The Mauryan Polity c13.s12.54

c13.s12.54

(j) In Fg. 2 Megasthenes refers to the king of Indians, Sandrakottas.² Says S. Levi: "The identity recognised by William Jones of the Indian Chandragupta and the Sandrakottas of the historians of Alexander remains the cornerstone of all Indian chronology."³ The contention of Otto Stein is that Kauṭalya does not mention either King Chandragupta or the name of his dynasty in his work. No doubt the name Candragupta does not occur. But it should be noted as a matter of profound significance that the term Narendra has been used and according to scholars Narendra is only a synonym for Candragupta.⁴ There is again an indirect reference to the Maurya dynasty in the last verse.⁵ Here it is said that the Nanda dynasty had been uprooted and the new dynasty has become *fait accompli*. Taking into consideration these two unmistakable references, though still indirect they are, we must credit the work with the worth which it deserves. The sum and substance of these different verses shows the hand of the minister of Candragupta and it will be a spurious argument to advance these views in deciding the authenticity of this all important treatise on ancient Indian Polity.