The rough guy in town...Chandragupta - Page 8

Gandhara

Gandhara included parts of northwest Punjab. Gandhara was located on the northern trunk road (Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. It was an important channel of communication with ancient Iran, India and Central Asia.

The boundaries of Gandhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara and sometimes the Swat valley was also included. The heart of Gandhara, however, was always the Peshawar valley. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Pushkalavati, Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) on the Indus. According to the Puranas, they were named after Taksha and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata, a prince of Ayodhya.

History

Evidence of Stone Age human inhabitants of Gandhara, including stone tools and burnt bones, was discovered at Sanghao near Mardan in area caves. The artifacts are approximately 15,000 years old. More recent excavations point to 30,000 years before present.

The region shows an influx of southern Central Asian culture in the Bronze Age with the Gandhara grave culture, likely corresponding to immigration of Indo-Aryan speakers and the nucleus of Vedic civilization. This culture survived till 1000 BC. Its evidence has been discovered in the hilly regions of Swat and Dir, and even at Taxila.

The name of the Gandharis is attested in the Rigveda and in ancient inscriptions dating back to Achaemenid Persia. The Behistun inscription listing the 23 territories of King Darius I (519 BC) includes Gandara along with Bactria and Thatagush. In the book "Histories" by Herodotus, Gandhara is named as a source of tax collections for King Darius. The Gandharis, along with the Balhika (Bactrians), Mujavants, Angas, and the Magadhas, are also mentioned in the Atharvaveda, as distant people. Gandharas are included in the Uttarapatha division of Puranic and Buddhistic traditions. The Aitareya Brahmana refers to king Naganajit of Gandhara who was a contemporary of Janaka, king of Videha.

Swetha

Epic and Puranic traditions

Gandhara had played an important role in the epic of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Ambhi Kumar was direct descendant of Bharata (of Ramayana) and Shakuni (of Mahabharata). It is said that Lord Rama consolidated the rule of the Kosala Kingdom over the whole of the Indian peninsula. His brothers and sons ruled most of the janapads (16 states) at that time.

Swetha

Commotion in Taxila During Chanakya's Time

Gandhar Republic was not able to come out of the shock of the comprehensive defeat at the hands of the province of Porus, when a new contingency starred in the eyes of Taxila. Thousands of refugees poured in Taxila as a result of the widespread attacks of the armies of Alexander. These people were not productive for the state as they didn't come to Taxila to acquire knowledge or in search of jobs. They didn't have money or any kind of assets to buy themselves the essential commodities. To resolve the problem, a meeting was convened by the rulers of the neighboring countries and the king of Taxila. The knowledgeable people who gathered to give their opinions on the problem faced by Taxila, gave out their suggestions. At the end of the meeting, it was decided that the refugees must be given cover under humanitarian grounds. So, in line with the decision taken, a stretch of land outside Taxila was allotted for the refugees. They were allowed to enter Taxila after proving their identity with the sentry. In this way what appeared to be a calamity was appeased without much ado. The incident was just a precursor to a series of events which reverberated across India as a result of the attacks of Alexander.

Swetha

Originally posted by: vss08

well well finally u posted it now. 😆 u know my answer right 😉

anyway even i heard of it in many and it was shown in the old serial Chanakya too Dhana's daughter got married to CGM.

************Edited******************

actually there are many stories reg chandragupta's wives.

one of them is Dhruvaswamini a girl saved by chanakya when she was ill-iterated in the time when chandragupta was in a journey to secure an special Armour never found by anyone.

one more i didn't get the name but she is the princess of Lichchhavis. their son was Samudragupta.

we know abt Dhurdhara and her son Bindusara,

Helen and now Dhana's daughter 😆

fully confused must research a lot. 😆 will give the details slowly have lot much to update before this 😃 😛

Swetha

Originally posted by: justjayati

NO NO Swetha!!!! u r mistaken..😲... the Chandragupta u r talking abt who married Dhruvswamini was not maurya But Chandragupta Vikramadtya of Gupta dynasty, son of Samudragupta....

plz don't get confused between these 2😕...I've studied the whole book on chandragupta vikramaditya..if u say, I can also give some basic info abt Chandragupta Vikramaditya...

😉

Originally posted by: BhartiKhushi909

wonderful update

Part:1

Chanakya Introduction

One of the greatest figures of wisdom and knowledge in the Indian history is Chanakya. He is estimated to have lived from 350 - 283 B.C. Chanakya is touted as the "Pioneer Economist of India". Chanakya was the adviser and Prime Minister of Emperor Chandragupta. Chanakya was a professor at the University of Takshila (located in present day Pakistan) and was an expert in commerce, warfare, economics, etc. His famous works include Chanakya Neeti, Arthashastra and Neetishastra.

The great book 'Artha-shastra' written by Chanakya is world famous. Even European politicians, sociologists and economists study this book with interest. It begins with a narration of how to bring up royal book with interest. It begins with a narration of how to bring up royal princes and how their education should be. How to choose ambassadors and how to use spies is then explained. How to protect a king against dangers and risks is also dealt with. Law and order, the duties of the police, how to control the wealthy citizens and motivate them to make gifts for charitable purposes, methods of preventing wars, duties of the astrologer, the priest and others, tricks to be employed to eliminate enemy kings, ways of inducing sleep in human beings and animals-these and numerous other subjects are discussed by Chanakya in the treatise. The wide range and variety of the subjects is itself surprising.

Swetha