Maurya is probably earlier than is currently believed. Other stories on web say that Chandragupta was actually Dhananad’s relative. I would really appreciate if someone can point to a study that is done from reliable sources from that time on Chandragupta and Chanakya’s life.
Incidentally, do you know which are are the sources from Indian literature that refer to Chandragupta? I have heard Mudra Rakshasa play refers to Chandragupta, but that was written ~800 years after Chandragupta. Is there any other know Indian literature that is more contemporary with Chandragupta?
Lastly, I have read Megasthenes’s Indika translated by McBrindle and I have been always puzzled as to why he does not even refer to Chanakya in that. Megasthenes is supposed to have visited “Sandrokottos’s” court (that McBrindle the original British historian considers as “Chandragupta” — Maurya).
Thanks for all the help.
Thanks
Anand
Hi Anand
Apologies for not responding to your earlier post .Well Iam not sure of which stories they have taken base of but as far as i can surf on net found varied versions of same type.
Even the old “Chankya” a grip of the story is lost in last 5-10 episodes.Now the sereials on channel have to undergo through channel influences in the story infact if you see even in dwarkadheesh due to public TRP & demand it has turned out to be Sudama special though in lot many scriptures it is not that elaborated but then again even to have fiction in that line some supporting line must have been there authentic or not But i think we can write mails to the production house /channel for clarifications
Well now as far as the real chandragupta stories i surfed from net and some of the grand ma stuff she has read books on that and dosent remember the names :(. Chandragupta was more of imotional person and he has his own set of disagreements with chankya but for sure he was connected to him and followed him. Chankya was good in political interpreted and managing all backup plans and was there to mentor Bimbsara even after Chandragupta left.SO entire story is a bigger political Dharm youdhh
I also need to do some R&D and library search to find the literaly details which iam already doing out of interst and will suerly let you know once get hold of
Another book you may like to refer is http://www.vedamsbooks.in/no21613/india-as-known-kautilya-megasthenes-sr-goyal
Hope the Discussion was worth reading to you
Thanks again for taking time to respond
Iam obliged and delighted
Regards
Kriti
Hello Kriti,
Many thanks for suggestion on the book. Looking at its table of contents it certainly seems to address my questions and the issue of Megasthenes. It would be interesting to read the book. I live in Dallas, USA so it may be a while before I get hold of the book, although I see they deliver anywhere in the world. If it is much cheaper in India, I will probably buy it when I visit India in July. Also, some other books by the same author from his link at Jodhpur university look interesting, I will try to get hold of those also at that time.
In either case, many thanks for the tip.
Regards
Anand
July is not that far i guess.Please do let me know about other set of books you come across on the subject as being an EE engineer had limited exposure to real history encounter and has developed interest in it lately.
Well you may connect to author or publisher directly for supply
Regards
Kriti
Hello Kriti,
Actually, I am also EE :-). My interest in Chanakya started when I read the article http://indianrealist.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/dr-subramanian-swamys-valedictory-speech-at-the-icih-2009-part-two/ where the author claims that the Chandragupta Maurya actually came in much earlier than we think currently and that the Chandragupta of Alexander’s time is Chandragupta Gupta pushing the date for Ashoka up by 1000 years from where we currently consider. I personally do not think Subramanian Swamy’s interpreation is correct because looking at Huien Tsang’s accounts he clearly mentions Ashoka’s period as he had heard of being ~1000-1300 years before him which matches with the ~400 BC for Ashoka as we have currently. However following Swamy’s lecture I indeed bought Indika by Megasthenes and he only mentions “Sandrokottos” for emperor but does not give the last name. So it could be either Maurya or Gupta implying two different persons. So the book you refer to should be interesting to read. I did not realize the author of the book Shri S.R. Goyal is different from Dr. Shankar Goyal who is a professor at Jodhpur university http://www.jnvu.edu.in/memberdetails.php?mid=258 and he actually seems to have edited S.R. Goyal’s book . In case you have not seen, please see Dr. Shankar Goyal’s webpage given above and that seems to have several interesting books/published papers on related topics. The papers do not seem to be available on the internet, unfortunately. I will check with Dr. Shankar Goyal on whether he can send some papers.
I called a couple of books shops which usually carry historical books, in Pune where I am from to see if they carry the book you have pointed. They do not carry it, so it may not be easy to get it in Pune either. I however found a cheaper price at http://www.printsasia.com/book/India-as-Known-to-Kautilya-and-Megasthenes-S-R-Goyal I am thinking of buying. Let me know if you find the book and how much did it cost you.
Lastly, on a related topic, Megasthenes in his book mentions that when he is in Sandrokottos’s court (which is presummably Chandragupta Maurya) there have been 153 kings before Chandragupta to Herakles’s time. People usually consider Herakles to be Krishna and then taking ~20 years per king and multiplying 153 by 20 we get 3000 years implyng that ~3000 years have passed between Krishna and Sandrokottos, implying Krishna’s time to be ~3000 BC. I notice one of the topic in the book you refer to is on whehter Herakles is Krishna or not. Again that will be an inteesting thing to go through.
Regards
Anand
Hello Swayam & Anand
Iam actually more than happy to see some real informative and intellectual contents in discussion I think i will sum up all and add up for another article for people who will be interested in this . Also you are open to write a mini review of the books you have read on subject and links.
I believe there are lot of inquisitive people among all age groups for the Chankya and CG. Keep sharing.I will also keep u all posted for the same
Thanks a ton
Regards
Kriti
Since the actual events occurred about 2500 years ago, the sources are ambiguous and conflicting. Chandragupta may even be an illegitimate son of Dhanananda. The most reliable sources may be edicts by Asoka and some little information from Arthashastra written by Chanakya himself. Check if Kautalya has ever been mentioned in Indika. Its the other name of chanakya. And there was some Chinese scholar who visited during the mauryan reign, Heung Tsang maybe, who has mad extensive documentation about the Mauryas.
Hello Swayam,
Thanks for your message. As you mention about whether Kautilya is mentioned in Indika (I know Chanakya’s three names, Kautilya, Chanakya, Vishnu Gupta) I was also curious about it since last 2-3 years. I have gone through my copy multiple times specifically to check this and I am pretty sure none of the names of Chanakya is mentioned in Megasthenes’s Indika. It turns out I am not the first one to notice this 😦 (the link http://controversialhistory.blogspot.com/2009/07/did-megasthenes-meet-chandragupta.html also mentions this). Now, it is possible that since the original Indika is lost and we only have the reproduction of subsequent greek authors he may have been mentioned in the original Indika, we do not know.
Coming to Huien Tsang, I have also brought and gone through his book published from Berkeley California ( http://www.amazon.com/Dynasty-Western-Regions-Tripitaka-Translation/dp/1886439028), he does mention about Ashoka and he have been between 1000-1500 years before his time but there is no mention of either Chandragupta or Chanakya in that book as far as I know.
So, coming back we are only left with Rock edits of Ashoka, I have not done through that and I do nto know how much he mentions about Chandragupta or Chanakya. Chanakya’s arthashastra (I have gone through that) is there, but I am not sure if there is concrete proof that it was written during his time. I had read an article in marathi magazine on Chanakya about 3 years back I do not remember, hence I do cannot give reference I will have to it dig it out. That article mentioned that the arthashastra was actually written about 500 years after Chanakya, so we cannot really use Arthshastra as a concrete reference back to Chanakya, I believe.
Another reference to Chanakys I am aware of is the play Mudra Rakshasa, but that written ~400 AD which ~800 years after Chanakya so again we have a problem on whether Chanakys was really there and if yes what exact role he played.
So unforunately, as fas as I know there is no concrete reference on Chanakya contemporary to him from Indian side or Greek side \(I could be wrong on this, I need to go through D.R. Goyal’s book that Kriti mentioned).
As for 2500 year old, I think it is not so much time (Greek and ROman history is pretty well documented) but the general problem with Indian side in writing the history. As is shown in CGM serial Alexander has his own personal writer for his biography, we see no such person on Indian side either in Dhanand’s or anybody else’s court. Indian history from that time, for what I understand is in puranas, and because of the British saying that puranas are a bunch of myth none of the modern educated Indians really know much about puranas. If indeed there may be some historical points in puranas, we need to go through those, filter out the mythical stuff and try to get the historical stuff out. Subramanayam swamy’s lecture that I gave the link for mentions about Vishnu purana giving the list of Indian kings from Parikshita’s time. I have tried to get hold of Vishnu purana, but it is not easy to get the original translated version. That is something on my todo list to look up Vishnu purana and see if indeed the lliist of Indian kings from Parikshita’s time is mentioned in it. Maybe there is some mention about CGM in that.
Regards
Anand
Excellent work Anand bhai,
I first came across Chanakya, there referred as Katulya, in the “discovery of india” soap that was aired in dd1 I believe. If you can lay your hands on “The cultural heritage of india” in five volumes, you can find plausible translations of The “Puranas”. I am a bit skeptic about considering Purana as a concrete source of evidence. We can still try though. Be warned that the interpretation may vary from text to text. Even the most reliable of histories have been manipulated and much altered, to represent Chandragupta as a “God King” which happens to be one of the most effective ploy for holding administration. I am afraid that Chanakya and Chandragupta among many other characters will remain a mystery to us until something new surfaces or we are able to travel back to time. lOl. Also since you are looking into edicts, I believe there are some excellent information on morals in Kandahar and the depiction of Asoka, I believe, in the ajanta and Erolla caves and somewhere in Guntur and Rajahmundry during the reign of Harsha Vardhana. I am not sure though. Also you should look for some works of Takshasila and nalanda. I dont know if they survived and somebody has translated cave. Expect full co-operation from my part. I remembered Chandragupta may be mentioned in ancient libraries of Rhodes and Alexandria from a talk in osmania University. Try in that stream. I am a B. Tech student. My resources are limited. There is a lot of scope for a History Student in this field.
Be in touch
Swayam
And to Kriti, Great job! dont remember any article with 500 word comments.
Hello Swayam,
Thanks for the tips, I will check out those. I agree with you on being vigilant for interpretations of puranas (or actually any history for that matter). Excusing my pro bias for engineers :-), applying engineering/scientific principles with strict academic rigor is important in history analysis, else we end up with all kinds of opnions.
I have visited couple of times Ajanta, Ellora and those do not have any mention on Maurya as far as I know. They were built by Vakataka kings ruling in the area around Maharashtra during the Gupta rule in north.
A colleague of mine in the company I work here is from Pakistan and has visted Taxila, apparently the ruins are kept well over there as a preserved area. It will certainly be interesting to visit those, but I am not sure as Indians if that is feasible or even safe!!
I found the article http://www.archive.org/stream/threemenofdestin035316mbp/threemenofdestin035316mbp_djvu.txt quite interesting on Chanakya. He seems to have done a good job on reference analysis. I will to through it further.
I have actually scanned an interesting page from Megasthenes’s book by McCrindle that I wanted to share with you all. It just talks about the background of how Prof. McCrindle when he was an academician at the Patna university in 1860 came across the name Sandrokottos in Indika and associated with Chandragupta. But looks like we cannot attach files so I will send it some other time.
Regards
Anand
I am am impressed by the type of crowd you are gathering over this post. Intelligent comments make blog worthy to read. Great curation of comments. Meanwhile as far as article is concerned, it is too long for my liking, but then I guess this topic needs some explanation.
As far as my opinions are concerned, CGM sucks…undoubtedly sucks. Presentation is tacky at best… over dramatization and induce pukes. Nobody bothered to do any decent research on the living style or dressing style of that period… director is yet not out from 300isque war sequences. Typical heroic journey sequences are boring…
So all in all comparison isnt justified. 🙂
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my website so i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to enhance my site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has been doing its best, the sweetness remains. ~Alfred North Whitehead
THANKS
please telecast sony entertenment per chandrgupta maruya. I am reguler friend of chandragupta maruya
Sir
Please aap chandergupt morya natak ko phir se telecast care ye serial mai with family dekhta hoon
Hey Vishnu The channel it self has been dismanteled so are all its series btw on DD National there is some good serial on same lines comes at 10 or 10.30 upnishad ganga try following it
hi guys comment karne se phele kabhi socha hai chanakya aur cgm characters are so tough to play before commenting just think can we play this roles whoever chanakya aur chandu may be iluv rushi raj pawar aur uski acting guys don’t you think heis dashing
all the best for you process of receiving noc
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