give me a brief discription of the book ‘Arthshastra’ and who wrote this book?

Answer 1

The traditional identification of Kauṭilya and Vishnugupta with the Mauryan minister Cāṇakya would date the Arthaśāstra to the 4th century BCE.[4]
Most modern day historians are of the opinion that this document definitely dates back to the early Mauryan era. Many administrative terms used are similar to those used in the edicts of Ashoka. The Magadha kingdom under the Nanda Dynasty is given as a case study. The language of many fragments is archaic. Certain inconsistencies may be explained by the fact that the document has probably seen many revisions by various authors at different times. It has been suggested that Vishnugupta was a later editor of the original work by Chanakya

Answer 2

The most coveted knowledge about administration - national and else - is Arthasastr' which is said to be written by 'Vishnu Gupth' or 'Chanakya', who was the Prime Minister of Maurya King Chandra Gupth - II. During the course, in praise of the King, many literary work was borne including the story of 'Vikramaditya'. One who reads 'Arthashastra' would be able to take over the correct control of administration, but present administration gives less importance for punishment part, which is the most important in administration and by punishment only the followers would be refrained from doing any mistakes knowingly or unknowingly.

Answer 3

The Arthashastra (more precisely Arthaśāstra) is a treatise on statecraft and economic policy which identifies its author by the names Kauṭilya and Viṣṇugupta, who are traditionally identified with the Mauryan minister Cāṇakya

Different scholars have translated the word "arthaśāstra" in different ways:

R.P. Kangle – "science of politics," a treatise to help a king in "the acquisition and protection of the earth."
A.L. Basham – a "treatise on polity"
D.D. Kosambi – "science of material gain"
G.P. Singh – "science of polity"
Roger Boesche – "science of political economy"

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.

It's on the web at the source listed.

Answer 4

It is a treatise on government, which is said to have been written by the prime minister of India's first great emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. Although often compared to Machiavelli's Prince because of its sometimes ruthless approach to practical politics, Kautilya's work is far more varied--and entertaining--than usual accounts of it indicate. He mixes the harsh pragmatism for which he is famed with compassion for the poor, for slaves, and for women. He reveals the imagination of a romancer in imagining all manner of scenarios which can hardly have been commonplace in real life.

Answer 5

Much of our knowledge about state policy under the Mauryas comes from the Arthashastra written by Kautilya (more popularly known as Chanakya), who was a Brahmin minister under Chandragupta Maurya. Though it was written at the end of the fourth century BC, it appears to have been rediscovered only in 1905, after centuries of oblivion. The treatise in its present form is most likely not the text written by Kautilya, though it is probably based on a text that was authored by Kautilya; and in no case can the text in its entirety be ascribed to Kautilya, on account of numerous stylistic and linguistic variations.

The book, written in Sanskrit, discusses theories and principles of governing a state. It is not an account of Mauryan administration. The title, Arthashastra, which means "the Science of Material Gain" or "Science of Polity", does not leave any doubts about its ends. According to Kautilya, the ruler should use any means to attain his goal and his actions required no moral sanction. The only problems discussed are of the most practical kind. Though the kings were allowed a free rein, the citizens were subject to a rigid set of rules. This double standard has been cited as an excuse for the obsolescence of the Arthashastra, though the real cause of its ultimate neglect, as the Indian historian Romila Thapar suggests, was the formation of a totally different society to which these methods no longer applied.

Arthashastra remains unique in all of Indian literature because of its total absence of specious reasoning, or its unabashed advocacy of realpolitik, and scholars continued to study it for its clear cut arguments and formal prose till the twelfth century. Espionage and the liberal use of provocative agents is recommended on a large scale. Murder and false accusations were to be used by a king's secret agents without any thoughts to morals or ethics. There are chapters for kings to help them keep in check the premature ambitions of their sons, and likewise chapters intended to help princes to thwart their fathers' domineering authority. However, Kautilya ruefully admits that it is just as difficult to detect an official's dishonesty as it is to discover how much water is drunk by the swimming fish.

Kautilya helped the young Chandragupta Maurya, who was a Vaishya, to ascend to the Nanda throne in 321 BC. Kautilya's counsel is particularly remarkable because the young Maurya's supporters were not as well armed as the Nandas. Kautilya continued to help Chandragupta Maurya in his campaigns and his influence was crucial in consolidating the great Mauryan empire. He has often been likened to Machiavelli by political theorists, and the name of Chanakya is still reminiscent of a vastly scheming and clever political adviser. In very recent years, Indian state television, or Doordarshan as it is known, commissioned and screened a television serial on the life and intrigues of Chanakya..

Answer 6

Kautilya's 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
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; if the virgin dies in consequence, the offender shall be put to death. He who defiles a virgin of lesser caste who has attained majority shall have his middle finger cut off or pay a fine of 200 panas, besides giving an adequate compensation to her father. No man shall have sexual intercourse with a woman against her will. He who defiles a willing virgin shall pay a fine of 54 panas, while the maiden herself shall pay a fine of half the amount. When a man impersonates another man who has already paid the nuptial fee to a woman, he shall have his hand cut off or pay a fine of 400 panas, besides making good the nuptial fee. No man who has connection with a virgin that has passed seven menses and has not yet succeeded in marrying her, though she has been betrothed to him, shall either be guilty or pay any compensation to her father. . .When a woman, being desirous of intercourse, yields herself to a man of the same caste and rank, she shall be fined twelve panas, while any other woman who is an abettor in the case shall be fined twice as much. . . A woman who, of her own accord, yields herself to a man, shall be a slave to the king

Answer 7

its by chanakya and its one of the best books on politics.it mentions that a war can be won by 4 methods..saam,daam ,danda and bheda
saam means by words
daam means by bribe
danda means punishments
bheda means spying
it also mentions that just the way one cant identify how much water is drunk by a fish in pond,the same way bribery taken my officials cant be identified,
it also tells us abt the contemprory mauryan era and its culture and many practices of the time told true even now....

Answer 8

Chanakya .............also knowns as Kautilya in the 4th century BC