Chandragupta Maurya is an Indian Hindi-language historical drama television series that premiered in 2018. The show dramatises the life of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire in ancient India, and his relationship with his mentor and political strategist Chanakya. The series aired on Sony Entertainment Television and was produced by Swastik Productions, the banner known for several mythological and historical dramas on Indian television.
| Title | Chandragupta Maurya |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Language | Hindi |
| Year of premiere | 2018 |
| Original network | Sony Entertainment Television |
| Production house | Swastik Productions |
| Country of origin | India |
| Subject | Life of Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya |
The series belongs to a long tradition of Indian television adaptations dealing with the rise of the Maurya dynasty in the 4th century BCE. Earlier televised treatments of the same subject, such as the 1991 Doordarshan serial Chanakya and the 2011 Imagine TV serial Chandragupta Maurya, set a precedent for retelling the life of the emperor and his guru. The 2018 production was conceived as a fresh dramatisation aimed at contemporary audiences, with greater emphasis on production scale, costuming and battlefield set-pieces.
The narrative follows the early life of Chandragupta, his exile, and his political tutelage under Chanakya, the Brahmin scholar of Takshashila. It traces the duo's struggle against the Nanda dynasty ruling at Pataliputra, the recruitment and training of an army, and the eventual establishment of the Maurya Empire. The show also depicts the aftermath of Alexander's incursion into the north-western Indian subcontinent and its political consequences.
Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary's Swastik Productions, the series was mounted with elaborate sets, period costumes and large-scale action sequences typical of the banner's historical and mythological output. It featured an ensemble cast portraying historical figures such as Chandragupta, Chanakya, Dhana Nanda, and members of the Nanda court.
The series was telecast on Sony Entertainment Television in India and was also made available on the network's digital streaming platform, SonyLIV, for on-demand viewing. It was scheduled in a primetime weekday slot and dubbed for various regional audiences during its broadcast run.
The 2018 series is part of a broader trend in Indian television of producing high-budget historical dramas centred on figures from ancient and medieval Indian history. By focusing on the Mauryan period, the show contributed to popular awareness of the political and intellectual environment that produced the Arthashastra and unified large parts of the Indian subcontinent under a single polity for the first time.