Did you know about the greatest empire? Today we are going to talk about Chanakya. And 4 Lessons from Chanakya.
He is one of the greatest mentors of India and under his guidance Chandragupta Maurya, a commoner by birth founded the Mauryan Empire.
In its time the Mauryan Empire was one of the largest empires of the world and largest ever in Indian subcontinent.
From Afghanistan to Myanmar and from Kashmir to Mara Tamil Nadu the Maurya Empire stretched across five million square kilometers at its peak.
One currency, one law, one system. It was the ideal empire. but the founder chandra gupta not a king from birth he is just a common people.
How did he go from being a commoner to founding the biggest empire of india?
Chanakya and Chandra Gupta, they have the greatest partnership of Indian history and today I want to tell you four lessons from their story.
4 Powerful Lessons from Chanakya
1. Know your strength
Chanakya was the Tyrion Lannister of India. He wasn’t a good-looking person and he had accepted that fact but he really felt insulted when the Nanda King insulted his knowledge based on his looks,
He decided to overthrow an empire using his knowledge. But he knew that he cannot do it alone.
And then he met the son of a king raised by hunters Chandra Gupta. Chanakya knew that he could be the king.
Understand this, Chandra Gupta was a born leader and Chanakya was a strategist. Both had different but complementary qualities. Both of them joined forces to establish Maurya Empire.
2. Get out of your comfort zone
Chanakya would give tasks that would put Chandra Gupta in uncomfortable situations to make sure Chandragupta never stops growing.
Imagine there are two options in front of you. Number one, you can sit at home for the entire day and do nothing. You just watch Netflix for the entire time or the second one, you can read an autobiography. What will you choose?
Our brain naturally moves towards a comfortable situation because a comfortable situation is profitable in the short term but it does not guarantee growth.
Being uncomfortable brings you growth. He used to mix a really small dose of poison in Chandragupta’s foot to make him resistant to poison. That’s what vaccines do. They put weakened viruses in our body so that our body is ready when the main disease attacks.
Extraordinary challenges make an ordinary person a hero!
3. Knowledge is power
Chandragupta’s first attack on the empire failed. Both of them ware roaming in the village in disguise when they overheard a conversation between a mother and a child.
The child had only eaten the center of a cake and left all the sides. And the mother called the child Chandragupta because even chandragupta directly attacked patliputra, ignoring all the bordering villages.
This observation, this knowledge became their power. These villagers were already frustrated with Nanda kings. Maurya’s got the support very easily
4. Follow your dharma
You see we feel the term dharma means religion. Actually, in our culture, there is no term for religion. Dharma means a purpose.
Mauryas were commoners. Some believe Chandragupta was a kshudra. He knew the plight of the common people. And that became his purpose. That is what made him different from the kings before him.
India flourished during this time because Chanakya’s purpose was to stabilize politics and economics. And Chandragupta’s purpose was to expand the empire.
During this time, India used to export silk and spices to Europe. Other small kings were happy to be a part of the Maurya empire because it was more of a collaboration than a competition.
India was actually growing in the right direction. Everybody believed in their king and the king believed in his purpose.
Chanakya and Chandragupta’s story teaches us that finding a purpose, a calling, a road is the most important thing in life. And when you actually follow your purpose, you change not only yours but the lives of the people around you.
Chanakya’s knowledge was lost in time. There are many recent discoveries that trace back the ancient knowledge of management and success.
I hope you learn something from this 4 Lessons from Chanakya. Share with your friends and let them know about these 4 lessons.