Arthaśāstraअर्थशास्त्र
A manual of statecraft, economy and administration. 38 passages in the chapters come from it.
- What it is
- 15 books, 150 chapters and 180 topics, mostly in short prose rules with some verse
- Composed
- Tradition places it in the 4th century BCE. Many scholars think the text we have was put together later, perhaps between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, from older material
- By
- Ascribed to Kauṭilya, whom later tradition identifies with Cāṇakya, minister to Candragupta Maurya
- References on this site
- Book.chapter.verse in R. P. Kangle's critical edition (1960–65): 1.19.34 is book 1, chapter 19, verse 34. Older translations number differently, so check which numbering your edition follows.
The fullest ancient Indian work on running a state. It covers the ruler's training and daily routine, how to choose and test ministers, the treasury and revenue, the superintendents of mines, trade, agriculture, weights and measures, the courts, spies, war and diplomacy, including its theory of the circle of neighbouring states.
The text was lost for centuries. In 1905 a manuscript reached R. Shamasastry at the Oriental Library in Mysore; he published the Sanskrit in 1909 and an English translation in 1915. Its detail on administration, revenue and accounts is why management writers return to it.
Read it in full
- R. Shamasastry's translation (1915), hosted by Frances Pritchett, Columbia University; its numbering differs from Kangle's (free, opens another site)
Translations in print
- R. P. Kangle, The Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra, 3 parts (University of Bombay, 1960–65)
- Patrick Olivelle, King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra (Oxford, 2013)
Names with marks such as ā, ṣ or ṛ are explained in how to read the names and terms.
The 38 passages the chapters quote
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Management and Its Principles
Authority and responsibility and the ruler's accountability
Read it in its chapter“In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness; in their welfare, his welfare.” प्रजासुखे सुखं राज्ञः प्रजानां च हिते हितम् । prajāsukhe sukhaṃ rājñaḥ prajānāṃ ca hite hitam. Arthaśāstra 1.19.34
“The root of wealth is activity; its absence brings ruin.” अर्थस्य मूलमुत्थानमनर्थस्य विपर्ययः । arthasya mūlam utthānam anarthasya viparyayaḥ. Arthaśāstra 1.19.35; Bhagavad Gītā 18.26
Also cites: Bhagavad GītāDiscuss
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Theories of Management
Classical and the Arthaśāstra as a management manual
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra, Book 2 (Adhyakṣapracāra)
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Decision Making
The decision process and the five limbs of counsel
Read it in its chapterमन्त्रपूर्वाः सर्वारम्भाः । mantrapūrvāḥ sarvārambhāḥ. “All undertakings are preceded by counsel.” Arthaśāstra 1.15.2; five limbs at 1.15.42
स्वाम्यमात्यजनपददुर्गकोशदण्डमित्राणि प्रकृतयः । svāmy-amātya-janapada-durga-kośa-daṇḍa-mitrāṇi prakṛtayaḥ. Arthaśāstra 6.1.1
“Kingship is possible only with assistance; one wheel alone does not move.” सहायसाध्यं राजत्वं चक्रमेकं न वर्तते । sahāyasādhyaṃ rājatvaṃ cakram ekaṃ na vartate. Arthaśāstra 1.7.9
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Organisation Structure
Functional structure and departmental superintendents
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra, Book 2
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Business Economics and Demand
The definition of economics and the definition of artha
Read it in its chapterमनुष्याणां वृत्तिरर्थः । manuṣyāṇāṃ vṛttir arthaḥ. “The livelihood of people is wealth.” Arthaśāstra 15.1.1
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Business Economics and Demand
Price regulation in the market
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.16; margins at 4.2
Arthaśāstra 2.16 and 4.2 (trade regulation); 4.3 (remedies against calamities)
- My viewUnit 1 · Indifference Curve Analysis
The budget line and spreading effort across three aims
Read it in its chapterधर्मार्थाविरोधेन कामं सेवेत । dharmārthāvirodhena kāmaṃ seveta. Arthaśāstra 1.7.3
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Market Structures
Oligopoly and collusion and traders who combine
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 4.2 (control of traders)
- My viewUnit 1 · Market Structures
Price discrimination and different margins for different goods
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.16; margins at 4.2
Arthaśāstra, Book 2 (superintendents of mines and manufactures)
- My viewUnit 1 · National Income and Inflation
National accounts and the sources of revenue
Read it in its chapterसमाहर्ता दुर्गं राष्ट्रं खनिं सेतुं वनं व्रजं वणिक्पथं चावेक्षेत । samāhartā durgaṃ rāṣṭraṃ khaniṃ setuṃ vanaṃ vrajaṃ vaṇikpathaṃ cāvekṣeta. Arthaśāstra 2.6.1; accounts office at 2.7
- My viewUnit 1 · National Income and Inflation
Price control measures and regulation and relief
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.16; 4.2; 4.3; the mint at 2.12
- DocumentedUnit 1 · Corporate Governance
Agency problem and the tasting of the king's wealth
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.9 (conduct and embezzlement by officials)
Arthaśāstra 1.19.34
- DocumentedUnit 2 · Organisational Behaviour
Bureaucracy's rules and records and the accounts office
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.7
- DocumentedUnit 2 · Culture and Climate
Culture set from the top and the ruler's energy
Read it in its chapter“When the ruler is active, his servants rise with him; when he is careless, they are careless too.” राजानमुत्थितमनूत्तिष्ठन्ते भृत्याः । प्रमाद्यन्तमनुप्रमाद्यन्ति । rājānam utthitam anūttiṣṭhante bhṛtyāḥ; pramādyantam anupramādyanti. Arthaśāstra 1.19.1–2
- My viewUnit 2 · Justice and Whistleblowing
Internal whistleblowing channels and a ruler who can be reached
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 1.19
- DocumentedUnit 2 · Recruitment and Selection
Selection's secret trials and the four allurements
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 1.10
- DocumentedUnit 2 · Job Analysis and Design
A graded pay structure and Kauṭilya's salary scale
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 5.3
- DocumentedUnit 2 · Compensation Management
Compensation for dependants and provision for families
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 5.3
- DocumentedUnit 2 · Compensation Management
Welfare at life events and help at death, sickness and childbirth
Read it in its chapter“On occasions of death, sickness and childbirth among them, let him help with money, with honour and with service.” प्रेतव्याधितसूतिकाकृत्येषु चैषामर्थमानकर्म कुर्यात् । preta-vyādhita-sūtikā-kṛtyeṣu caiṣām artha-māna-karma kuryāt. Arthaśāstra 5.3.30
- DocumentedUnit 4 · Accounting Principles
Periodic accounts to a fixed form and the accounts office
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.7
- My viewUnit 4 · Financial Statements
The statement of income and expenditure and the sources of revenue
Read it in its chapterसमाहर्ता दुर्गं राष्ट्रं खनिं सेतुं वनं व्रजं वणिक्पथं चावेक्षेत । samāhartā durgaṃ rāṣṭraṃ khaniṃ setuṃ vanaṃ vrajaṃ vaṇikpathaṃ cāvekṣeta. Arthaśāstra 2.6.1; accounts office at 2.7
- My viewUnit 4 · Capital Structure
Agency cost theory and the tasting of the king’s wealth
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.9 (conduct and embezzlement by officials)
- DocumentedUnit 6 · Internal Analysis and SWOT
Finding internal weaknesses and calamities of the constituents
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 8.1
- DocumentedUnit 6 · Internal Analysis and SWOT
SWOT before a campaign and power, place and time
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 9.1
- DocumentedUnit 6 · Growth and Diversification
Choosing a grand strategy and the six measures
Read it in its chapterसन्धिविग्रहआसनयानसंश्रयद्वैधीभावाः षाड्गुण्यम् । sandhi-vigraha-āsana-yāna-saṃśraya-dvaidhībhāvāḥ ṣāḍguṇyam. “Peace, war, staying quiet, marching, seeking shelter and the double policy make up the six measures.” Arthaśāstra 7.1
- My viewUnit 6 · Growth and Diversification
Backward integration and the treasury and the mines
Read it in its chapterआकरप्रभवः कोशः । कोशाद्दण्डः प्रजायते । ākaraprabhavaḥ kośaḥ, kośād daṇḍaḥ prajāyate. “The treasury has its source in the mines; from the treasury the army is born.” Arthaśāstra 2.12
- DocumentedUnit 6 · Alliances, Going Global, Retrenchment
Sharing in a joint venture and undertakings in partnership
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 3.14
- DocumentedUnit 7 · Distribution and Supply Chains
Inventory and safety stock and the storehouse
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.15
- DocumentedUnit 7 · Distribution and Supply Chains
Choosing transport routes and comparing trade routes
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 7.12
- DocumentedUnit 7 · Buying Behaviour
Expert evaluation in organisational buying and examining goods for the treasury
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.11
- DocumentedUnit 7 · Retail Marketing
Trust at the point of sale and honest weights and measures
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.19; traders at 4.2
- DocumentedUnit 7 · International Marketing
Trading abroad and trade in foreign territory
Read it in its chapterArthaśāstra 2.16
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