War Is A Mind Game
You may definitely know Alexander the Great. He conquered a vast empire and was called the undisputed lord of Asia. But he returned defeated from our Bharat. Did you know that? He was defeated by the great teacher Chanakya, who knew the consequences if India were to be conquered by him.
The Kingdom of Magadh was on the verge of destruction as its king neglected his duties and enjoyed having fun. Chanak, who was Chanakya’s father, was one of the king’s advisors and tried to convince the king to get back to his duties. But the king neglected all, so Chanak decided to get the king dethroned by holding protests among the Magadh people. But this was in vain as the king ordered his men to get rid of Chanak. After which, no more protests continued as the king ordered that if anyone went against him, they would suffer as Chanak.
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After Chanak’s demise, Chanakya, who lived in Patliputra, was sent to Takshila University to study. Chanakya was called back by his father’s friend to save Magadh from Alexander, who had defeated kings such as Ambi and Porus while conquering Bharat. Chanakya was flustered with anger in his eyes for Dhana Nanda, King of Magadh, but he focused on the more important aspect of saving Magadh first from Alexander. He tried to convince Dhana to let the small kingdom’s army ally with theirs and fight as a joint force with the external enemy. But the king ignored his advice and insulted him instead. That day, Chanakya decided he would surely dethrone Dhana one day.
Chanakya made an army of his students, led by one of his students named Chandragupta Maurya. Chanakya sent his male spies to keep an eye on Alexander’s troops and report to him. The spies did not report anything useful that could be used as a weakness. Then Chanakya sent his female spies, who reported something unusual. They reported that troops seem to be missing their families as they saw these women with gloom instead of lust or desire as they usually do. Chanakya pointed out this weakness and started sending more female spies to shake Alexander’s troops’ morale. And it did work out when Alexander approached Magadh for a war. His army was drained emotionally and could not fight. They got defeated. War is a mind game and can be won even if the other side is more powerful with the right strategy.
Thank you for reading this. This is the story I read in the book Chanaya and the art of war by Radhakrishnan Pillai. I will catch up with some more thoughts soon. Till then stay tuned Happy Reading!
