Chandragupta Maurya - Origins

Origins

Further information: Ancestry of Chandragupta Maurya

Many Indian literary traditions connect him with the Nanda Dynasty of Magadha in modern day Bihar in eastern India. More than half a millennium later, the Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa calls him a "Nandanvaya" i.e. the descendant of Nanda (Act IV). Again more than a millennium later, Dhundiraja, a commentator of 18th century on Mudrarakshasa states that Chandragupta was the son of the Nanda king Sarvarthasiddhi by a wife named Mura, daughter of a Vrishala (Shudra). Mudrarakshasa uses terms like kula-hina and Vrishala for Chandragupta's lineage. This reinforces Justin's contention that Chandragupta had a humble origin. On the other hand, the same play describes the Nandas as of Prathita-kula, i.e. illustrious, lineage. The medieval commentator on the Vishnu Purana informs us that Chandragupta was the son of a Nanda prince and a Hindi: dasi (English: maid) named Mura. The poets Kshmendra and Somadeva call him Purvananda-suta, son of the genuine Nanda, as opposed to Yoga-Nanda, i.e. pseudo-Nanda. The Nanda dynasty was started by Mahapadma Nanda, who is considered the first Shudra king of Magadha.

The Buddhist text the Mahavamsa calls Chandragupt a member of a division of the Khattiya (Kshatriya) clan called the Moriya (Maurya). Divyāvadāna calls Bindusara, son of Chandragupt, an anointed Kshatriya, Kshatriya Murdhabhishikata, and in the same work King Ashoka, son of Bindusara, is also styled a Kshatriya. The Mahaparinibbana Sutta states that the Moriyas (Mauryas) belonged to the Kshatriya community of Pippalivana. These traditions indicate that Chandragupt came from a Kshatriya lineage. The Mahavamshatika connects him with the Shakya clan of the Buddha, a clan which also belongs to the race of Ādityas.

A medieval inscription represents the Maurya clan as belonging to the solar race of Kshatriyas. It is stated that the Maurya line sprang from Suryavamsi Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva of the solar race. chandragupt was a student of chankya.

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