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THE RISE OF CHANDRA GUPTA
Sandrocottus. This man was of humble origin, but was stimulated to aspire to regal power by supernatural encouragement; for, having offended Alexander1 by his boldness of speech and orders being given to kill him, he saved himself by swiftness of foot; and while he was lying asleep, after his fatigue, a lion of great size having come up to him, licked off with his tongue the sweat that was running from him and after gently waking him, left him. Being first prompted by this prodigy to conceive hopes of royal dignity he drew together a band of robbers, and solicited the Indians to support his new sovereignty. 3 Sometime after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back and became his guide in the war and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus thus acquired a throne when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness."
The above account, shorn of its marvellous element, amounts to this, that Chandragupta, a man of nonmonarchical rank, placed himself at the head of the
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1 Some modern scholars propose to read 'Nandrum' (Nanda) in place of 'Alexandrum.' Such conjectural emendations by modern editors often mislead students who have no access to original sources and make the confusion regarding the early career of Chandragupta worse confounded (cf. Indian Culture, Vol. II, No. 3, p. 558; for 'boldness of speech', cf. Grote XII. 141, case of Kleitus, and pp. 147 ff, case of Kallisthenes)
2 The original expression used by Justin has the sense of 'mercenary soldier' as well as that of 'robber'. And the former sense is in consonance with Indian tradition recorded by Hemachandra in the Parisishṭaparvan (VIII, 253-54): Dhatuvadoparjitena dravinena Chaniprasuḥ
chakrepattyadi samagrim Nandamuchchhettumudyataḥ.
i.e., Chanakya gathered for Chandragupta an army with wealth found underground, (lit 'with the aid of mineralogy') for the purpose of uprooting Nanda.
3 According to the interpretation accepted by Hultzsch-instigated the Indians to overthrow the existing government.'
Q. P. 90-34,
