The die had been cast.
Now it was not safe for Chanakya to linger on in Patliputra. The kings soldiers were sure to come after him to deal him the punishment for offending the king and the royal court. He disguised himself as a sadhu and left the city. He was able to give a slip to the sentires.
Still in raging mood he walked on and on. It was not clear in his mind where he was going. His thoughts were revolving around only one subject- How to take revenge on ‘Dhananda.’
He was out in wilderness stomping through bushes. Suddenly, his foot landed in a throny stump of grass of poisonous kind. His foot was badly laceratd and it bled. Chanakya stared angrily at the stump. It was as offensive as the ill mannered king, Dhanananda.
The thought filled him with a fresh surge of anger. He bent down and beat the stump with his stick. He didn’t stop until the grass was completely chopped off. Then, Chanakya dug stump with stick and hands and destroyed all the roots.
He looked wilh great satisfaction at the dug up hole and the ruins of the grass. Then, he realised that some one was watching his feverish act with great curiosity. It was a young man of noble upbringing.
As explanation Chanakya pointed at his bleeding foot and spoke, “That throny grass did it. So, I had to destroy it to make sure that it does not hurt any other person. Nippioy the evil in the bud is not enough. Destroy it completely. There lies the wisdom.”
Chanakya’s talk impressed the youngman. He knew that the dark skinned man was a person of great scholarly wisdom as his language was impeccable academic and smooth.
He asked, “Sir, who are you and why do you bleed in this wilderness? I can see that you are a man of great scholarly merit.”
Chanakya sighed, “Youngman! A professor of Taxila University, I came here in search of new opportunities to serve this land. But the course of the sons of Ma Saraswati never runs smooth. As you can see the usually find themselves in wilderness. And who are you, youngman? I can see that you are a noble breed. Why in these wilds do you wander?”
The youngman revealed, “Sir I am not in a happy situation as you seem to have guessed. I am also in the wilderness. I won’t burden you with my tragic story.”
Chanakya insisted, “I want to hear it youngman. May be, I will be able to give you some suggestion. The sensible things to share the burdens. Rest assured that I am not a spy of the king.”
The youngman looked assured. They sat down on a grassy patch of land and the youngman told his story, “Sir, my name is Chandragupta, the grandson of the king Saravarthasiddhi of this very land. He had two queens namely Sunanda and Maura. Sunanda mothered nine sons who were known as ‘Nandas’ after their mother. Maura gave birth to one son who became my size. Gradually enmity grew between Nandas and my father. Nandas decended on the throne. They managed to kill all my brothers as Nandas wanted to eliminate us completely. I managed to escape with my mother. Now we live in a village anonimously. I want to take revenge on Nandas but don’t know how. They are too powerful and rule Patliputra.”
Chanakya smiled and narrated how he was humiliated in Nanda court. He suggested to Chandragupta that as their aim of taking revenge on Nandas and destroying their rule was common the two must work together and join forces. Chanakya convinced the youngman that his wisdom and Chandragupta’s bravery would make a winning combination.
Chanakya and Chandragupta went to the later’s mother. The former wanted to seek permision of the mother to take her son away for education, political teaching and to train him into a warrior. Chanakya promised that with his guidance Chandragupta would be able to regain the throne to settle with Nandas as the had killed her father too. She too realised that Chanakya was a man of very shrewd wisdom and her son had the best chance to succeed with his help. She happily allowed Chandragupta to become the protege to wise Chanakya.
Chanakya to his pleasant surprise learnt that as a boy Chandragupta in games with his friends always played the role of king or a judge. The boys instictively used to give Chanakya the leading role. It proved that Chandragupta was a born leader of men, the very quality Chanakya valued most. The mother of Chandragupta revealed the story of Nandas to Chanakya as she had been told.
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