Buy arthashastra book online at low prices in india. The arthashastra is an indian book or a treatise that details the right qualities of a good king and how to achieve this state. The arthashastra is apparently one of the first books on political theory and was written in the 3rd century bc. Political realism is a theory of political philosophy that attempts to explain, model. Kautilya, it is believed, was prime minister to chandragupta, although this view has been contested. It does the difficult groundwork for indias political leaders and policymakers by bringing the best names from within the community as well as from the armed forces and academia to the ideating table.
Kautilya was the minister in the kingdom of chandragupta maurya during 317 293 b. Found in even the most ancient accounts of war and diplomacy, military treatise are systematic expositions on the proper conduct of war and peace and in what way both can be. Arthashastra advocates rational ethic to the conduct of the affairs of the state. The edinburgh companion to political realism edinburgh. That argument misunderstands the intention of this book, which is to present not. Political realism in international relations stanford encyclopedia of. Under ancient indian political thought very prominent name comes of chankaya i. The arthashastra summary the western world generally assumes that ancient indian literature lacked in strategic thinking. Dr rudrapatna shamasastrys 1915 translation of kautilyas arthashastra has long been available online. Two thousand four hundred years ago, kautilya compiled the arthashastra and with it he proved to be a kingmaker as he enabled the inception of the gupta dynasty.
The actual arthashatra translation contains numerous pages of having to sift through irrelevant items of no practical value in the modern world. The mauryan empire was larger than the later british india which expanded from the. Kautilyas treatise arthashastra stands as one of the great political books of the ancient world, its ideas on the science of politics strikingly similar to those of thucydides, machiavelli, hobbes, clausewitz, and even sun tzu. It is a book detailing how to manage a kingdom, or basically it deals with the art of government and politics. Kautilyas arthashastra 3 book i, concerning discipline chapter i. The possession of power and happiness in a greater degree makes a king superior to another. Although only fragments remain, some of our best information about early indian history comes from the book, indika, written by. Authorship is ascribed to kautilya fourth century b.
The arthashastra reflected the political philosophy of. The ingenious upayas in the arthashastra could still be. Chanakya arthashastragreatest book on spying and secret. The arthashastra is a compendium of political and economic. This book was lost for many centuries until a copy of it, written on palm leaves, was rediscovered in india in 1904 ce. Book iv, chapter 12, sexual intercourse with immature girls he who defiles a virgin of equal caste before she has reached her majority shall have his hand cut off or pay a fine of 400 panas. Arthashastra article about arthashastra by the free. Kautilya and his arthashastra book online at best prices in india on. Kautilyas arthasastra, composed around 321 bce, is the oldest and most exhaustive treatise on statecraft and on issues of diplomacy, war, peace, intelligence, security, and political economy. Linked bibliography for the sep article political realism in.
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. Realism, also known as political realism, is a view of international. The acorn will attempt to publish excerpts each weekendfor discovery, for learning and for enjoyment we start with chapter ix on agreements for the acquisition of a friend or gold of book vii the end of the six. He real ized that a proper measurement of economic performance was abso. The book itself is doesnt solely focus on political issues, but talks about statecraft, economy, military stragety and other topics.
Published by shama shastri in 1909 contains 15 parts, 180 divisions, 150 chapters and 6,000 shlokas 2. Roger boesche, who relied entirely on the 1969 translation by kangle for his analysis of arthashastra, and who criticized an alternate 1992 translation by rangarajan, has called the arthashastra as a great political book of the ancient world. This book is basically a collection of 380 shlokas which have been written in prose. The papers are available in the electronic pdfformat and are designed to be. How kautilyas arthashastra shaped the telling of ancient indian history. Ruchi tyagi associate professor department of political science kalindi college kautilyas arthashastra written around 325 b. Kautilya, also known as chanakya and vishnugupta, wrote the arthashastra in the second century ad though the date has not been conclusively established. Arthashastra the arthashastra discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare,international relations, and war strategies in detail. The book itself is a very dry read, at least it was to me. It is argued that the discussions in the arthashastra generally end by stating the authors opinion with the words. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Kautilyas arthashastra is an excellent treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. Arthashastrabook x wikisource, the free online library. Chanakya arthashastra pdf in hindi, english, sanskrit.
It also made the rulers aware of the strength, weakness and capability of each foreign ruler. Kautilya on the scope and methodology of accounting, organizational design and the role of ethics in ancient india abstract. Arthashastra in sanskrit, literally the science of benefit, of practical life, an ancient indian treatise, a collection of precepts on government. 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. The arthashastra is an ancient indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military trategy authored by chanakya 350283 bce.
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. How kautilyas arthashastra shaped the telling of ancient. The first reference work to explore the 2000year history of political realism and reassess its place in todays world download an ebook of the chapter abstracts. A moral argument with historical illustrations, new york. Kautilya s arthasastra institute for defence studies and. Introductory note nothing vindicates belief better than reality. Where would you position political realism on the palette of political ideologies.
Kautilyas treatise arthashastra stands as one of the great political books of the ancient world, its ideas on the science of politics strikingly similar to those of. The historical process of tradition of indian politics is primeval and traced back to the period of vedas. The arthashastra summarizes the political thoughts of kautilya. Political realism and international relations, philosophy compass, 122. 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. Kautilyas arthashastra and machiavellis the prince. The ingenious upayas in the arthashastra could still be used in administration today. The deliberations regarding politics are found in smritis and puranas by the name dandaniti. Michael liebig gave a summary of his phd thesis and pointed to followon research based upon it. Harpercollinspublishers india the new arthashastra. Whom would you regard as classics of contemporary political. Which is the best english translation of kautilyas. It is divided into 15 different sections for the better understanding of the readers. Chanakya arthashastragreatest book on spying and secret agenies.
The military affairs centre at idsa organised a talk by michael liebig, visiting fellow at idsa on 14th february 2014 on the topic relevance of kautilyas arthasastra for modern india. A succinct analysis of one of the ancient worlds foremost political realists, kautilya. 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 arthashastra of kautilya is one of the most impressive books that i have read in the recent years. In describing an ideal government, kautilya indicates contemporary assumptions of political and economic theory, and the description of the.
Kautilyas arthashastra book i, concerning discipline chapter i. Max weber 1919 was the fi rst to see that the writings of machiavelli, when contrasted with the brutal realism of kautilyas arthashastra, were not as extreme as they appeared to some critics. The new arthashastra is a pathbreaking attempt to recommend a national security strategy for india. Hence a king shall always endeavor to augment his own power and elevate his happiness. A master stategist who was wellversed in the vedas and adept at creating intrigues and devising political stratagems, kautilya was the man who destroyed the nanda dynasty and installed. Realism, believing as it does in the objectivity of the laws of politics, must also. Political realism is a term with a long history in international relaitons. Political philosophy of arthashastra tradition ashok chousalkar the arthashastra tradition is indias unique contribution to political thought in the sense that it a furnished progressive alternative to the indian people in the 6th century b. 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.
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. 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. Kautilyas treatise arthashastra stands as one of the great political books of the ancient world, its ideas on the science of politics strikingly similar to those of thucydides, machiavelli, hobbes, clausewitz, and even sun tsu. Kautilyas arthashastra maintains that the state or government of a country has a vital role to play in maintaining the material status of both the nation and its people. The acquisition of the help of corporations is better than the acquisition of an army, a friend, or profits. Arthashastra of chanakya english translation sanskrit. 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 source of sovereign states. The first great political realist is a succinct and penetrating analysis of one of the ancient worlds foremost political realists, kautilya. Arthashastrabook xi wikisource, the free online library. Political realism internet encyclopedia of philosophy.
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