Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c5.56

c5.56

The *Mudrārākshasa* gives us the further information that his Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite army recruited from a variety of peoples. Among these are mentioned the following: Śakas, Yavanas (probably Greeks), Kirātas, Kāmbojas, Pārasīkas, Bahlīkas [II. 12]. Chandragupta was opposed by a coalition of 5 kings, viz, Chitravarmā of Kulūta, Siṁhanāda of Malaya, Pushkarāksha of Kāśmīra, the Saindhava prince, Sindhsheṇa, and Meghākhya, the king of the Pārasīkas, who joined with a large force of cavalry (*pṛithu-turagabalaḥ*) [I. 20]. The army of Malayaketu comprised recruits from the following peoples: Khaśa, Māgadha, Gāndhāra, Yavana, Śaka, Chedi, and Hūṇa [V. II]. Thus these various peoples, mostly from the Punjab and the frontier Highlands, were involved in the great war between Chandragupta and his enemies in Magadha. This list unfortunately affects the value of *Mudrārākshasa* as a source of history. Some of the peoples named in it such as the Śakas or the Hūṇas appear in Indian history much later than the time of Chandragupta.