ISBN: 9789350096925    Publisher: Hachette Year of publishing: 2013     Format:  Paperback No of Pages: 200        Language: English

"A learned man and a king are not equal, as the former is respected everywhere, but the latter only in his own dominions." Canny, contemplative and courageous, Chanakya is known as one of India's most multifaceted and enduring gurus. His smart, sage advice, captured forever in the twin classic treatises - the Arthashastra and the Nitishastra - has both the detailing of a draughtsman and the wideranging wisdom of a genius. Scholar, teacher, visionary, political strategist, economic philosopher and royal adviser, Chanakya put forth invaluable lessons that changed the course of history.

Humiliated by Dhana Nanda, the ruler of Magadha, Chanakya turned adversity into strength and challenge into opportunity. Through clever diplomatic manoeuvres and wise confrontations, he choreographed young Chandragupta's rise as the founder of the Mauryan empire, the first of its kind in power and territorial extent. Melding his knowledge with a shrewd observance of life, Chanakya outlined political and economic philosophies in a long‐lasting body of pithy truths. And that is why, centuries later, his work and his words matter in today's world.

This book brings together the transformative incidents that shaped Chanakya's life, and his most important sayings. From his understanding of the ideal way of life, you too can learn to be a little bit like Chanakya.
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Anu Kumar has a degree in history from Delhi University and has also specialised in human resources management at the XLRI School of Business. She writes for children as well as for older readers, and her short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. It Takes a Murder is her third novel for older readers after Letters for Paul (Mapin 2006) and The Dollmakers? Island (Gyaana, 2010). She lives in Singapore with her husband and four-year-old daughter.
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