Chanakya Explored in Jaina Literature

Author(s): Nalini Joshi
Publisher: Firodaya Prakashan

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we actually go through them, we are completely disappointed. Visnupurāņa starts with the history of Magadha by mentioning Siśunāga dynasty. Afterwords it mentions Nandin, Mahānandin and Mahāpadmanandin. It treats Mahāpadma as a ksatriya born from a śudrā. It is noted that Mahāpadma and his sons ruled for hundred years. Here enters the brahmin Kautilya, who killed the nine Nandas and who installed Candragupta Maurya on the throne. It is told that ten Mauryan kings will rule the country for 173 years. The whole history of these dynasties is presented by using future tense. The same accounts are repeated in the Vāyu and the Matsya - purāņas. (Vişnupurāņa, Aṁśa 4, adhyāya 24, verses 20-32 ; Vāyupurāņa, Khanda 2, prakaraṇa 61, verses 188-192 ; Matsyapurāņa, 272.21).
Thus the purāņic sources provide no additional information or legends except a single line that Cāņakya was a brahmin and he concecrated Candragupta Maurya on the throne of Magadha. [4] The story of Cāņakya in the Kathāsaritsāgara :
We find the story of Cāņakya in the Kathā', in a slightly developed form than that of the purāņas. This story book, lit. 'the ocean of narratives' is written in the 11th century A.D. by a sanskrit scholar Somadeva. Though Kathā' is included in the brahmanic literature, it is in real sense ‘secular'. Though the sanskrit version is done by Somadeva, originally the legends and tales were gathered by Guņādhya in one of the oldest Prakrit language, Paiśācī. Guņādhya is related to the Sātavāhana kings. So the date of his Baddakahā (Bțhatkathā) goes to the 2nd_ 3rd century A.D. In fact it was the treasure of legends from which the Hindus, Jainas and Buddhists had drawn a lot. The Vasudevahindī, one of the few Prakrit classics, owes much to the Baddakahā.