A comparison between Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Machiavelli’s The Prince DOC

Title	A comparison between Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Machiavelli’s The Prince
Author	Uddalok Chakravarty
Pages	4
File Size	44 KB
File Type	DOC
Total Downloads	100
Total Views	188

Summary

UNIT ONE ASSIGNMENT PAPER : STATE IN INDIA BY: Uddalok Chakravarty Topic : A comparison between Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Machiavelli’s The Prince. INTRODUCTION The Arthashastra indentifies its author by the names “Kautilya” and “Vishnugupta”, both names are traditionally associated with Chanakya,...

Description

UNIT ONE ASSIGNMENT PAPER : STATE IN INDIA BY: Uddalok Chakravarty Topic : A comparison between Kautilya's Arthashastra and Machiavelli's The Prince. INTRODUCTION The Arthashastra indentifies its author by the names "Kautilya" and "Vishnugupta", both names are traditionally associated with Chanakya, who was a teacher at the university in Tashashila or Taxila (Presently situated in Pakistan) and the teacher and guide of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire. The title, Arthashastra, generaaly means "The Science of Wealth" but in reality is has a much broader scope and speaks on multiple issues. It is probably the first ancient text to talk about 'Land Reforms'. After recent researches conducted by Patrick Olivelle, the date and authorship of the text was discovered. Olivelle pointed out that the Arthshastra was a compiled work and that it was compiled in three different time periods, the book was compiled roughly between 150-300 CE. The Arthashastra is originally a compilation of fifteen books which comprises of one hundred and fifty chapters in total. These chapters cover approximately all aspects of statecraft, economic policy, military policy, foreign policy et cetera. The Prince was written by Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer, who is recognized as the founder of modern political science and political ethics. It was written in the 16th century, the original title was De Principatibus but when the first printed version came out in 1532, the title was changed to Il Principe. The text contains a total of twenty six chapters which deal mainly with diplomatic and political affairs of a king, nature of actions a king must take in various situations et cetera. Kautilya's Arthashastra compared to Machiavelli's Prince The Arthashastra begins with a detailed description of the state, its constituent elements and the threats to them. Here Kautilya introduces the reader with his famous Saptanga theory of the state, the seven elements which constitute a state. Kautilya then provided an exhaustive and illustrative description of the qualities a king should have, a description of the duties, responsibilities and the role of a king, princes, ministers, and other state officials. Regarding the administration of the state and its territories, Kautilya gives a complete commentary as to how it is to be proceeded with in order to achieve full effectiveness. Detailed instructions are given as regarding the state's boundaries, boundaries, protection of the forts, and the manner in which the invasion of the enemy is to be handled. The Arthashastra classifies legal matters into civil and criminal and it specifies elaborate guidelines for administering justice in terms...