Standard Lemma guide

Chanakya

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtʃɑːnəkjə/
  • General-American: chäʹnəkyə
  • General-American: /ˈt͡ʃɑnəkjə/
  • Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South-Asia: /t͡ʃɑː.ɳək.jə/
  • Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South-Asia: [t͡ʃäː.ɳɐk.jə]
  • Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South-Asia: [t͡ʃäː.ɳɐk.jɐ]
  • Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South-Asia: /t͡ɕɑː.ɳək.jə/
  • Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South-Asia: [t͡ɕɑː.ɳɐk.jɐ]
  • India: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a Machiavelli.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: India, Nepal, South-Asia

Qualifier: Indian politics

Topics: government, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Assamese: চাণক্য (sanoikko) — shrewd politician
  • Bengali: চাণক্য (canokko) — shrewd politician
  • Hindi: चाणक्य (cāṇakya) — shrewd politician
  • Hindi: कौटिल्य (kauṭilya) — shrewd politician
  • Hindi: विष्णुगुप्त (viṣṇugupt) — shrewd politician
  • Malayalam: ചാണക്യൻ (cāṇakyaṉ) — shrewd politician
  • Malayalam: കൗടില്യൻ (kauṭilyaṉ) — shrewd politician
  • Marathi: चाणक्य (cāṇakya) — shrewd politician
  • Marathi: कौटिल्य (kauṭilya) — shrewd politician
  • Marathi: विष्णुगुप्त (viṣṇugupta) — shrewd politician
  • Nepali: चाणक्य (cāṇakya) — shrewd politician
  • Nepali: कौटिल्य (kauṭilya) — shrewd politician
  • Nepali: विष्णुगुप्त (viṣṇugupta) — shrewd politician
  • Odia: ଚାଣକ୍ୟ (cāṇakya) — shrewd politician
  • Odia: କୌଟିଲ୍ୟ (kauṭilya) — shrewd politician
  • Odia: ବିଷ୍ଣୁଗୁପ୍ତ (biṣṇugupta) — shrewd politician
  • Prakrit: 𑀘𑀸𑀡𑀓𑁆𑀓 (cāṇakka) — shrewd politician
  • Sanskrit: चाणक्य (cāṇakya) — shrewd politician
  • Sanskrit: कौटिल्य (kauṭilya) — shrewd politician
  • Sanskrit: विष्णुगुप्त (viṣṇugupta) — shrewd politician