Kautilya or An Exposition of His Social Ideal and Political Theory

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Ever since my appointment as a lecturer in the Post- graduate Department of the Calcutta University. I have been engaged in a study of the political thought and ideals of the ancient Hindus. As such, the Arthasästra of Kautilya claimed my special attention, for it was the handiwork of a remark- able personality, who, according to tradition, uprooted the unrighteous Nandas and laid the foundations of an Empire which called forth the admiration of the Greeks who had followed Alexander in his world-conquest.

It is unfortunate that nothing authentic has been pre- served in regard to the life and work of Kautilya, and that his memory itself has been relegated to the faint recollections of tradition. In the absence of a reliable history, his Arthasästra remains the sole testimony of his greatness. The credit of its discovery is due to Dr. Shamasastry, whose edition prints as well as English translation have been appreciated all over the world. The book carries us back to a glorious period of Hindu history, when India held her place among the great nations of the ancient world, and it unfolds to us the details of an art of government, which ensured peace at home and prestige abroad, which strengthened the foundations of political authority by making it devote its energies to the common good, and which fostered loyalty by making the ruler identify his interests with those of the ruled.

The object of the present volume is not so much to summarise the details of Kautiliyan administration as to present in a handy volume the guiding principles of the greatest Arthasästra teacher, to discuss his ideas as to the ends and functions of government, and to present the prospects of good government which he had before him. In attempting to do this, I have taken care to eliminate the unimportant details of an administration subsisting more or less in reality, in an age removed from us by more than two thousand years, and special attention has been paid to those topics which interest men of the modern age with their new angle of vision and modified objectives and ideals. In so doing, I have attempted to read ancient history with the altered vision of a moderner, taking precautions against reading modern institutions into our past history.

At the same time, I have laid emphasis on the evolutionary aspect of institutions and have tried to make my ideas clear by citing parallels from the history of other nations, more especially from the history of Medieval England. I have, moreover, done my best to note the peculiarities of Indian social and political evolution which would seem unique in their character. In India, we had a peculiar type of social organisation, based, apparently though, on narrow principles, yet presenting an outlook not only wide but sympathetic and humane in the highest degree. The diversity of ethnic elements stood indeed in the path of social homogeneity, and yet, the ends. of society were not narrowed down to exclude heterogeneous elements in the interest of the ruling few. Thus arose a federative social organisation with heterogeneous sections, which were all united in a common purpose like the different limbs of a living organism. The ends and functions of political authority, too, varied consequently.

**Contents and Sample Pages**