Arthashastra

(“Treatise on Power”) Text on power and
politics attributed to Kautilya, the
Machiavellian prime minister said to
have orchestrated the rise to power of
Chandragupta Maurya (r. 321–297
B.C.E.), the founder of the Maurya
dynasty. The Arthashastra was intended
as a guidebook for the king, to help him
control both the people in his kingdom
and the surrounding states.
The Arthashastra’s fundamental
assumption was that the king wanted to
remain in power and should do whatever it took to retain it.
Within the kingdom, Kautilya advocated a strict and authoritarian government aided by an extensive network of
spies to gather intelligence and assess
the popular mood. These spies included
men posing as wandering ascetics, who
could move about without suspicion.
The book also advised the king to assign
special spies to his closest advisers
to monitor their ambition, and to
have these spies report only to the
king himself.
In regard to neighboring countries,
the Arthashastra assumed that each
king wanted to increase his kingdom at
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Arthashastra
the expense of his neighbors. Weaker
neighbors were to be conquered and
assimilated, whereas stronger ones
were to be pacified or stalled with the
eventual hope that these stronger
states could be countered by making
other alliances.
Although the Arthashastra was
never the “Bible” of any ruling Indian
dynasty, it detailed political philosophy
and practices that existed in ancient
and medieval India and can even
be discerned in contemporary
parliamentary politics.