The mauryan empire was larger than the later british india which expanded from the. Kautilya also presents a realistoriented foreign policy, outlining a theory of decline, stability, and advancement for a kingdom that includes instructions about how to conduct war with an external enemy. An analytical study of the relevance of arthshastra in. This book provides an analysis of one of the ancient worlds foremost political realists, kautilya. Kautilya was interested in establishment and operation of the machinery through which the king preserves the integrity and solidarity of the state and generates power. Published by shama shastri in 1909 contains 15 parts, 180 divisions, 150 chapters and 6,000 shlokas 2. Thus, this book provides an overview of the evolution of the indian political thought through different historical periods, giving an insight into the sociological and political conditions of the times that shaped the indian political thinking.
Kautilyas concept of relative power and objectives of state policy. On this page you can read or download kautilya saptanga theory in pdf format. Kautilyas concept of state is founded on industrial edifice. Kautilya maintained that it is essential duty of government to maintain order. Kautilya, it is believed, was prime minister to chandragupta, although this view has been contested. For the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. In the absence of historical evidence, political system. Also a means to ensure the wellbeing of men ingeneral two fold aims palana. In arthashastra, kautilya has made arguments about power, governance, statecraft etc. Click download or read online button to get kautilya s arthshastra book now. Themes and thinkers covers all major indian political thinkers from the ancient, through medieval to the modern times. In the indian philosophy, the objective of every being is the pursuit of dharma. When there was renewed interest in and exploration of indian philosophy and political thought during and after the indian renaissance in british india, the streams of the initial rediscoveries tended to flow into one of the following channels. Kautilya favors peace over war, because he asserts that in most situations, peace is more conducive to creation of wealth, prosperity and security of the people.
Kautilya also believed in the divine origin theory. In the absence of historical evidence, political thinkers and writers have, however made. He regarded economic activity as driving force behind the functioning of any political dispensation. The four sciences of kautilya can contribute to a great extent to overcome the present catastrophe in public governance system. Kautilyas saptang theory of state the mauryan era of ancient india gave the world a significant treatise, the arthashastra of kautilya. Kautilya s arthashastra must be regarded as one of the major political and strategic treatises of the ancient world. Kautilyas arthashastra 3 book i, concerning discipline chapter i. According to him, there are guiding principles for the state, first, the state should undertake those industries which help directly in making the nation selfsufficient and selfreliant, and e. However, above description makes it very clear that kautilya suggests a state to act in order to enhance its power and selfinterest. Kautilyas conception of law and administration 122. Saptanga theory had been formulated by kautilya and mentioned in hi book, arthashastra share this article. It is argued that the discussions in the arthashastra generally end by stating the authors opinion with the words.
The state is defined for the first time in the arthasastra of kautilya as consisting of. Kautilyas concept of raja mandala mandala doctrine and. Kautilya is considered the first great political realist. Kautilya s arthshastra download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. According to this theory, hostile states are those that border the rulers state. Kautilya had discussed about state s origin, nature and working. The king is the middle point of vast empire and kautilyas strong desire to him is to be the guard at all times. The presented project is analysis of the one of the most important theories given by kautilya, which is the mandala theory, which deals with the interstate relations and the foreign policies of that period. It informs only about structure of ruling of a state. 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. Kautilya was a proponent of a welfare state but definitely encouraged war for preserving the power of the state. State and statecraft in kautilyas arthasastra abstract kautilyas arthasastra 4th century b.
In the ancient political thinking, kautilya has first time defined the state in arthashastra. Ruchi tyagi associate professor department of political science kalindi college kautilya s arthashastra written around 325 b. Kautilya always remained with a viewpoint that there could be any harmonious relationship between two neighboring states. Ruchi tyagi associate professor department of political science kalindi college kautilyas arthashastra written around 325 b. There are no historical records to tell us how and when men originally come to live under the state conditions or a political system. He defines order broadly to include both social as well as order in the sense of preventing and punishing criminal activity. Most international relations scholars treat his arthashastra as a treatise of unvarnished realism in this third episode of war rooms special series on great strategists, larry goodson presents the writings of kautilya, who is lesser known to military audiences that clausewitz or sun tzu.
Pdf kautilya was the minister in the kingdom of chandragupta maurya. Arthshastra concerned with the acquisition and protection ofmeans of livelihood. Kautilya lays out a theory of the international system called the circle of states, or rajamandala. A single platform where u can get concepts with notes for hons students and upsc ps as optional subject.
The arthashastra of kautilya is one of the most impressive books that i have read in the recent years. Khan, ex cabinet minister, about the tragic illusion of an islamic state by tarek fateh at india habitat centre, new delhi by kautilya books. Kautilyas work differed from existing political theory in that it talked. A paper presented at the fall semester miniconference organized by the. In regarding to origin of state he accepted the theory of socialcohesion. Kautilyas mandala theory of foreign policies and interstate relationships though cannot be said to be completely applicable in the present context, though one cannot ignore its relevance. Elements of state kautilya used the word rajya which according to spellman, corresponds to the english word state. His concept stands as barrier against the idea of integration, both at regional and global level. Kautilyas treatise arthashastra stands as one of the great political books of the ancient world, its ideas on the. Kautilyas arthashastra provides guidance to a wise king to further the national interests of the state that center on issues of security, wealth, and prestige. Chanakya, also called kautilya or vishnugupta, flourished 300 bce, hindu statesman and philosopher who wrote a classic treatise on polity, arthashastra the science of material gain, a compilation of almost everything that had been written in india up to his time regarding artha property, economics, or material success he was born into a brahman family and received his education. Arthashastra thus contains both the civil law and criminal law. Theory of state in kautilyas arthashastra kalindi college.
The arthashastra summary the western world generally assumes that ancient indian literature lacked in strategic thinking. Kautilya, the great indian social, political, military and economic master. Kautilya insisted that all threats to national security must be eliminated at any cost to the state, while no enemy must be privy to the inner machinations and processes of ones own state like a tortoise, the king state shall draw in any limb of his that is exposed. 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. Kautilya was the minister in the kingdom of chandragupta maurya during 317 293 b. Chanakya arthashastra pdf in hindi, english, sanskrit. If you dont see any interesting for you, use our search form on bottom v. It is astonishing to observe that several concepts of present day management theories have been explicitly explained by kautilya in. In kautilyas concept of war, chivalry does not have any place and. Kautilya was a true statesman who bridged the gap between experience and vision. He has been considered as one of the shrewdest ministers of the times and has explained his views on state, war, social structures, diplomacy, ethics, politics and statecraft very clearly in his book called arthashastra.
Ramaswamy said, the arthasastra is truly an anthology of political wisdom and theory and. Kautilyas arthashastra is a book of pure logic, not taking any religious aspect into account. Kautilya envisioned that a system of government must be spread, efficient, skilled and honest. I am giving a brief details of it from my book kautilyas mandala system.
The mauryan era of ancient india gave the world a significant treatise, the arthashastra of kautilya. Pdf kautilyas concept of diplomacy tridib chakraborti. The arthashastra a treatise on statecraft and military. In describing an ideal government, kautilya indicates contemporary assumptions of political and economic theory, and the description of the. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Saptanga theory which has been mentioned in arthashastra includes all the seven organs of the state which has been separately elaborated among the various volumes of arthashastra. Saptrang theory of kautilya theory of state be kautilya. Kautilya, in the arthashastra, suggests that the state must always be adequately fortified, its armed forces prepared and resourced to defend itself against acts of war. Origin of the state kautilyas philosophy says state as central theme. In kautilyas concept of war, chivalry does not have any place and he is a realist. With the saptanga theory, kautilya transcends the idea that state power is. It also reveals growth of indian rulers during the pre gupta period.
An analytical study of the relevance of arthshastra in modern india. Concept of state political thought is primarily concerned with the state and its functions. Throughout the arthashastra, three fundamental objectives flow from one to the other. Kautilya is known as the indian machiavelli because of his ruthless and shrewd tactics and policies reflecting an approach to statecraft including warfare. Kautilyas concept of state power as an aggregate of seven prakritis provides. Origin of the state kautilya s philosophy says state as central theme. When compared to two early indian writers bharadwaja7 and vishalaksha8, the former is a realist and the latter is an idealist. This work deals with virtually all aspects of governance in a monarchical state. The ideologies of kautilya regarding state, statecraft, and ethics.