Arthashastra: Insights on Statecraft and Reflections of Ancient Indian Society
artThe Arthashastra
Insights on Statecraft and Reflections of Ancient Indian Society
By Sayem Islam
This paper investigates the Arthashastra and its implications for ancient Indian
society, as well as the rationale behind the principles underlying the text.1 It is necessary to bear in mind that the Arthashastra, “the science of wealth and warfare,”2 was just discovered and translated in the past century in Mysore by R. Shamasastry, and that until then, there was no knowledge of any such compilation, despite scant allusions made to an “Arthashastra,” and its alternative names “Nitisastra” and “Dandaniti,” in the Mahabharata.3 Thomas Trautmann dates the text to c.150 A.D. and, through rigorous statistical analysis, he concludes that the Arthashastra had several authors spanning a wide range of dates,4 which adds to the puzzle of how historically obscure the text has been for over the past two millennia. Nevertheless, its secretive nature adds credence to its function as a handbook on efficient statecraft for kings and high-level ministers. This
1
This paper is based on political economist L.N. Rangarajan’s translation of the Arthashastra: L.N. Rangarajan, Kautilya: The Arthashastra (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 1992). All of the quotations taken directly from the Arthashastra text in this paper will include the page number in Rangarajan’s work, followed by the relevant verse number in R. P. Kangle, The Kautiliya Arthasastra, Part II (Bombay University Press, 1963) in order to facilitate the reader. For example, (1.1.1) would indicate Book 1, Chapter 1, verse number 1 in Kangle’s translation. Furthermore, in regard to Rangarajan’s work, square brackets [ ] will be enclosed around his additions and comments within the Arthashastra text. 2 Rangarajan, Kautilya: The Arthashastra, 100; (15.1.2). 3 R. P. Kangle, The Kautiliya Arthasastra, Part III: A Study, (Bombay University Press, 1965), 3. 4 Thomas R. Trautmann, Kautilya and the Arthasastra: A
Insights on Statecraft and Reflections of Ancient Indian Society
By Sayem Islam
This paper investigates the Arthashastra and its implications for ancient Indian
society, as well as the rationale behind the principles underlying the text.1 It is necessary to bear in mind that the Arthashastra, “the science of wealth and warfare,”2 was just discovered and translated in the past century in Mysore by R. Shamasastry, and that until then, there was no knowledge of any such compilation, despite scant allusions made to an “Arthashastra,” and its alternative names “Nitisastra” and “Dandaniti,” in the Mahabharata.3 Thomas Trautmann dates the text to c.150 A.D. and, through rigorous statistical analysis, he concludes that the Arthashastra had several authors spanning a wide range of dates,4 which adds to the puzzle of how historically obscure the text has been for over the past two millennia. Nevertheless, its secretive nature adds credence to its function as a handbook on efficient statecraft for kings and high-level ministers. This
1
This paper is based on political economist L.N. Rangarajan’s translation of the Arthashastra: L.N. Rangarajan, Kautilya: The Arthashastra (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 1992). All of the quotations taken directly from the Arthashastra text in this paper will include the page number in Rangarajan’s work, followed by the relevant verse number in R. P. Kangle, The Kautiliya Arthasastra, Part II (Bombay University Press, 1963) in order to facilitate the reader. For example, (1.1.1) would indicate Book 1, Chapter 1, verse number 1 in Kangle’s translation. Furthermore, in regard to Rangarajan’s work, square brackets [ ] will be enclosed around his additions and comments within the Arthashastra text. 2 Rangarajan, Kautilya: The Arthashastra, 100; (15.1.2). 3 R. P. Kangle, The Kautiliya Arthasastra, Part III: A Study, (Bombay University Press, 1965), 3. 4 Thomas R. Trautmann, Kautilya and the Arthasastra: A