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laymanship. This contradiction provides scope for the elements of Jainification in the case of Caṇakya's father and to some extent Caṇakya also.
The name 'mallanāga' is explained thus
चासौ नागश्च मल्लनागः - which means - “Who is like a wrestler as well as like an elephant in eradicating 'nine' (or 'the new') Nandas." Hemacandra's etymologies of the names and ‘विष्णुगुप्त’ do not provide any noteworthy information.
Thus, Hemacandra's explanatory citation of the Abhidhānacintāmaṇi provides valuable information about Cāṇakya which we do not get from the Hindu puranic sources and not even from the other Jaina sources.
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[42] The Samkṣipta-tarangavatī-kathā (Tarangalolā) is technically a khaṇḍakāvya written in the classical Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī by Nemicandragani during the 13th century A.D.
We have already seen that in the Kathākoṣaprakarana of Jineśvara, the paraphrase of some of the kautilyan sūtras is found at particular places. Likewise, in the Tarangalolā, wherever the situation ariese, Nemicandra quotes the concerned part of the Arthaśāstra in his own words.
It is mentioned by Nemicandra in the introductory verses of the poem that his book is based on the romantic and miraculous poem Tarangavatīkathā of Pādalipta (2nd-3rd century A.D.). The references to the Arthaśāstra and Arthaśāstrakaras might have occured in the text of Padalipta who is always enumerated among the list of the 'prabhāvaka ācāryas' in the Jaina tradition. Nemicandra describes a female messenger in the following manner -
