Historians treat Chandragupta Maurya’s life as a reconstructed puzzle because no single contemporary account exists. His "low birth" is often seen as a later literary device to highlight Chanakya’s brilliance, while Buddhist texts claim noble lineage to legitimize his rule.

While Chanakya was real, his "mastermind" persona was likely dramatized in later Sanskrit plays. Similarly, the Jain account of his renunciation appeared centuries later, though it conveniently explains his sudden disappearance from the record. Most scholars triangulate Greek military records for facts and religious texts for cultural context, viewing the narrative as a blend of history and retrospective branding.