Kautilya

Kautilya (late 300s bc), also known as Chanakya, minister to the Indian king Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan Empire (321?-180 bc); the empire, which was located in what is now Bihār State, was the first great South Asian empire. Little is known about Kautilya. He was educated at Taxila, then the capital of Gandhara, in present-day Pakistan. He almost certainly helped Chandragupta overthrow the last king of the Nanda dynasty. Some sources describe him as a wily schemer who adopted any methods available to advance the plans of the king. Kautilya is best known as one of the chief authors of the Arthasastra, the first and most important Indian text on how a king should wield political and economic power.

The Arthasastra contains long sections composed in the centuries after Kautilya lived but attributed to him because of his legendary political wisdom. Much of the text deals with theoretical situations, but some sections appear to represent actual conditions and strategy during the time of the Mauryan empire. The book describes in detail a centralized administrative system, including provincial governors, levels of bureaucrats, a complex tax system, and a royal army. It lists methods for encouraging agriculture, commerce, and industry to increase revenues for state projects.

The Arthasastra also develops a foreign affairs model known as the circle of states. In this model, all states are surrounded by natural enemies. Therefore, although the king who wishes to be a conqueror is surrounded by enemies, so too are his enemies. The wise king relies on the power of his enemies’ enemies as much as he does on his own power. The book explains a variety of strategies for making and breaking alliances, using military force or treaties, and employing spies or propaganda to weaken opponents and advance one’s aims.