Chanakya is traditionally identified by two other names. The arthashastra summarizes the political thoughts of kautilya. The arthashastra is the title of a handbook for running an empire, written by kautilya also known as chanakya, c. The arthashastra is an ancient indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military trategy authored by chanakya 350283 bce. Understand finance, understand markets, understand how money works. Oct 14, 2000 the arthashastra is written mainly in prose but also incorporates 380 shlokas. Likely to be the work of several authors over centuries, kautilya, also identified as vishnugupta and chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text. After many revisions and additions, the book took its present form about 1800 years before, in the 2nd century the book is divided into fifteen sections. See actions taken by the people who manage and post content.
Legend has it that he was either a brahmin from kerala or from north india. It is argued that the discussions in the arthashastra generally end by stating the authors opinion with the words. Chanakya has been called the indian machiavelli because his writings have a political pragmatism similar to that seen in machiavellis own work. Kautilyas arthashastra is divided into 15 booksmay be considered as volume with several parts of each book. Either by inducing foreigners to immigrate paradesapravahanena or by causing the thicklypopulated centres of his own kingdom to send forth the excessive population svadesabhishyandavamanena va, the king may construct villages either on new sites or on old ruins. This arthasastra is made as a compendium of almost all the. The book is a masterwork which includes an array of topics like statecraft, politics, strategy, selection and training of employees, leadership skills, legal systems, accounting systems, taxation, fiscal policies, civil rules, internal and foreign trade etc. In the 4th century bce, he wrote the ancient indian political treatise called arthashastra. Arthashastra is one of the oldest books with immense historical significance written by kautilya or arya chanakya as he was popularly known. Kautilya was a minister of chandragupta maurya 321 bc 297 bc, an emperor of ancient india. New modern edition classics on war and politics book 3. The latter was a scholar at takshashila, the teacher and guardian of emperor chandragupta maurya. Book ii,the duties of government superintendents chapter i.
The arthashastra a treatise on statecraft and military strategy. Sir asutosh mookerjee, vicechancellor of calcutta university, personally invited sastry to deliver these discourses. Nov 16, 2017 there is one by penguin, translated by l. However, scholars have questioned this identification. He has also been called kingmaker because, as one book description notes. Book 4 is a treatise on criminal law, where the king or officials acting on his behalf, take the initiative and start the judicial process against acts of crime. The book is divided into 15 books each detailing different situations and different descriptions and solutions. Buy arthashastra book online at low prices in india. It housed thousands of sanskrit palmleaf manuscripts. The main objective of this translation is to make it as simple and modern as possible, avoiding intricate constructions. For direct tax payers, the deadline for making investments in order to get tax benefit for the financial year 201920. Mar 03, 2016 i read arthashastra recently and i felt it was more towards administration,government and military strategies rather than a business. Arthashastra advocates rational ethic to the conduct of the affairs of the state. This book is basically a collection of 380 shlokas which have been written in prose.
Kangle theorized that vishnugupta was the personal name of the author while chanakya ca. He talks about the higher powers of the government more than about running a business. Arthashastra is an excellent treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. Arthashastra is divided into 15 book titles, 150 chapters and 180 topics, as follows. It attempts to fill an existing void created by the absence of an official government document.
Arthashastra of chanakya english translation sanskrit ebooks. On the other hand kautilyas arthashastra overwhelms the reader with tons of details, minutious instructions on each and every little detail of a state. Mar 04, 2018 the arthashastra summary the western world generally assumes that ancient indian literature lacked in strategic thinking. Arthashastrabook ii wikisource, the free online library.
A security strategy for india, therefore, comes as a welcome introduction into the domain of security studies. Harpercollinspublishers india the new arthashastra. The arthashastra is written mainly in prose but also incorporates 380 shlokas. Kautilyas arthashastra the king shall employ his own envoys to carry on works ofthe above description, and guard himself against the mischief offoreign envoys by employing counter envoys, spies, and visibleand invisible watchmen. Which is the best english translation of kautilyas arthashastra. The arthasastra by chanakya is a 2500yearold masterpiece on governance, economics and politics. For direct tax payers, the deadline for making investments in order to get tax benefit for the financial year 201920 has been extended till 30th june 2020. Unfortunately, the greatness of kautilya remains unappreciated for want of a modern translation. The science of material gain singularly important indian manual on the art of politics, attributed to kautilya also known as chanakya, who reportedly was chief minister to the emperor chandragupta c.
Jan 19, 2017 kautilyas arthashastra is divided into 15 booksmay be considered as volume with several parts of each book. Shamasastry, 1915 book i, concerning discipline book ii,the duties of government superintendents. It is argued that the discussions in the arthashastra generally end by stating the author s opinion with the words. I concerning discipline ii the duties of government superintendents iii concerning law iv the removal of thorns v the conduct of courtiers vi the source of sovereign. An extraordinary detailed manual on statecraft and the science of living by one of classical indias greatest minds. Kautilyas arthashastra 3 book i, concerning discipline chapter i. This edition is dated to approximately 250 ce, many centuries after the time of kautilya, but the main ideas in this book are largely his. Chanakya arthashastra pdf in hindi, english, sanskrit all.
The text of this great book includes 15 books, each addressing one topic pertaining to the state and its economy. Which is the best english translation of kautilyas. The arthashastra is an ancient indian work on statecraft,economic policy and. The arthashastra is an ancient indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and. All the major powers of the world publish documents that spell out their national interests, identify their threats political. Chanakya, also known as kautilya or vishnugupta, was an adviser and a prime minister to the first maurya emperor chandragupta, and architect of his rise to power. The arthashastra is the title of a handbook for running an empire, written. As librarian, shamasastry examined these fragile manuscripts daily to determine and catalogue their contents in 1905, shamasastry discovered the arthashastra among a heap of manuscripts. Book 3 of the arthashastra, states trautmann, is dedicated to civil law, including sections relating to economic relations of employer and employee, partnerships, sellers and buyers.
Kautilyas arthashastra telugu edition kautilya, also known as chanakya, is indias most illustrious political economist of all time. Pronunciation of arthashastra with 2 audio pronunciations, 1 meaning, 2 translations, 1 sentence and more for arthashastra. This book is one of the most effective books ever written on the art of statecraft and the science of everyday living. Kautilyas arthashastra is an excellent treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. It is divided into 15 different sections for the better understanding of the readers. For a country that has fought five wars and is hemmed in by nucleararmed states, india surprisingly does not have a formally declared national security strategy. How kautilyas arthashastra shaped the telling of ancient. Thus ends chapter xvi, the mission of envoys in book i,concerning discipline of the arthasastra of. The arthashastra is so much a part of modern indian vocabulary on politics, economics and society that it is hard to imagine that this was a book unknown to the englishspeaking world until an old. Shamasastry, 1915 book i, concerning discipline book ii,the duties of government superintendents book iii, concerning law book iv, the removal of thorns book v, the conduct of courtiers book vi. The book is a masterpiece which covers a wide range of topics like statecraft, politics, strategy, selection and training of employees, leadership skills, legal systems, accounting systems, taxation, fiscal policies, civil rules, internal and foreign trade etc. However, if we carefully examine some of the literature after the second urbanisation emergence of the janapads of the subcontinent we find a lot of material which tells us that ancient indian writers were not devoid of the capability of. Jan 06, 2012 kautilyas arthashastra the king shall employ his own envoys to carry on works ofthe above description, and guard himself against the mischief offoreign envoys by employing counter envoys, spies, and visibleand invisible watchmen.
Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. This book is a compilation of ten lectures delivered in calcutta university. Hence by overthrowing the aggregate of the six enemies lust, anger, greed, vanity, haughtiness, and overjoy, he shall restrain the organs of sense. Kautilyas arthashastra telugu edition books for you. Chanakya arthashastra pdf in hindi, english, sanskrit. While it is true that is offers views on how a kingruler shall act in order to overcome obstables it is just so much more. That seems to be a very sensibly translated version. Dilip yes book 6 of arthashastra deals with that topic. In this work, the ancient indian administrative systems and various levels of administrative setup are critically examined, on the basis of vedas. Oct 14, 2000 the book also speaks a great deal about economics.
After many revisions and additions, the book took its present form about 1800 years before, in the 2nd century. Answer this multiple choice objective question and get explanation and result. The arthashastra a treatise on statecraft and military. Arthashastrabook i wikisource, the free online library. The arthashastra summary the western world generally assumes that ancient indian literature lacked in strategic thinking. Arthashastra is a pioneering work on statecraft in all its aspects, written at least one thousand five hundred years ago. This arthasastra is made as a compendium of almost all the arthasastras, which, in view of acquisition and maintenance of the earth, have been composed by ancient teachers. The arthashastra, published in 2000 by penguin classics is the english edition of the classic treatise on classical economics and political science by the ancient indian philosopher kautilya. An extraordinary detailed manual on statecraft and the science of living by one of classical indias greatest minds, kautilya, also known as chanakya and. The arthashastra is an ancient indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in sanskrit. However, if we carefully examine some of the literature after the second urbanisation emergence of the janapads of the subcontinent we find a lot of material which tells us that ancient indian writers were not devoid of the capability of writing treatises on.
The oriental research institute was established as the mysore oriental library in 1891. The arthashastra of kautilya is one of the most impressive books that i have read in the recent years. I read arthashastra recently and i felt it was more towards administration,government and military strategies rather than a business. Machiavellis book focusses to please a king with a few kind words and offers only a handful of practical advises most of which from todays perspective are barely beyond the ordinary. The author of the book arthashastra is answers with. This has been variously translated as science of politics to help a king in the. Arthashastra simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Here are the pdfs of the book in english, hindi and sanskrit.
The arthashastra by kautilya overdrive rakuten overdrive. Chanakya, also known as kautilya or vishnugupta, was an adviser and a prime minister to the first maurya emperor chandragupta, and architect of. In view of the covid19 pandemic, government of india has announced a bouquet of relief measures for both corporates and individuals. Books by kautilya author of the arthashastra goodreads. The book was an ancient indian treatise on economic policy, statecraft and politics. This book was lost for many centuries until a copy of it, written on palm leaves, was rediscovered in india in 1904 ce. Arthashastra backs rational ethic to the conduct of the affairs of the state. May 16, 20 chanakya was chief advisor to both chandragupta and his son bindusara.
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