The rough guy in town...Chandragupta - Page 5

@ Jayati --- ahaaa... party toh banti hai boss!!! 👏

anyways before going into detailed history of Chanakya n Chandragupta i would like to share first about Takshashila and Pataliputra as both are important in the history of Guru n Shisya. 😆

i know most of them know about it as many have googled it in wiki and other sites. so spare some time if u can 😛 pleaseee.

Swetha

Taxila University

Takshashila, (later corrupted as Taxila), one of the topmost centers of education at that time in India became the teachers were highly knowledgeable who used to teach sons of kings. It is said that a certain teacher had 101 students and all of them were princes! The university at Taxila was well versed in teaching the subjects using the best of practical knowledge acquired by the teachers. The age of entering the university was sixteen. The branches of studies most sought after in around India ranged from law, medicine, warfare and other indigenous forms of learning. The four Vedas, archery, hunting, elephant-lore and 18 arts were taught at the University of Taxila. The very requirements of admission filtered out the outlawed and people with lesser credentials.

At a time when the Dark Ages were looming large, the existence of a university of Taxila's grandeur really makes India stand apart way ahead of the European countries who struggled with ignorance and total information blackout. For the Indian subcontinent Taxila stood as a light house of higher knowledge and pride of India. In the present day world, Taxila is situated in Pakistan at a place called Rawalpindi.

The university accommodated more than 10,000 students at a time. The university offered courses spanning a period of more than eight years. The students were admitted after graduating from their own countries. Aspiring students opted for elective subjects going for in depth studies in specialized branches of learning. After graduating from the university, the students are recognized as the best scholars in the subcontinent. It became a cultural heritage as time passed.

Taxila was the junction where people of different origins mingled with each other and exchanged knowledge of their countries. The university was famous as "Taxila" university, named after the city where it was situated. The king and rich people of the region used to donate lavishly for the development of the university. In the religious scriptures also, Taxila is mentioned as the place where the king of snakes, Vasuki selected Taxila for the dissemination of knowledge on earth. Here it would be essential to mention briefly the range of subjects taught in the university of Taxila. (1) Science, (2) Philosophy, (3) Ayurveda, (4) Grammar of various languages, (5) Mathematics, (6) Economics, (7) Astrology, (8) Geography, (9) Astronomy, (10) Surgical science, (11) Agricultural sciences, (12) Archery and Ancient and Modern Sciences. The university also used to conduct researches on various subjects.

Swetha

Pataliputra

Modern-day Patna was a city in ancient India, originally built by Ajatashatru in 490 BC as a small fort (Pataligrama) near the River Ganges, and later the capital of the ancient Mahajanapadas kingdom of Magadha. Its key central location in north central India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative capital here, from the Nandas, Mauryans, Sungas and the Guptas down to the Palas. In the Lord Buddha's day it was a village known as Pataligrama. He visited it shortly before his death and prophesied it would be great but would face destruction either by fire, water, or civil war. Two important councils were held here, the first at the death of the Buddha and the second in the reign of Asoka. During the reign of Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BCE, it was one of the world's largest cities, with a population of 150,000-300,000. Pataliputra reached the pinnacle of prosperity when it was the capital of the great Mauryan Emperors, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great.

The city prospered under the Mauryas and a Greek ambassador Megasthenes resided there and left a detailed account of its splendour. The city also became a flourishing Buddhist centre boasting a number of important monasteries. It remained the capital of the Gupta dynasty (3rd-6th centuries CE) and the Pala Dynasty (8th-12th centuries CE). Well known Chinese traveler Fahian, who visited the city in 399 BC described it as prosperous city endowed with rich natural resources. The city was largely in ruins when visited by Hsan-tsang, and suffered further damage at the hands of Muslim raiders in the 12th century. Afterwards Sher Shah Suri made Pataliputra his capital and changed the name to modern Patna.

Though parts of the city have been excavated, much of it still lies buried beneath modern Patna. During the Mauryan period, the city was described as being shaped as parallelogram, approximately 1.5 miles wide and 9 miles long. Its wooden walls were pierced by 64 gates. These were thought to have been converted to strong stone walls during the time of Ashoka. Situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Gandhaka rivers, Pataliputra soon came to dominate the riverine trade of the Indo-Gangetic plains during Magadha's early imperial period. It was a great center of trade and commerce and attracted merchants and intellectuals, such as the famed Chanakya, from all over India.

It was addressed with different names at different times. To illustrate a few names, Pushpapur, Pushpanagar, Patliputra and Patna. The city was industrious in producing essential commodities and luxurious goods for the rich. It was known for respecting knowledgeable people and scholars. The intellectuals from across the country were warmly invited for the intercourse of new ideas and development of the state. It was virtually the city of fortunes as it recognized the true talent and rewarded richly for the work done by an individual.

Etymology

The etymology of Pataliputra is unclear. "Putra" means son, and "patali" is a species of rice or the plant Bignonia suaveolens. One traditional etymology holds that the city was named after the plant. Another tradition says that Pataliputra means the son of Patali, who was the daughter of Raja Sudarshan. As it was known as Patali-grama originally, some scholars believe that Pataliputra is a transformation of Patalipura, "Patali town".

Swetha

congrats jayati for completing 100 posts👏 and sorry for late reply.

i will soon start it.

I didn't know that...that was really cool...

I am so happy that someone other than me and swetha is also updating...

just love it...

thnx for the awesome info...😉