Chandragupta Maurya would always eat only what his guru Chanakya provided. One day, out of love, he gave this food to his favourite queen who died instantly. Chanakya rushed to the spot and explained to the king that his food contained poison given in small doses over years to protect him from special assassins called Vishkanya, women whose saliva contained venom. The queen at the time was pregnant. To save the child, Chanakya cut open her abdomen and pulled out the child. The child saved was named Bindusara. The mother died. When Bindusara grew up, his friends told him that Chanakya was responsible for his  mother’s death. Bindusara refused to bow to Chanakya, after he became king. Realising he had lost the trust of the king, Chanakya decided to starve himself to death. The same way Chandragupta Maurya had starved himself to death. It is argued that this act of starving oneself to death, after completing worldly duties, was perhaps the result of the influence of the Jain monastic order on the Mauryan royal family.

The Jain monks believed outgrowing hunger enabled one to destroy all karmic burdens.  Jain ascetics trained people to give up attachments to worldly life to the extent that they could give up food. This resulted in them being able to leave their mortal bodies voluntarily.