Etymology

Chanakya

Cha·na·kya
C3H4A1N1A1K5Y4A1

Today it means: A shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a Machiavelli. Full definition →

Sanskrit चाणक्य
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · borrowed fromचाणक्य
  2. English todayChanakya

Borrowed from Sanskrit चाणक्य (Cāṇakya). Chanakya was an Indian economist, philosopher, political scientist, and royal advisor of the 4th century B.C.E. He is traditionally identified as the person named Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta who authored the Arthashastra, a political treatise. He engineered the collapse of Magadha and put Chandragupta Maurya into power, establishing the Maurya Empire.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.