WRATH OF CHANAKYA

WRATH OF CHANAKYA
Dr K Prabhakar Rao
In Indian ancient history an incident occurred to A Brahmin at the hands of an arrogant king that changed the entire history of the country. What happened to Baba Ramdev reminds me of that incident. Kautilya or Chanakya ( 370-283 BC) was a Brahmin scholar in the Magadh ( Now Bihar) kingdom very long ago and the ruling dynasty was of Nanda. His name was Vishnugupta. He was a great scholar of high repute. He was once insulted by Dhana nanda by pulling his sikha ( tuft that was symbolic of Brahmanism)) and was thrown out from the palace humiliated and unceremoniously. Chanakya took an oath that he would tie his sikha only when Nanda dynasty was dethroned and destroyed. He left his kingdom. Chandragupta was the son of Mura one of the wives of Nanda, but of low birth. Therefore, he was not favored and suffered humiliation. Once Chandra gupta found Chanakya in a forest and he was so angry that he pulled out a thorn that pierced his feet , burnt it to ashes and drank it. Chandragupta was amazed at the Brahmins anger and enquired who he was. Chanakya knew the worth of Chandra gupta and nurtured him soon and he knew that his oath would be fulfilled by the prince Chandragupta. In a course of time Chandragupta dethroned Nanda dynasty and Nanda princes and king were destroyed and Mauryan dynasty was ushered with Chandragupta Maurya as t the emperor ( 340-293 BC ). The dynasty ruled gloriously and produced great emperors like Bimbi Sara, Bindusara, and Asoka the great. Kautilya wrote the great classic work the ARTHASATRA a treatise on political administration by a king. It is highly relevant even today.
Will Ramdev Baba emerge as another Kautilya ( Chanakya) to dethrone those who insulted him once for all and usher new political class in this nation? Men laughed at Kautilya then too, but soon had to bite dust. Baba Ramdev was humiliated by dispersing his meeting and arresting him at Delhi and forcibly carrying him away. The govt has its own reasons. Nanda also had his own reasons then but was vanquished by the strong willpower of a Brahmin who had convictions. Kautilya was also harassed then and same is the case with Baba Ramdev. There are many similarities between both these men and probably history will repeat itself. Only difference is that Kautilya was with a sikha while Baba has thick flowing hair. Time only will tell us soon. India is going to have great changes in very near future with leaders like Hazare and baba throwing themselves in the ring to set things right. Modi is emerging as a strong man who can be considered a beacon of light in the backdrop of minority appeasement and vacillating rulers. Hazare has to free himself from the clutches of leaders like Swami Agnivesh and few more characters who will surely bring discredit to him., Corruption is rampant and it has to be fought by all. The present leadership has failed to control it and in fact hiding the names of Swiss Bank account holders is not acceptable as it amounts to abetment of fraudulent activities. Govt should has no valid reason and should disclose all names and there could be many unhappy revealing and thus govt is holding back information. There are many suspecting and raised fingers. This is not in national interest and once credibility of govt is lost, only God can rescue them. Probably history is going to repeat in India after centuries has passed from the days of Chanakya.

Dr K Prabhakar Rao