International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)

ISSN: 2319-7064
SJIF (2020): 7.803

Philosophy of Kauṭilya: A Critical Study of

Arthasastra
Dr Gantepaka Srinu
Assistant Professor of Sanskrit, Government Degree College, Khairtabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Kauṭilya is no other than the extremely clever 'Cānakya' or Dharmaśāstra, or law codes, written before Kauṭilya, urged
'Vishnugupta' who was also the teacher of king an army of Kshatriyas and, in an emergency, also Brahmins
Chandragupta. It was Kauṭilya who through his sheer genius (priests) and Vaishyas (farmers or merchants). Kauṭilya had
and shrewdness put an end to the power of Nandas and no use for Brahmin troops-"by prostration, an enemy may
placed Chandragupta on the throne of Magadh. Kauṭilya, win over Brahmana troops"—but he liked the energy,
being an Acharya or a revered teacher of King Chandragupta numbers, and strength of Shudras, agricultural laborers
was directly involved in statecraft as the king always sought treated much like serfs.
his advice. 'Kauṭilya' produced the unparalleled treatise
named Arthaśāstra. Kauṭilya's praise of ordinary men from the lower two varnas
was unusual in the ancient world. Kauṭilya alone holds that
In Arthaśāstra, Kauṭilya shows a knowledge of basic the army made up of vaishyas and sudras is important.
polity that had no parallels in Western political thought Kauṭilya apparently believed that an army of kshatriyas was
that the ultimate objective of the king, in economic and other best; warriors were supposed to find their "highest duty and
affairs, should be to benefit his subjects. Their happiness or pleasure" by dying in battle. According to Kauṭilya, "there
welfare should be the prime objective of State policy is no country without people and no kingdom without a
country," meaning a prosperous-not a ravished-countryside.
The authorship of Arthaśāstra in such a capacity assumes
great importance. Much before the Europeans could give Kauṭilya stated that other sects ought to be duly honored in
due credence to earlier literary documents such as the every case love of the family; compassion, which includes
'Vedas', they recognized the Arthaśāstra as the primary respect for others, kindness even toward slaves and
record of objective facts. Moreover, as the Arthaśāstra is prisoners, "reverence toward elders, and gentleness to
essentially a book on statecraft, the extensive treatment animals"; honesty; liberality toward relatives, friends, and
given to mines, minerals and metals in it prove the concerns neighbors; moderation and self-control. a system of social
of Indians in this regard. welfare, including medical centers for human beings and
animals, the construction of roads for good communication,
Kauṭilya's discussions of war and diplomacy and yet, his along with the digging of wells and, and so on, all policies
analyses are fascinating and far-reaching, such as his wish to that he thought best carried out by the centralized
have his king become a world conqueror, his evaluation of administration of Government.
which kingdoms are natural allies and which are inevitable
enemies, his willingness to make treaties that he knew he Kauṭilya said he was promoting dharma for the common
would break, his doctrine of silent war or a war of good of the world and stated plainly that he put forth the
assassination and contrived revolt against an unsuspecting doctrine of dharma for happiness in the next world. Kauṭilya
king, his approval of secret agents who killed enemy leaders may be seen in the light of socio-political circumstances in
and sowed discord among them, his view of women as which he lived and the Government, under which, he had to
weapons of war, his use of religion and superstition to struggle for fulfilling his aspirations. The obligation of the
bolster his troops and demoralize enemy soldiers, his State is to provide the social security and welfare of the
employment of the spread of disinformation, and his humane people.
treatment of conquered soldiers and subjects.
The traditional ends of human life, Dharma (righteous
Kauṭilya cultivated his pen to write a scholarly treatise on living), Artha (material well-being), Kama (enjoyment of
the science of human existence on ‗Artha‖ and art of sensual and artistic things), and Maksha (freedom from
Sustenance for life and prosperity of the people. Arthaśāstra the birth-death cycle) all go together, and enjoyment of a
relates to all the aspects of human life-social, economic and full life was thought to be impossible without any one of the
religious was and is to embrace the whole of human life. In above ends. Of these, Artha occupies a key position in
Arthaśāstra the dominant emphasis is on monarchical human life.
centralization and it is a compendium of rules of behavior of
the people in the society and in the state. According to Kauṭilya, king is the fountain source of all
Government‘s authority and powers the king, therefore, is
Kauṭilya cautiously made a revolution in warfare, relying the supreme lord authorized to wipe out, engines of
not quite as much on the warrior class of Kshatriyas. India destruction and entrusted with the preservation of laws and
was divided into four classes or castes (varnas): Brahmins or their proper administration for the promotion of common
priests; Kshatriyas or warriors and rulers; Vaishyas or weal of Yogakshema
farmers and traders; and Shudras or laborers. The
Volume 10 Issue 7, July 2021
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: SR21725095640 DOI: 10.21275/SR21725095640 1296
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
SJIF (2020): 7.803
Kauṭilya suggests that good governance should avoid Kauṭilya realized that the role of the State was to ensure that
extreme decisions and extreme actions. Soft actions (Sam, commercial activities do not violate laws or are harmful for
Dam) and harsh actions (Dand, Bhed) should be taken the consumer and if the State did not establish and enforce
accordingly. Kauṭilya opines in a most modern way - codes of conduct, it would, in fact, raise transaction costs.
‗Sovereignty is practicable only with the cooperation of The lack of trust and guarantee of quality would diminish
others and all administrative measures are to be taken after commerce and increase search and verification costs for
proper deliberations.‘ The King and ministers were agents undertaking commercial transactions.
supposed to observe strict discipline..
The agricultural basis of the state has been considered the
King in extraordinary circumstances has right to implement real backbone of the state economy. Kauṭilya has given a
law as per state need. Kauṭilyan concept of state laws, detailed theory regarding land ownership, taxation, quantum
therefore, is almost, in modern sense of state laws, as of taxes to be realised as share (Bhaga) of the state and for
advancement over previous Hindu polity. the management of this part of economy.

Kauṭilya‘s state is based on righteousness, aims at Kauṭilya single-mindedly aimed at preserving the monarch's
Yogakshema, which implies the idea of welfare that is more power for its own sake, like Machiavelli's The Prince, the
than mere protection of person and property, but also Arthaśāstra requires the ruler to benefit and protect his
guarantees civil, economic and legal rights to its citizens. citizens, including the peasants, whom Kauṭilya correctly
believes to the ultimate source of the prosperity of the
Kauṭilya refers that his state is a welfare state, which aimed kingdom. He therefore advocates what is now called "land
at the exploitation of all possible resources for the benefit of reform."
the state and its citizens. Therefore, he remarks that ―the
Artha is the supreme constitutent of Danda.‖ Hence, the Kauṭilya has given a more detailed laws relating to marriage,
Kauṭilyan state fully regulates the life of citizen. Wealth is ownership of property, laws of trade and commerce etc. as
means to secure the happiness of the people. The state is civil law and a detailed lists of criminal crimes and their
finally engaged in the promotion, development, happiness concerning criminal law.
and welfare 31 or Yogakshema of the subjects.
Kauṭilya has given the importance of Kantakashodhana as
Kauṭilya conceives of sovereignty in the unity and the first protective shield of principle of state and
organization of the state internally and externally. Kauṭilya Government. But Kauṭilya does not empower his king with
says, ―The king is the state internally and externally. unlimited powers in the matter because he prescribes in full
Kauṭilya says, ―The king is the state (Rajaram)‖. The king, details the quantum of punishment in each case of crime.
therefore, is the real pivot of the body politic and thereby the
real representative of the state and its authority. Kauṭilya‘s Kantakashodhana‘ the ways and means of protecting the
‗Dandaniti‘ is the real manifestation of the sovereignty that people from anti-social elements like thieves, dacoits,
lies with the king. murderers, deceitful artisans, traders, Government officials
and other calamities with the help of Danda.
Kautiya described of a large and complex administrative
mechanism, but it is not the prototype of a triumphant civil Kauṭilya lays down that the punishment is not end in itself
service or of bureaucratic despotism concerned with but only a means to an end. According to him, the
delegated legislation and administrative adjudication, punishment reforms and rectifies the wrong-doers.
because, all the Adhyakshas (Supreintendents) are to be Secondly, the punishment gives consolation to the offenders
under the full and final control of the ‗raja‘ or king. (after getting it they do not do so, in life). Thirdly, the
punishment prevents and checks the commission of crime.
In Arthaśāstra there are details of goods, industrial products, Fourthly, the punishment deters the potential offenders from
their prices, standards of weights and measures and various the commission of crime and deviation from the path of
grades of officials to regulate the prices in the market. The action. Fifthly, it purifies the offenders
relative values of the money, has also been given to facilitate
the business transactions. Consumer protection is strongly It is evident that Kauṭilya covered most of the aspects of
emphasized in Arthaśāstra. human relations and obligations under the legal system of
law. Kauṭilya ultimate objective, however, was not to benefit
Kauṭilya is in favor of industrialization but stood for mixed the king but to benefit the people. He thought a strong and
economy along with free industrial enterprises. State wealthy monarchy would be in apposition to protect the
controlled industries are also conceived for meeting the interests of the people against the invasion of other
demands of the people and earnings wealth through kings.
international trade .
Another source of leakage in revenue or expenses is
Kauṭilya refer about labour organizations, protective labour corruption. Much has been said about this in recent times.
laws, quantum of wages and other necessary benefits to Kauṭilya insisted on character references before a person
artisans and labourers. Kauṭilya refers about contractual was hired. He believed in increased infrastructure in terms
basis of labour employment and the wages in that of roads, canals and dams, utilizing the natural resources
connection. properly. Exemption of payment of taxes was provided for a
period of 3-5 years in case of new tanks, renovation and
Volume 10 Issue 7, July 2021
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: SR21725095640 DOI: 10.21275/SR21725095640 1297
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
SJIF (2020): 7.803
cleaning. Also he encouraged profitable trade with foreign
countries.

Kauṭilya‘s magnum opus Arthaśāstra was a handbook meant

for Kings. Kauṭilya had the foresight to realize that the goal
of public administration must be people‘s welfare; which
meant that rural development was as important as urban,
failing which people tend to migrate from rural to urban
areas. He therefore placed emphasis on agriculture, animal
husbandry, trade and commerce Arthaśāstra as a book on
statecraft has a timeless appeal.

References
[1] Arthaśāstra edited by T. Ganapati Sastri, translated by
R. Shamasastri (Mysore, 1958) Jaico Publishing
House
[2] Arthaśāstra – Bk. 1, Ch. 21 Bk. III, Ch.1
[3] Arthaśāstra–I.19;A.S.,Altekar, p. 318; R.C. Mujumdar,
p.151.
[4] Arthaśāstra- VI.I; H.K. Sherwani, p. 81; R.K.
Choudhary, p.95.
[5] Arthaśāstra VIII. 2, p. 356.
[6] Arthaśāstra, Bk. VIII, Ch.1; Usha Mehta & Usha
Thakkar, p.38.
[7] Arthaśāstra, edited & Eng. Tr. R. Shamashastry,
Mysore 1967, Book – I,
[8] Arthaśāstra, VI.I.
[9] Arthaśāstra-Ed. R. Shamashastry, ., pp. 299-91; R.P.
Kangle, Part- II
[10] Ashwani Sharma ―Cānakya: His Teachings And
Advice‖ Publisher: Jaico Publishing House (1998)
[11] Ashwin Sanghi ‗Cānakya's Chant‘ Publisher
Westland 2012
[12] Athasashatra – VI, I.R. Sharmashastry, pp. 289-90;
R.P. Kangle, Part-II, pp. 314-15.

Volume 10 Issue 7, July 2021

www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: SR21725095640 DOI: 10.21275/SR21725095640 1298