Chanakya
Syllables: Cha·na·kyaUK/ˈtʃɑːnəkjə/US/ˈt͡ʃɑnəkjə/
Chanakya noun: a shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a Machiavelli.
Noun
Chanakya (plural Chanakyas)
- A shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a Machiavelli.
- But these methods of the Chāṇakyas—the Macchiavellis of India—unfortunately always carry the seeds of destruction in their bosom.1908, The Theosophist, volume 29, Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, →OCLC, page 722
- [T]hose who have shed their wings, who walk by thrusting a walking stick into the mud with each step are regarded as the epitome of wisdom by the Chanakyas of our society …2006, Rabindranath Tagore, edited by Uma Das Gupta, My Life in My Words, New Delhi: Penguin Viking, →ISBN
Chanakya meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Malayalam
Chanakya in Hindi
- shrewd politician
- चाणक्य cāṇakya, कौटिल्य kauṭilya, विष्णुगुप्त viṣṇugupt
Chanakya in Marathi
- shrewd politician
- चाणक्य cāṇakya, कौटिल्य kauṭilya, विष्णुगुप्त viṣṇugupta
Chanakya in Bengali
- shrewd politician
- চাণক্য canokko
Chanakya in Malayalam
- shrewd politician
- ചാണക്യൻ cāṇakyaṉ, കൗടില്യൻ kauṭilyaṉ
More languagesFewer languages
- Chanakya in Odia
- ଚାଣକ୍ୟ cāṇakya, କୌଟିଲ୍ୟ kauṭilya, ବିଷ୍ଣୁଗୁପ୍ତ biṣṇugupta
- Chanakya in Sanskrit
- चाणक्य cāṇakya, कौटिल्य kauṭilya, विष्णुगुप्त viṣṇugupta
- Chanakya in Assamese
- চাণক্য sanoikko
- Chanakya in Nepali
- चाणक्य cāṇakya, कौटिल्य kauṭilya, विष्णुगुप्त viṣṇugupta
Examples of Chanakya in a sentence
- I can see why Jawaharlal Nehru once flirted with the idea of becoming a Chanakya, even as he laughed at himself for such fantasising.2010, M[obashar] J[awed] Akbar, Have Pen, Will Travel: Observations of a Globetrotter, New Delhi: Lotus Collection, →ISBN:
- "So, are we dealing with a Chanakya here?" "Yes, but Chanakya with a difference.2015, Ajit Sherawat, “The Siblings Settle Down”, in Born in the Second Wind, New Delhi: Srishti Publishers & Distributors, →ISBN, page 36:
- Chanakyas of the modern era excel in the art of intrigue, to destroy their business/political nemesis, and abet and celebrate self-goals by their opponents.2016, Kooveli Madom, “Factors Influencing Our Predicament”, in Know Your Enemy Within: Bridging Knowledge and Practice of Management...
Forms of Chanakya
| plural | Chanakyas |
|---|
Origin of Chanakya
Borrowed from Sanskrit चाणक्य (Cāṇakya). Chanakya was an Indian economist, philosopher, political scientist, and royal advisor of the 4th century B.C.E. He is traditionally identified as the person named Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta who authored the Arthashastra, a political treatise. He engineered the collapse of Magadha and put Chandragupta Maurya into power, establishing the Maurya Empire.
Questions about Chanakya
- What does Chanakya mean?
- Chanakya means a shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a Machiavelli.
- What is Chanakya in Hindi?
- Chanakya in Hindi is चाणक्य (cāṇakya), कौटिल्य (kauṭilya), विष्णुगुप्त (viṣṇugupt). See Chanakya meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use Chanakya in a sentence?
- I can see why Jawaharlal Nehru once flirted with the idea of becoming a Chanakya, even as he laughed at himself for such fantasising.
- What part of speech is Chanakya?
- Chanakya is a noun.
- How do you pronounce Chanakya?
- Chanakya is pronounced /ˈtʃɑːnəkjə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of Chanakya?
- The plural of Chanakya is Chanakyas.
Words near Chanakya in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Chanakya (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: Chanakya.ogg.
Cite this entry: “Chanakya.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/chanakya. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.