Which Greek ambassador visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya?

Correct option is A

The correct answer is: (a) Megasthenes

• Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus I Nicator to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire in India.

• He visited Pataliputra (modern-day Patna) and provided detailed accounts of the Mauryan administration, society, economy, and geography in his famous work “Indica.”

• Although the original text of Indica is lost, its fragments survive through later Greek and Roman writers like Strabo, Arrian, and Diodorus.

• Megasthenes' Indica is one of the earliest foreign accounts of India.

• He described the capital Pataliputra, its fortified walls, streets, and governance.

• His writings highlight the efficiency of the Mauryan bureaucracy, system of espionage, and the absence of slavery (according to his observations).

• He compared the Indian caste system to the Greek class structure, albeit with inaccuracies.

• He also mentioned mythical creatures and animals, showing both factual and fictional elements.

• Chandragupta had previously defeated Seleucus I, after which a peace treaty and alliance were formed.

• Ptolemy: A Greek geographer and astronomer of the 2nd century CE, who mapped India but did not visit Chandragupta's court.

• Strabo: A Roman geographer who quoted Megasthenes, but never visited India.

• Pliny: A Roman author and naturalist; he wrote about India in Natural History but never personally visited it.