Chanakya

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Chanakya
Born	c. 370 BCE[1] Birth place unknown, possiblyPataliputra, Taxila or South India
Died	c. 283 BCE[1] Pataliputra
Residence	Pataliputra
Other names	Kauṭilya, Vishnugupta
Alma mater	Takshashila
Occupation	Professor and royal advisor ofChandragupta Maurya
Known for	Foundation of the Maurya Empire
Notable work(s)	Arthashastra (authorship disputed), Chanakya Neeti

Chanakya  pronunciation (help·info) (c. 370–283 BCE)^[2] was an Indian teacher, philosopher and royal advisor.

Originally a professor of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University, Chanakya managed the first Maurya emperorChandragupta's rise to power at a young age. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both Chandragupta and his son Bindusara.

Chanakya is traditionally identified as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise called Arthaśāstra.^[3] As such, he is considered as the pioneer of the field of economics and political science in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to Classical Economics.^[4][5][6][7] Chanakya is often called the "Indian Machiavelli",^[8] although his works predate Machiavelli's by about 1,800 years.^[9] His works were lost near the end of the Gupta dynasty and not rediscovered until 1915.^[5]