Book Review - Chanakya by Satyeketu Vidyalankar

Name : Chanakya 

Author : Satyaketu Vidyalankar 

Publisher : Manjari Publication 

First Published : 2073 BS

Pages : 352

Genre : Historical Fiction 

Language : Nepali

Translator : Tilak Prasad Luitel (Translated Chanakya from Hindi) 

Book Blurb 

Chanakya was an Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya or Vishnugupt, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra. As such, he is considered the pioneer of the field of political science and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire and not rediscovered until 1915. Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power. This book is a very popular historical fiction. Mauryans occupy a prominent space in ancient Indian History. The Mauryans were able to bring all of India under one banner. Acharya Chanakya was one of the main person for this success of Mauryans. This book details Acharya Chanakya character, his personality and his incredible contribution to Mauryan kingdom.

Whether we know about the legendary teacher who reunited the whole of Bharatvarsha or not, this book can serve well both for introductions as well as a good story. 

Theme 

As a historical fiction, the book is heavily based on facts and the story follows the same track as the real one does as per credible sources. But as usual the author has introduced various new characters and plots that hooks the readers into the story tightly. 

Chandragupta Maurya who is a young prince whose Kingdom was conquered by the Nanda Kings of Magadha comes Takshashila to learn under Acharya Chanakya. The story follows the route of how Chanakya used his ingenious ways to repel the forces of Alexander the great  and unite the whole Bharatvarsha under one banner of Chakravarti Samrat Chandragupta. The political games played by Chanakya still seem brilliant even after 2300 years and the story is simply captivating.

Writing

The writing is good but not that brilliant. The story, however, flows smoothly. The characters are well described and built sometimes the prose becomes overly descriptive. For example :Long lists of trading items which seem of little use in the narrative occur every now and then. The description of surrounding and landmarks are overused sometimes. But they are ,indeed, exciting to read as the author has portrayed the happenings of ancient Indian Subcontinent brilliantly. I must say that the translator has done quite a good job. 

Dialogue 

The dialogue are elegant and smooth. But as the majority of them are between people in official positions or between royals, the dialogues seem to be very formal and less personal. But they suit the theme of the story and often go unnoticed. What I didn't exactly like is that a couple of dialogues are so long that they seem to be a lecture. 

My Rating 

Cover : 3

Theme :4

Writing : 3.5

Overall :3.5

Recommendations 

I personally loved the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting read or to any history buff. For people wanting to understand ancient politics , this is a must read one. 

An ebook of Hindi version of the book can be found here. Click here.