Neat, thanks for sharing. I'm currently in Chanakyapuri near Chandragupta Marg. I now understand the significance of those names a bit more.
Chanakya
21–30 of 78 posts
Re: Chanakya
#22Neat, thanks for sharing. I'm currently in Chanakyapuri near Chandragupta Marg. I now understand the significance of those names a bit more.
Yes, we named the diplomatic enclave after Chanakya, following his advice of giving foreign missions palatial estates in exchange for tiny apartments.
Re: Chanakya
#23Other than his works, he was the prime minister in Maurya empire, credited with its rise. Maurya empire is considered to be one of the greatest Indian empires along with Guptas(known for progress in science, medicine) and Cholas(mercantile empire crossing oceans). It spread west upto present day Afghanistan at its peak. Maurya king Ashoka is quite famous because of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka#Kalinga_w…
Interestingly enough he became politically active after India's defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great, and aided in creating an empire that unified the whole of India, which was unprecedented until then.
Porus was a minor ruler in North Western India. Alexander never made it to the territory of the Nanda empire that held sway over larger India. Just to put it into perspective Porus was not significant enough to be remembered in Indian historical accounts. Alexander's exploit also find no contemporary mention in Indian sources. What I am getting at is that what Alexander achieved could in no way be described as "India's defeat".
Re: Chanakya
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there any recommended reading you have on this? In general, all the foreign conquests that succeeded in India even later were when it was fragmented into smaller kingdoms.
Probably doesn't exist, since "India's defeat at the hands of Alexander" never happened. He barely made it to the border of the largest empire in contemporary India, by geography. Even the parts of current Pakistan he conquered were nowhere near major powers in the subcontinent. That was as far as he got before his army rebelled and forced him to abandon further conquest.
Yeah it's a gross simplification. At that time India was fragmented into small kingdoms, and Alexander just defeated a western kingdom before marching around.
Re: Chanakya
#25Other than his works, he was the prime minister in Maurya empire, credited with its rise. Maurya empire is considered to be one of the greatest Indian empires along with Guptas(known for progress in science, medicine) and Cholas(mercantile empire crossing oceans). It spread west upto present day Afghanistan at its peak. Maurya king Ashoka is quite famous because of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka#Kalinga_w…
Interestingly enough he became politically active after India's defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great, and aided in creating an empire that unified the whole of India, which was unprecedented until then.
India was not defeated by Alexander, only some border states. He never really entered today's India.
Nandas would have obliterated Alexander had he dared to face them.
Re: Chanakya
#26It's nice to see some Asian history for a change. In the west, it seems as we only have an interest in the historical narratives of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Europe. Dense civilizations existed in South and East Asian stretching back thousands of years and our history classes and popular culture barely touch on them.
I'd love to see more pop culture(games, movies, etc) explore the history of what is now India, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.
Re: Chanakya
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interestingly enough he became politically active after India's defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great, and aided in creating an empire that unified the whole of India, which was unprecedented until then.
Porus was a minor ruler in North Western India. Alexander never made it to the territory of the Nanda empire that held sway over larger India. Just to put it into perspective Porus was not significant enough to be remembered in Indian historical accounts. Alexander's exploit also find no contemporary mention in Indian sources. What I am getting at is that what Alexander achieved could in no way be described as "India…
The parent comment actually encompasses this - there was no 'unified' India before Alexander visited, but there was the semblance of one once he left since Chanakya 'envisioned' a common thread running across the region and made arrangements to unite it under a single flag.
Re: Chanakya
#28It's nice to see some Asian history for a change. In the west, it seems as we only have an interest in the historical narratives of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Europe. Dense civilizations existed in South and East Asian stretching back thousands of years and our history classes and popular culture barely touch on them. I'd love to see more pop culture(games, movies, etc) explore the history of what is now India, Thailan…
I think we'll have to do this on our own and not rely on Hollywood or studios from the west. Bahubali was probably a good start. But more needs to be done. I'm starting to wonder whether it's a question of talent or question of capital. I seriously hope it's the latter.
Re: Chanakya
#29It's nice to see some Asian history for a change. In the west, it seems as we only have an interest in the historical narratives of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Europe. Dense civilizations existed in South and East Asian stretching back thousands of years and our history classes and popular culture barely touch on them. I'd love to see more pop culture(games, movies, etc) explore the history of what is now India, Thailan…
I am assuming for games at least, the market in say India is not big enough that it can cover the cost of making something high budget. Once the market becomes bigger in terms of ability to spend, there might be more content. For example Japan, China have big enough markets and both have dedicated games in Total War series on parts of their history.
Re: Chanakya
#30It's nice to see some Asian history for a change. In the west, it seems as we only have an interest in the historical narratives of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Europe. Dense civilizations existed in South and East Asian stretching back thousands of years and our history classes and popular culture barely touch on them. I'd love to see more pop culture(games, movies, etc) explore the history of what is now India, Thailan…
I am assuming for games at least, the market in say India is not big enough that it can cover the cost of making something high budget. Once the market becomes bigger in terms of ability to spend, there might be more content. For example Japan, China have big enough markets and both have dedicated games in Total War series on parts of their history.
The Total War series originally started with Japan and later went onto Western wars despite being made by British developers, this comment seems to suggest it's the reverse.