Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya
A modern statue depicting Chandragupta Maurya, Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi
1st Mauryan Emperor
Reign	c. 320 – c. 297 BCE[1][2]
Coronation	c. 320 BCE
Predecessor	Position established
Successor	Bindusara[3]
Born	possibly c. 350–340 BCE Pataliputra, Magadha, Nanda Empire (near present-day Patna) (according to Buddhist legend)
Died	after c. 297 BCE Kalbappu (Chandragiri) (present-day Karnataka, India) (According to Jain tradition)
Spouse	Durdhara A Seleucid princess (name unknown)
Issue	Bindusara
Dynasty	Maurya

Maurya Empire (322–180 BCE)
Chandragupta 322–297 BCE Bindusara 297–273 BCE Ashoka the Great 273/268–232 BCE Dasharatha 232–224 BCE Samprati 224–215 BCE Shalishuka 215–202 BCE Devavarman 202–195 BCE Shatadhanvan 195–187 BCE Brihadratha 187–180 BCE
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Chandragupta Maurya^[d] (reigned c. 320 BCE^[e] – c. 298 BCE)^[f] was the founder of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar).

His rise to power began in the period of unrest and local warfare that arose after Alexander the Great's Indian campaign and early death in 323 BCE, although the exact chronology and sequence of events remains subject to debate among historians. He started a war against the unpopular Nanda dynasty in Magadha on the Ganges Valley,^[6] defeated them and established his own dynasty. In addition, he raised an army to resist the Greeks,^[7][8][9][g] defeated them, and took control of the eastern Indus Valley.^[10] His conquest of Magadha is generally dated to ca. 322-319 BCE,^[11][12] and his expansion to Punjab subsequently at ca. 317-312 BCE,^[h] but some scholars have speculated that he might have initially consolidated his power base in Punjab, before conquering Magadha;^[h] an alternative chronology places these events all in the period ca. 311-305 BCE.^[13][e] According to Buddhist and Jain legends, Chandragupta was assisted by his mentor Chanakya, who later became his minister. He expanded his reach subsequently into parts of the western Indus Valley^[i] and possibly^[14] eastern Afghanistan^[b] through a dynastic marriage alliance with Seleucus I Nicator ca. 305-303 BCE.^[10] His empire also included Gujarat^[j] and a geographically extensive network of cities and trade-routes.^[a][b]

There are no historical facts about Chandragupta's origins and early life, only legends, while the narrative of his reign is mainly deduced from a few fragments in Greek and Roman sources, and a few Indian religious texts, all written centuries after his death. The prevailing levels of technology and infrastructure limited the extent of Chandragupta's rule,^[k] and the administration was decentralised, with provinces and local governments,^[15][l] and large autonomous regions within its limits.^[m] Chandragupta's reign, and the Maurya Empire, which reached its peak under his grandson Ashoka the Great,^[n] began an era of economic prosperity, reforms, infrastructure expansions. Buddhism, Jainism and Ājīvika prevailed over the non-Maghadian Vedic and Brahmanistic traditions,^[16] initiating, under Ashoka, the expansion of Buddhism, and the synthesis of Brahmanic and non-Brahmanic religious traditions which converged in Hinduism. His legend still inspires visions of an undivided Indian nation.

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