overthrowing the last member of the
Nandadynasty and occupying the capi-
tal in Pataliputra, identified with the
modern city of Patna in the state of
Bihar. From there he took control of the
GangesRiver basin, moved south into
the region of the Narmada River, and
then turned his attention to northwest-
ern India, taking advantage of the power
vacuum left by the recent incursion of
Alexander the Great. In 303 B.C.E.he
defeated Alexander’s general Seleucus
Nicator in battle, then agreed to a treaty
in which he received large parts of mod-
ern Afghanistan. Despite the battle, rela-
tions seem to have been friendly
between the two, for Seleucus Nicator
sent an ambassador to Pataliputra,
Megasthenes, who lived there for many
years. Chandragupta was reportedly
advised by a brilliant brahminminister,
variously called Kautilyaor Chanakya,
who is considered the author of the
Arthashastra. According to legend,
Chandragupta renounced his throne to
become a Jain monk and eventually died
through ritual starvation.
Chandramati
In Hindu mythology, the long-suffering
wife of King Harishchandra. Harish-
chandra is famous for his truthfulness
and integrity; in modern Hindu culture
he is also the paradigm for a person
who patiently endures undeserved suf-
fering. Harishchandra’s suffering grows
out of the competition between the
sages Vasishthaand Vishvamitra. As his
family priest, Vasishtha praises Harish-
chandra’s virtue. Vishvamitra is deter-
mined to prove Vasishtha wrong and
subjects Harishchandra to a series of
trials in which he loses his kingdom, his
possessions, and has to sell himself and
his family into slavery. Through all of
the trials he and Chandramati have to
suffer, Harishchandra retains his integrity.
After enduring many hardships, includ-
ing the death of their only son, they are
eventually restored to their original
happy state, including the resuscitation
of their son.
Chandrayana
(“moon’s path”) Penitential rite
(prayashchitta) lasting for one lunar
monthin which the penitent’s food con-
sumption mirrors the monthly course of
the moon. A person observing this rite
begins by eatingfourteen mouthfuls of
food on the first day of the waning
moon, then one less mouthful on each
successive day until the new moonday,
when a complete fast (upavasa) is
observed. On each successive day dur-
ing the waxing moon, the penitent eats
one more mouthful, finishing at fifteen
on the day of the full moon. This is a
fairly severe penance, given the scant
amount of food allowed in the middle of
the month. In the dharma literature,
this penance was prescribed as an
atonement for certain sorts of sexual
misconduct: sexual intercourse with a
woman belonging to the same gotra
(mythic lineage), marrying a woman
belonging to one’s maternal grandfa-
ther’s gotra, or marrying the daughterof
one’s maternal uncle or paternal aunt.Charaka
(1st–2nd c. C.E.?) The attributed author
of the Charaka Samhita, which along
with the slightly later Sushruta
Samhita, is one of the two major
sources for ayurveda, a traditional
school of Indian medicine. According to
tradition, Charaka was the physician at
the royal court in the city of Takshashila,
in modern Pakistan.Charaka Samhita
Along with the later Sushruta Samhita,
one of the two major sources for the tra-
ditional Indian medical school known as
ayurveda. Although its authorship is
attributed to Charaka, it is more likely a
compendium from earlier sources,
given its reference to several different
medical systems and approaches. The
underlying medical framework of
ayurveda is the theory of the three bodily
humors—vata(wind), pitta(bile), and
kapha(phlegm). Although everyone hasChandramati