Chanakya Explored in Jaina Literature

Author(s): Nalini Joshi
Publisher: Firodaya Prakashan

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charity in the name of religion, when it becomes a liability to the royal treasury. Cāṇakya prohibits such charities particularly when the economy of the state is in crisis. In some of the Jaina narratives it is told that the financial position of the Maurya kingdom was not well at that time.
(iii) Av Cũ (Part II) pp.563-566 presents almost the whole biography of Caṇakya excluding the last phase of Caṇakya's life. Here the whole original story is divided in suitable parts and literal English translation of each part is given. At some places while translating, a certain liberty is taken because the language of cūrṇi is a bit hard due to the brevity, which is the stylistic peculiarity of the language. The story runs in the following manner
Passage 1 : चाणक्के - गोल्लविसए चणियग्गामो, तत्थ चणिओ माहणो, सो य सावओ, तस्स घरे साधू ठिता, पुत्तो से जातो सह दाढाहिं, तेण साधूण पाएसु ufs3ìì, àf¿ vfùci, uen àfèfafa, àm fäfari मा दोग्गतिं जाइस्सइत्ति दंता agı, yuìì fa 3⁄4ukuvi onfeci, àfé ufùrdi - fån hoog ? galèfa fädakal भविस्सति
।
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In golla region, there was a village called Canika (? Caṇaka). There lived a brahmin named Canika. He was a (Jaina) layman. Once, some (Jaina) mendicants resorted to his house. At that time a boy was born to him. The baby had molar teeth right from the birth. Canaka kept the baby at the revered feet of the mendicants. They told, ‘He will be a king.' He thought, 'Since the king has to do many sinful activities (knowingly or unknowningly), he may go to hell in the next birth.' With this thought, he filed the baby's molar teeth with a chisel. He told the mendicants what he had done. They exclaimed, 'What else shall we do? In spite of your efforts, he will be a pseudo-king (i.e. a kingmaker)'.