Kautilya on Statecraft
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm2023.v03.n01.007Keywords:
The Seven Elements of the State, Mandala theory, Kautilya, Statecraft, ArthasastraAbstract
In reading the ancient Indian political texts the attempt is to understand the essential wisdom of the Indian knowledge system and thereby its immense contribution to the development of the epistemology of Indian Political Philosophy. Arthashastra is a timeless classic and was written by Kautilya. Arthasastra primarily was conceptualised as a practical manual of statecraft and administration for the rulers in ancient India and to the Mauryans in particular. Arthashastra has however, gone onto influence both the philosophical and pragmatic mapping of statecraft in many parts of the world especially among the Greeks and Europeans scholars. His study of statecraft in Arthashastra is said to be as much a book of the statecraft as it is a conceptual work discussing philosophical principles of the state.
References
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Kautilya, (1997) „The Elements of Sovereignty‟ in R. Kangle (ed.), Arthasastra of Kautilya, New Delhi: Motilal Publishers, pp. 511- 514.
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