Kautilya as a great statesman
Kautilya was a shrewd politician and an excellent strategist. However, not many know that his
original name was Vishnugupta and Chanak was his Gotra, therefore, he was called Chanakya. His
name as the author of the famous treatise ‘Arthashastra’, was Kautilya. He
followed kutil (shrewd) policies, therefore, he is called ‘Kautilya.
Chanakya is considered a pioneer in the field of economics and political science in India. He
is regarded as a great thinker and diplomat. He is the only personality who has been accepted
and revered as a genius both by Indian and Western scholars. Chanakya is a historical milestone
in the making of India. Although he lived around the third century BC, his ideas and principles
show concurrence and validity in the present-day world.
As we research deeper and in detail to know about this great philosopher and a statesman of
outstanding class, we find many different versions in the history, viz. the Buddhist version,
Jain version, Kashmiri version and Vishakhadatta’s (Mudrarakshasa) version. In all the
four versions, Chanakya feels insulted by the Nanda king and vows to destroy him. After
dethroning the Nandas, he installs Chandragupta Maurya as the new king.
Born to a Brahmin family during the third century BC, Kautilya studied in Takshashila, one of
the famous centers of education at that time. Kautilya was attracted towards political studies
from an early age and with his education and experience he developed into a great political
strategist.
Master Strategist
The small army raised by Chanakya and Chandragupta could never have taken the Magadha throne
directly. Chanakya, therefore, strategized that making the people of the kingdom rise against
the king - in effect, a civil war - was the only way to spell the end of the Nanda dynasty and
establish the Mauryan dynasty.
Glimpses of His Brilliance
There is one particular incident which is always cited to depict Chanakya’s brilliance. When
the Nandas had been vanquished from their palace and the Mauryas had come to occupy it,
Chanakya suddenly noticed a group of ants emerging out of a crack in the floor, carrying
grains. Chanakya immediately realized that some spies were hiding in the basement and asked his
people to abandon the palace.
The famous treatise ‘Arthashastra’
Kautilya’s Arthashastra was not just an economic doctrine, but a political guide as
well. He, thus, taught the young prince, Chandragupta, the art of politics, which did not have
a formal shape in traditional India.
Once, our popular National Security Advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon said, “Arthashastra is
serious manual on statecraft on how to run a state, informed by a higher purpose, clear and
precise in its prescriptions, the result of practical experience of running a state. It is not
just a normative text but a realist description of the art of running a state.”
The title, Arthashastra is a sanskrit word which is translated as ‘The Science of
Material Gain’, although ‘Science of Politics’ or ‘Science of Political Economy’ are other
accepted translations of Kautilya’s work. The Arthashastra summarizes the political
thoughts of Kautilya. This book was lost for many centuries until a copy of it, written on palm
leaves, was rediscovered in India in 1904 CE.
In Arthashastra, Kautilya mixes the harsh pragmatism for which he is famed with
compassion for the poor, for slaves, and for women. Centrally, Arthashastra argues for
an autocracy, managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the ethics of economics and
the duties and obligations of a king. The scope of Arthashastra is, however, far wider
than statecraft, and it offers an outline of the entire legal and bureaucratic framework for
administering a kingdom, with a wealth of descriptive cultural detail on topics such as
mineralogy, mining and metals, agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine. The
Arthashastra also focuses on issues of welfare, for instance, redistribution of wealth
during a famine and the collective ethics that hold a society together. The Arthshashtra
discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations and war strategies in
details.
The bureaucracy envisioned by Chanakya
The bureaucracy, as envisioned by Chanakya, must not only be in touch with every aspect of the
administrative machinery, but should also be efficient and honest. His emphasis was on the king
being the focal point, however vast and sprawling the bureaucratic structure may be.
Arthashastra deals with the qualities and disciplines needed for a king
Arthashastra deals thoroughly with the qualities and disciplines needed for a king to
rule his subjects more expeditiously. According to Kautilya, a king is one who has
self-control, having conquered the unfriendly temptations of the senses, he cultivates the
intellect by consulting with elders, he keeps his eyes open and stays updated through spies and
he is always active in promoting the protection and welfare of the people. He ensures the
speculation of the themes of their dharma by authority and example, he improves his
own discipline by enhancing his learning in all branches of knowledge; and endears himself to
his subjects by enriching them. Quarrels among individuals may be resolved by winning over the
leaders or by removing the reason for the quarrel - individual fighting among the people
themselves facilitate the king. Conflicts for power within the royalty, on the other hand,
bring about harassment and destruction to the people and double the effort that is needed to
finish such conflicts.
The Code of Conduct for a Ruler according to Kautilya
For enriching his self-discipline, a ruler should keep company with learned elders, for in them
alone discipline has its firm roots. For a trained intellect, a ruler pursues
yoga because from yoga comes self-control. Only a king, who is smart,
disciplined, and dedicated to the just governing of his subjects and one who is aware of the
welfare of all beings, gets pleasure from the world, unopposed.
Thus, we can conclude that Kautilya’s ideas and principles show concurrence and validity in the
present-day world.
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