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Arthashastra (also spelt Arthasastra) is an ancient Indian treatise on economics and politics written sometime between the 4th century BCE and 150 CE by the 'kingmaker' Chanakya (also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta) during the early years of the Mauryan Empire.
Themes
Arthashastra is sometimes translated simply as Economics. The literal Sanskrit may also be interpreted as Science of Wealth, Science of Material Gain, Science of Polity (i.e. of civil government or state) or Handbook of Profit.
It explores the demands of statecraft in the prosperous but unsettled Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta Maurya. As such, it can be considered a precursor to Machiavelli's The Prince. Centrally, Arthashastra argues for a benevolent autocracy managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of a king. Many of the topics discussed are still prevalent in political philosophy and economics.
The scope of Arthashastra 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 and medicine. Although he wrote in a period of absolute rule by emperors, Chanakya also focuses on issues of welfare (for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine) and the collective ethics that hold a society together.
The authorship of Arthashastra has been disputed. While there is no direct evidence against Chanakya being the sole author, some analysts have argued that internal stylistic variations suggest collective authorship.
Books of Arthashashtra
Arthashastra is divided into 15 books:
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 States
VII The End of the Six-Fold Policy
VIII Concerning Vices and Calamities
IX The Work of an Invader
X Relating to War
XI The Conduct of Corporations
XII Concerning a Powerful Enemy
XIII Strategic Means to Capture a Fortress
XIV Secret Means
XV The Plan of a Treatise
The Rajarishi
Arthashastra deals in detail with the qualities and disciplines required for a Rajarishi - 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 Rajarishi 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 ahimsa (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 & karma 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, 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: -DAY
| First 1½ hours after sunrise | Receive reports on defence, revenue, expenditure | ||
| Second 1½ hours after sunrise | Public audiences, to hear petitions of city & country people | ||
| Third 1½ hours after sunrise | (Personal - bath, meals, study) | -½ hour before noon | Receive revenues, tributes, appoint ministers and other high officials & allot tasks to them |
| First 1½ hours after noon | Write letters & dispatches, confer with councillors, receive secret information from spies | ||
| Second 1½ hours after noon | (Personal - recreation, time for contemplation) | ||
| Third 1½ hours after noon | Inspect & review forces | ||
| 1½ hours before sunset | Consult with Chief of Defence | ||
NIGHT
| First 1½ hours after sunset | Interview with secret agents |
| Second 1½ hours after sunset | (Personal - bath, meals, study) |
| Three hours before & first 1½ hours after midnight | Retire to the bed chamber to the sound of music, sleep |
| Second 1½ hours after midnight | (After waking to the sound of music, meditate on political matters & on work to be done) |
| Third 1½ hours after midnight | Consult with councilors, send out spies |
| 1½ hours before sunrise | (Religious, household & personal duties, meetings with his teacher, adviser on rituals, purohitas, personal physician, chief cooks & astrologer) |
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 regarding 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 people 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 royal family for power is worse than quarrels among people. (Royal family - top management, people - lower level employees)Comments on Vices
Vices are due to ignorance and indiscipline; an unlearned man does not perceive the injurious consequences of his vices. He summarizes: subject to qualification that gambling is most dangerous in cases where there is more than one entity sharing power, 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-discipline Discipline 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.References
- Kautilya: The Arthashastra. L.N. Rangarajan (Ed., Rearranger & Translator), 1992, Penguin Classics, India. ISBN 0140446036.
External links
- Kautilya's Arthashastra 1915 R. Shamasastry translation, divided into 15 books).
- Kautilya on the scope and methodology of accounting, organizational design and the role of ethics in ancient India Sihag, Balbir S. Dec 2004 Accounting Historians Journal
Mauryan dynasty | Indian literature | Arthashastra | Arthashastra
"Arthashastra"