Chanakya (also known as Kautilya) served as the Prime Minister (Chief Minister) to Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire (322-298 BCE). Chanakya authored the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft, economics, and military strategy. Chandragupta II and Ashoka were later Mauryan rulers, while Bimbisara belonged to an earlier period (Haryanka dynasty).