The series is divided into three acts :- Within this framework, Dwivedi portrays the politics that governed relations between kings and officials of that time.

After a great deal of thinking I discovered that politics is the crux of all sciences, just as Chanakya said.... Today the question of national consciousness is agitating the minds of our countrymen.

But Dwivedi abandoned the plan and decided to make it into a television series because it was not possible to meet "telecast deadlines" if it had been shot as a film.

[3] I want to prove that it is not only persons in high places who have changed the course of history but seemingly ne'er do wells like Chanakya from whom there had been no expectations whatever.

Dwivedi decided to direct the series after continued differences of opinion with the original director, Rajiv Singh, who later filed a case against the producers.

[7] The production team included well-known technicians such as art director Nitish Roy and costume designer Salim Arif who had previously been involved with Shyam Benegal's Bharat Ek Khoj.

The university librarian even had a separate desk installed for him in the arts and culture section after noting his "constant presence at the library, even during lunch hour, for weeks at an end.

[17] Close attention was paid to detail when it came to costumes and weaponry, so much so that a piece of armor worn by Chandragupta was procured for over INR 8,000.

"[8][18] Terracotta sculptures from the 1st century CE, the museums at Sarnath, Patna and Lucknow, and the caves at the Borivali National Park were other sources of inspiration.

Pramod Moutho, Suraj Chaddha, Ragini Shah, Ajay Dubey, Arun Bali, Vipin Sharma and Himanshu Gokani were among the first to be selected.

"[19] Chanakya and his coterie The Greeks Magadha Pre-self-exile period Gandhara / Takshashila / Taxila Pauravrashtra Post-self-exile period The series was re-telecast on Doordarshan's DD National TV channel during the lockdown imposed by the government of India to prevent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic from first week of April 2020[20][21] The series gathered much praise for its authenticity, particularly the way it used costumes and similar artistic devices.

[23] While thinking about opening up the organization's second channel, DD Metro, to private producers in lieu of license fees, it took the Chanakya experience into consideration with a Doordarshan official commenting that "quality programmes can attract enough advertising support to sustain even small producers who could be bidding for time slots on the metro channel."