Chandragupta has weird dreams and talks about them with Durdhara. Chandragupta laughs them off at first, but Durdhara insists he speaks with her Jain teacher, Bhadrabahu. Cāṇakya forbids it, says they don’t mean anything.
Durdhara collapses in the middle of her meal in the room with other women. All the women knew the protocol in such a situation, Thera calls the doctor and surgeon and asked to alert the king and prime minister. Chanakya puts the palace on highest level emergency lockdown, especially the royal kitchen. and says if surgeon absent bring surgical instrument, optionally anesthesia, urgent. Surgeon is unconscious, Chanakya tells everyone to move as far as possible, asks Thera and Pavitra to be the midwives and to lay a blanket down, restrain her and keep her clean (be quiet) if her mouth foams. Stop shaking the body. Body? Operates on her himself and removes the child, gives it to Pavitra to clean. Bring the from the breastfeeding women’s chamber the cleanest-looking woman who doesn’t have a cold, guarded by the imperial guard. Sanitize a bedroom to quarantine the child and the breastfeeding mother.
Rest of the imperial guard, accompany myself and the emperor to the kitchen. The women’s chamber must remain sealed and disarm them. … Chanakya interrogates etc.
Rumors that Chanakya was responsible for Durdhara’s death. Image of him going around with her blood on his hands didn’t help. Also got all other influences out of the way? Not looking good for Chanakya.
Chanakya tells Chandragupta how he’ll squash the rumours: he knows that the minister for chariots is a bad guy, and he’s kept him around for situations like this, since chariots matter very little anyway. He’ll get the minister for chariots drunk with a confidante, that confidante will then spread rumours blablabla
The conspiracy theory about me killing Durdhara will then be seen with disgust … Professor, are you sane? Chanakya raised an eyebrow. Forgive me, Professor Chanakya, but I must ask: did you kill my wife? Chanakya stayed silent for a long time. “It pains me, Chandragupta, that you believe me to be so stupid or amoral that the first solution I would think of is murder. If I wished to eliminate Durdhara’s influence on you, I would have attempted the following tactics: I would have prescribed the cooks to prepare her food in excessive oil and ghee to tarnish her beauty and thereby her influence on you. I would have sent dancers to seduce Bhadrabahu in order to ruin his reputation, or spread rumours to such effect. I would have held a conference with myself, you and Durdhara and spun poetic essays to reach a resolution, or such a conference between myself, Durdhara and Bhadrabahu. I would have sent you on your conquests of Vidisha and Kalinga to firstly remove her direct influence on you and to directly control the administration at Pataliputra for that period, and two to weaken your relationship with her, or for the cause that you may find a new wife in those countries. I would not kill her, and especially not when she is pregnant with your only heir.” … “You are upset that in a time for mourning, I am speaking on matters of such practical relevance rather than attempting to say something pleasing to you. … it is said that I am cunning, that I manipulate people. But I don’t manipulate people any more than other people do. Merely, I recognize what manipulation is, I recognize most of human behaviour for what it is: an exercise in signalling and manipulation. I am successful, because with this clarity of thought, about what manipulation is, about what my goals are, I am able to use this manipulation to effectively achieve those goals. I do not wish to manipulate you, that is why I don’t behave as per prescribed social rituals around you.” Chandragupta: “Could you, nonetheless, say something that would console me?” “Chandragupta … I have made no secret out of my dislike for Durdhara’s naivety and such. But … ” And so for the first time, Chanakya lied to Chandragupta
