Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c20.s3.57

c20.s3.57

But Cānakya was not satisfied with this. He wanted to exterminate the entire family of Nanda. One day he saw a weaver, named Naladāma, who was burning out the holes of ants (makhoda). Being queried, the weaver answered that his son had a bite from an ant and so he would destroy their whole species. Cānakya was pleased to find out such a person of resolute mind and he employed him to destroy the family of Nanda. Thus Cānakya was successful in overthrowing the Nanda dynasty and anointing Candragupta on the throne of Pāṭaliputra.³⁵ We are told in the commentary on the Bṛhatkalpa Bhāṣya that when Candragupta ascended the throne some Kṣatriyas did not obey his commands, because he was the son of a peacock-tamer. When Cānakya knew this, he started incognito as a Kārpaṭika and by burning out the whole village to ashes, punished the offenders.³⁶