The
Arthashastra (
IAST:
Arthaśāstra) is an ancient Indian
treatise on
statecraft,
economic policy and
military strategy which identifies its author by the names Kautilya and , who are traditionally identified with
(c. 350–-283 BC), who was a professor at
Taxila University and later the prime minister of the
Maurya Empire.
Date and authorship
The original identification of and Vishnugupta with the
Mauryan minister
Nickasaur would date the
Arthaśāstra to the 4th century BC.
[Mabbett 1964] However, certain affinities with
smrtis and references that would be anachronistic for the 4th century BC suggest assigning the
Arthaśāstra to the 2nd through 4th centuries CE.
Thomas R. Trautmann and I.W. Mabbett concur that the
Arthaśāstra is a composition from no earlier than the 2nd century AD, but based on earlier material. K.C. Ojha puts forward the view that the traditional identification of with was caused by a confusion of editor and originator and suggests that is in fact a redactor of the original work of .
Thomas Burrow goes even further and says that are actually two different people. The end of this treatise Arthaśāstra, however, says : "This Sástra has been made by him who from intolerance (of misrule) quickly rescued the scriptures and the science of weapons and the earth which had passed to the Nanda king."
Translation of the title
Different scholars have translated the word "arthaśāstra" in different ways.
- R.P. Kangle – "science of politics," a treatise to help a king in "the acquisition and protection of the earth."
- G.P. Singh – "science of polity"
- Roger Boesche – "science of political economy"
Roger Boesche describes the
Arthaśāstra as "a book of political realism, a book analysing how the political world does work and not very often stating how it ought to work, a book that frequently discloses to a king what calculating and sometimes brutal measures he must carry out to preserve the state and the common good."
Centrally,
Arthaśāstra argues for an
autocracy managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the
ethics of
economics and the duties and obligations of a king. The scope of
Arthaśāstra is, however, far wider than statecraft, and it offers an outline of the entire legal and
bureaucratic framework for administering a kingdom, with a wealth of descriptive cultural detail on topics such as mineralogy, mining and metals, agriculture, animal husbandry, medicine and the use of wildlife. The
Arthaśāstra also focuses on issues of
welfare (for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine) and the collective ethics that hold a society together.
Books of Arthashastra
Arthashastra is divided into 15 books:
- II The Duties of Government Superintendents
- V The Conduct of Courtiers
- VI The Source of Sovereign States
- VII The End of the Six-Fold Policy
- VIII Concerning Vices and Calamities
- IX The Work of an Invader
- XI The Conduct of Corporations
- XII Concerning a Powerful Enemy
- XIII Strategic Means to Capture a Fortress
- XV The Plan of a Treatise
The Rajarshi
Arthashastra deals in detail with the qualities and disciplines required for a
Rajarshi - a wise and virtuous king.
"In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare his welfare. He shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects" - Kautilya.
According to Kautilya, a Rajarshi is one who:
- Has self-control, having conquered the inimical temptations of the senses;
- Cultivates the intellect by association with elders;
- Keeps his eyes open through spies;
- Is ever active in promoting the security & welfare of the people;
- Ensures the observance (by the people) of their dharma by authority & example;
- Improves his own discipline by (continuing his) learning in all branches of knowledge; and
- Endears himself to his people by enriching them & doing good to them.
Such a disciplined king should: -
- Keep away from another's wife;
- Not covet another's property;
- Practice ahinsa (non-violence towards all living things);
- Avoid day dreaming, capriciousness, falsehood & extravagance; and
- Avoid association with harmful persons and indulging in (harmful) activities.
Kautilya says that artha (Sound Economies) is the most important;
dharma &
kama are both dependent on it. A Rajarishi shall always respect those councillors and purohitas who warn him of the dangers of transgressing the limits of good conduct, reminding him sharply (as with a goad) of the times prescribed for various duties and caution him even when he errs in private.
Duties of the King
If the king is energetic, his subjects will be equally energetic. If he is slack (and lazy in performing his duties), the subjects will also be lax and thereby eat into his wealth. Besides, a lazy king will easily fall into the hands of enemies. Hence the maharaj should himself always be energetic. He shall divide the day and the night, each into eight periods of one and half hours, and perform his duties as follows:
The day shall end with evening prayers.
Or some other time table which suits the king.
Hence the king shall be ever active in the management of the economy. The root of wealth is (economic) activity and lack of it (brings) material distress. In the absence of (fruitful economic) activity, both current prosperity and future growth will be destroyed. A king can achieve the desired objectives & abundance of riches by undertaking (productive) economic activity.
An ideal king is one who has the highest qualities of leadership, intellect, energy & personal attributes.
The qualities of
leadership (which attracts followers) are: birth in a noble family, good fortune, intellect & prowess, association with elders, being righteous, truthful, resolute, enthusiastic & disciplined, not breaking his promises, showing gratitude (to those who help him), having lofty aims, not being dilatory, being stronger than neighbouring kings & having ministers of high quality.
The qualities of
intellect are: desire to learn, listening (to others), grasping, retaining, understanding thoroughly and reflecting on knowledge, rejecting false views and adhering to the true ones.
An energetic king is one who is valorous, determined, quick, and dexterous.
As regards personal attributes, an ideal king should be eloquent, bold and endowed with sharp intellect, a strong memory and a keen mind. He should be amenable to guidance. He should be well trained in all the arts and be able to lead the army. He should be just in rewarding and punishing. He should have the foresight to avail himself of the opportunities (by choosing) the right time, place and type of action. He should know how to govern in normal times and in times of crisis. He should know when to fight and when to make peace, when to lie in wait, when to observe treaties and when to strike at an enemy's weakness. He should preserve his dignity at all times and not laugh in an undignified manner. He should be sweet in speech, look straight at people and avoid frowning. He should eschew passion, anger, greed, obstinacy, fickleness and backbiting. He should conduct himself in accordance with advice of elders.
Internal Strife
Kautilya says - Quarrels among people can be resolved by winning over the leaders or by removing the cause of the quarrel - people fighting among themselves help the king by their mutual rivalry. Conflicts (for power) within the royal family, on the other hand, bring about harassment and destruction to the people and double the exertion that is required to end such conflicts.
Hence internal strife in the royal family for power is more damaging than quarrels among their subjects. The king must be well versed in
discretion and shrewd in judgement.
Comments on Vices
Vices are corruptions due to ignorance and indiscipline; an unlearned man does not perceive the injurious consequences of his vices. He summarizes: subject to the qualification that
gambling is most dangerous in cases where power is shared, the vice with the most serious consequence is
addiction to drink, followed by, lusting after women, gambling, and lastly hunting.
Training of a future King
Importance of self-disciplineDiscipline is of two kinds - inborn and acquired. (There must be an innate capacity for self discipline for the reasons given below). Instruction & training can promote discipline only in a person capable of benefiting from them, people incapable of (natural) self-discipline do not benefit. Learning imparts discipline only to those who have the following mental facilities - obedience to a teacher, desire and ability to learn, capacity to retain what is learnt, understanding what is learnt, reflecting on it and (finally) ability to make inferences by deliberating on the knowledge acquired. Those who are devoid of such mental faculties are not benefited (by any amount of training) One who will be a king should acquire discipline and follow it strictly in life by learning the sciences from authoritative teachers.
The training of a Prince
With improving his self-discipline, he should always associate with learned elders, for in them alone has discipline its firm roots. For a trained intellect ensues yoga (successful application), from yoga comes self-possession. This is what is meant by efficiency in acquiring knowledge. Only a king, who is wise, disciplined, devoted to a just governing of the subjects & conscious of the welfare of all beings, will enjoy the earth unopposed.
Seven ways to greet a neighbor
Kautilya recommended seven strategies in dealing with neighboring powers to
Chandragupta Maurya.
The strategies are:
- Sanman - Appeasement, non-aggression pact
- Danda - Strength, punishment
- Bheda - Divide, split, separating opposition
- Upeksha - Ignoring the enemy
- Indrajala - Faking military strength
Maintenance of law and order
A conducive atmosphere is necessary for the state's economy to thrive. This requires that a state's law and order be maintained. Arthashastra specifies fines and punishments to support strict enforcement of laws. The science of law enforcement is also called
Dandaniti.
Wildlife and forests
The Mauryas firstly looked at forests as a resource. For them, the most important forest product was the elephant. Military might in those times depended not only upon horses and men but also battle-elephants; these played a role in the defeat of
Seleucus,
Alexander's governor of the
Punjab. The Mauryas sought to preserve supplies of elephants since it was more cost and time-effective to catch, tame and train wild elephants than raise them.
Kautilya's
Arthashastra unambiguously specifies the responsibilities of officials such as the
Protector of the Elephant Forests:
[Rangarajan, M. (2001) India's Wildlife History, pp 7.]The
Arthashastra also reveals that the Mauryas designated specific forests to protect supplies of timber, as well as lions and tigers, for skins. Elsewhere the
Protector of Animals also worked to eliminate thieves, tigers and other predators to render the woods safe for grazing cattle.
Economic Ideas
The exhaustive account of the economic ideas embedded in the
Arthasastra has been given by
Ratan Lal Basu and by many renowned
Arthasastra-experts in an Edited Volume by Sen & Basu This book contains papers presented by authors from all over the world in the International Conference held in 1902 at the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore,
India to celebrate the Centenary of discovery of the manuscript of the
Arthasastra by Shamsastry.
