Rakshasa is a character in the ancient Indian

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

-language play ''

Mudrarakshasa The Mudrarakshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: ''Mudrārākṣasa'', ) is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya ( BCE) to power in India. The play is an example of ...

''. In the play, he holds the post of '' Amatya'' (prime minister) in the

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

and

Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

courts of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

. Originally a minister of the Nanda king, he escapes during

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

's conquest of the Nanda empire. He then makes several attempts to overthrow Chandragupta, but each time, he is outsmarted by Chandragupta's advisor

Chanakya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...

. Finally, he agrees to give up the resistance, and accepts the post of ''amatya'' in the Maurya court.

''Mudrarakshasa'' biography

Rakshasa appears in

Vishakhadatta Vishakhadatta ( sa, विशाखदत्त) was an Indian Sanskrit poet and playwright. Although Vishakhadatta furnishes the names of his father and grandfather as ''Maharaja'' Bhaskaradatta and ''Maharaja'' Vateshvaradatta in his political ...

's play

. In the ''Mudrarakshasa'',

feels insulted by the

king, and overthrows him with help of his protege Chandragupta and another powerful king Parvateshvara (or Parvata).. Nanda's prime minister Rakshasa escapes the royal capital

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

, and makes several attempts to overthrow Chandragupta. For example, he sends a

vishakanya The Vishakanya () were young women reportedly used as assassins, often against powerful enemies, during the times of Ancient India. Their blood and bodily fluids were purportedly poisonous to other humans, as was mentioned in the ancient Indian tr ...

(poison girl) to assassinate Chandragupta. Chanakya makes this girl assassinate Parvata instead, with the blame going to Rakshasa. Parvata's son Malayaketu learns the truth about his father's death, and allies with Rakshasa. On another occasion, Rakshasa arranges for assassins to be transported to Chandragupta's bedroom via a tunnel. Chanakya notices a trail of ants carrying the leftovers of their food, and has them burned to death.

Absconding from Magadha

For the task of getting Chandragupta Maurya killed, Amatya Rakshasa made an alliance with some of Chandragupta's enemies. Rakshasa failed several times in his plan to get Chandragupta killed. He tried having some kings attack

, the Maurya capital, but the plan failed due to Chanakya's intelligent tactics. Meanwhile, Chanakya knew that it was dangerous for a clever leader like Amatya Rakshasa to hold a grudge against the king. Soon, Chanakya made plans to capture Amatya Rakshasa by luring him to return to Magadha. Chanakya spread rumors among certain people in Magadha, thanks to which he arrested one of Amatya Rakshas's associates. Chanakya knew that Amatya Rakshasa would come searching for his associate, or try to free him.

Becoming the Amatya of the Maurya Empire

Rakshasa was tracked and captured finally by Chanakya, as per his plan. Chanakya told Rakshasa about his plan to make him the prime minister of Chandragupta's empire as Rakshasa had diligence and patriotism towards

. Chanakya knew very well about Rakshas' efficient administrative skills and diplomatic tactics. Chanakya asked Rakshasa to become the Principal Amatya (Maha Amatya) of the Mauryan empire and to serve the kingdom with the same diligence and faithfulness he showed during the Nanda rule. Rakshasa was initially reluctant to do so. Chanakya convinced Rakshasa to become the Maha Amatya as he would be an extraordinary royal advisor. Finally, Amatya Rakshasa agreed to Chanakya for the benefit of Magadha. Amatya Rakshasa then realized Chanakya's dignity and overcame his enmity with him.

Film and television

* The 1991 TV series ''

'' is an archetypal account of the life and times of Chanakya, based on the play ''

''. Amatya Rakshasa is played by

Surendra Pal Surendrapal Singh (born 25 September 1953) is an Indian film and television character actor who works in Hindi films and TV series. He is best known for his roles of Dronacharya in ''Mahabharat'', Amatya Rakshas in ''Chanakya'', Tamraj Kilvish ...

. * In ''

'', a 2011 TV series on

NDTV Imagine Imagine TV was a Hindi general entertainment channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, and based in New Delhi. The channel was known for shows such as '' Ramayan (2008), Chandragupta Maurya, '' Swayamvar'', ''Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo'', ''M ...

produced by

Sagar Arts Sagar Pictures Entertainment is an Indian film and television production company based in Mumbai, India. It was founded by Ramanand Sagar and is a part of the Sagar Group of companies owned by the Sagar family. Sagar Pictures is also a dubbing ...

, Amatya Rakshasa is played by actor

Tej Sapru Tej Sapru (born 5 January 1955) is an Indian actor. He is the son of D. K. Sapru and Hemvati, both of whom were actors in the Hindi film industry. He has appeared in a number of Bollywood films of between the 1980s and 2010s, including ''Gupt'' ...

. * ''

Chandra Nandini ''Chandra Nandini'' is an Indian Hindi-language Historical fictional drama television series which aired on Star Plus from 10 October 2016 until 10 November 2017. It was produced by Ekta Kapoor under her banner Balaji Telefilms and is directed b ...

'', a 2016 historical drama television series of Chandragupta Maurya. * The 2015

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment broadcast network owned by Viacom18. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, youth-oriented reality shows, shows on crime and television films. History It was launched on 2 ...

drama, '' Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat'', features Amatya Rakshasa during the reign of Chandragupta's son, Bindusara. Rakshasa is played by

Amit Behl Amit Behl is an Indian theatre, television and film actor. Behl began his career in 1994 with a role in India's first daily soap opera '' Shanti''. He later went on to do almost 100 TV serials in Hindi, English, Marathi, Punjabi and Urdu. He ha ...

. *

Nimai Bali Nimai Bali is an Indian actor who generally plays mythological supporting and villainous roles.''Another Sanju loyalist'' by Chaitanya PadukoneDNA India 16 March 2008. Accessed February 2010.''Hoja Rangeela Re''Times of India 13 March 2009. Acc ...

played Amatya Rakshasa in the historical television series ''Porus'' between 2017 and 2018. * ''

'', a 2018 television show based on the life of Chandragupta Maurya. Amatya Rakshasa was played by actor

References

Bibliography