The arthashastra is a book of political realism in foreign

Roger boesche describes the arthasastra as a book of political realism, a book analysing how the political world does work and not very often stating how it ought to work, a book that frequently discloses to a king what calculating and sometimes. 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. The ancient chinese military strategist sun tzus treatise the art of war has been likened to progenies of political realism such as kautilyas arthashastra and machiavellis the prince. 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.

Ruchi tyagi associate professor department of political science kalindi college kautilyas arthashastra written around 325 b. How chankaya teachings would have repelled foreign aggressors in india by. Sun tzus the art of war through the prism of political. It is considered as the most comprehensive treatise on statecraft of classical times. 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. The 15 books contained in the arthashastra can be classified in the following manner. The arthashastra, published in 2000 by penguin classics is the english edition of the classic treatise on classical economics and political science by the ancient indian philosopher kautilya. In his recent book, world order, henry kissinger refers to the ancient indian treatise, the arthashastra, as a work that lays out the requirements of power, which is the dominant reality in.

Buy arthashastra book online at low prices in india. Political philosophy, also known as political theory, is the study of topics such as politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority. 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. It includes books on the nature of government, law, civil and criminal court systems. 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. Although only fragments remain, some of our best information about early indian history comes from the book, indika, written by. The text of this great book includes 15 books, each addressing one topic pertaining to the state and its economy. The arthashastra is apparently one of the first books on political theory and was written in the 3rd century bc.

The first great political realist is a succinct and penetrating analysis of one of the. The book itself is doesnt solely focus on political issues, but talks about statecraft, economy, military stragety and other topics. The first great political realist is a succinct and penetrating analysis of one of the ancient worlds foremost political realists, kautilya. It is considered as the most comprehensive treatise on. The arthashastra reflected the political philosophy of. In fact, in this book of chanakya, a broader section discusses foreign policy, defense, and war issues. Kautilya is considered the first great political realist. So it should be a matter of interest for us to study it and see what kind of advice it offers to indian policy makers in the conduct of relations with pakistan. Many of these involve some quite inventive uses of spies. It is one of the major political and strategic treatises that constitute a collection of timeless concepts. Indias truly radical machiavelli the national interest. Published by shama shastri in 1909 contains 15 parts, 180 divisions, 150 chapters and 6,000 shlokas 2.

The arthashastra is indeed a masterpiece of statecraft, diplomacy, and strategy and is an example of nonwestern literature that should be read as part of the realist canon. Kautilyas arthashastra is an excellent treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. After many revisions and additions, the book took its present form about 1800 years before, in the 2nd century the book is divided into fifteen sections. 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. In matters of foreign policy, his views resemble those of hobbes in that he considers international politics to be anarchical and expects the rule by. However, if we carefully examine some of the literature after the second urbanisation emergence of the janapads of. The book is a masterwork which includes an array 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. Kautilya was the minister in the kingdom of chandragupta maurya during 317 293 b. The arthashastra totally contains 5363 sutras, 15 books, 150 chapters, and 180 sections.

What are the things to be learnt from chanakyas arthashastra. It deals with various topics including war and diplomacy, how a king can retain his kingdom and become a conqueror, how to make allies and know the. Kautilyas arthasastra, written around 300 bc, is a text on statecraft, a book of political realism. Kautilyas arthashastra provides an insight into the ancient indian anthology of political wisdom, theory, and the art of statecraft. The arthashastra is one of the earliest works of political realism to have been written, along with sun tzus the art of war and thucydides history of the peloponnesian war and is perhaps the most elaborate of these. The application of the sixfold royal policy is the source of peace and industry. E, some eighteen hundred years prior to niccolo machiavellis the prince, considered to be the quintessential text on political realism. This book was lost for many centuries until a copy of it, written on palm leaves, was rediscovered in india in 1904 ce.

For kissinger, the arthashastra contained a realist vision of politics long. Most international relations scholars treat his arthashastra as a treatise of unvarnished realism. Arthashastra simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kautilyas arthashastra the king shall employ his own envoys to carry on works ofthe above description, and guard himself against the mischief offoreign envoys by employing counter envoys, spies, and visibleand invisible watchmen. Boesche, roger 2002, the first great political realist. For kautilya, military strategy was an integral part of the science of polity27 and he made no distinction between military techniques and statecraft. 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. Indian writer chanakya s arthashastra is a great example for discussion the principles of statecraft, written in sanskrit which means the science of material gain or science of polity. Arthashastrabook viii wikisource, the free online library. He has also been called kingmaker because, as one book description notes. The arthashastra is an extraordinarily detailed manuscript on statecraft, and is considered to be the. Arthashastra beyond realpolitik the eclectic face of kautilya. Its prescriptions are especially relevant for foreign policy today.

Written in the 4th century before christ by kautilya, also known as chanakya, the arthashastra is one of the earliest works of political realism to have been written, along with sun tzus the art of war and machiavellis the prince. While it is true that is offers views on how a kingruler. Kautilya was a minister of chandragupta maurya 321 bc 297 bc, an emperor of ancient india. International workshop on ideologies, values and political behaviors. Although political realism as a school of thought in the discipline of international relations developed much later, there are points of similarities between sun tzus thinking and different strands of.

The book itself is a very dry read, at least it was to me. Kautilyas treatise arthashastra stands as one of the. It is a book detailing how to manage a kingdom, or basically it deals with the art of government and politics. The first great political realist and millions of other books are available for. Political realism is a view of politics that centers on power and conflict. The arthashastra summary the western world generally assumes that ancient indian literature lacked in strategic thinking.

Carr, who argued in 1939 that factdriven realism needed to replace utopian trust in legal arrangements to preserve peace among nations. Although the arthashastra is ostensibly authored by. Of benefits derived from ones own or a foreign country, benefits derived from ones own country consists of grains, cattle, gold, and raw products and are useful for the maintenance of the people in calamities, whereas benefits derived from a foreign country are of the reverse nature. The arthashastra is an indian book or a treatise that details the right qualities of a good king and how to achieve this state. Kautilya stands for quintessential foreign policy realism and principle for interstate relations.

A succinct analysis of one of the ancient worlds foremost political realists, kautilya. The arthashastra summary a treatise on statecraft and. The arthashastra of kautilya is one of the most impressive books that i have read in the recent years. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. 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. The book arthashastra written by trautmann speaks on the balance between politics and business they had during mauryas time. This arthashastra is primarily a book of political realism where state is paramount and king shall carry out duties as advised in his book to preserve his state.

The arthashastra summarizes the political thoughts of kautilya. Pdf arthashastra beyond realpolitik the eclectic face. Vinay thusoo it may sound absurd that i am trying to invoke chanakya also known as vishnugupt or kau. The kautilyaarthashastra covers political philosophy and the tion, economics, law. 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. Book 1, as a book on fundamentals of management, book 2 dealing with economics, books 3, 4 and 5 on law, books 6, 7, 8 describes foreign policies. 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. Chanakya has been called the indian machiavelli because his writings have a political pragmatism similar to that seen in machiavellis own work.

The importance and relevance of such strategies and concepts could be enriching to the contemporary world. The book itself is doesnt solely focus on political issues, but talks. Kautilyas treatise arthashastra stands as one of the great political books of the. The chapter on foreign policy is arguably the books most interesting, and boesche depicts kautilya as a hardnosed realist for whom war is not an extension of diplomacy as clausewitz argued, but who regards every part of diplomacy as part of subtle war. The science of good governance the arthashastra is the most comprehensive treatise of statecraft of classical times, and perhaps of all time. This is owing to his treatise on the science of politics, the arthashastra, written about 300 b. Kautilyas arthashastra and machiavellis the prince.

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. The mauryan empire was larger than the later british india which expanded from the. Kautilya s treatise, arthashastra, stands as one of the great political books of the. Just a few years ago, a former indian national security adviser praised this book as an important guide on strategy. The arthashastra is written mainly in prose but also incorporates 380 shlokas, which adds a vital poetic flourish to this otherwise downtoearth classic.