Introduction The Arthaśāstra is conventionally attributed to Kauṭilya, who is believed to be Cāṇakya, who in turn is equated with Viṣṇugupta, ‘minister’ to the first Mauryan emperor, Candragupta. This identification locates the text as having been written in the middle of the 4 th century BCE, when Mauryan rule was established. Both these contentions—authorship and date—have been questioned by some scholars, and not without reason. Philological studies place the text somewhere between the second century BCE and the third century CE, and its author in other parts of the Indian subcontinent, prominent claimants being Northern Maharashtra and Gujarat. [a] , [1] Establishing the correct authorship and period of any historical text is usually a prerequisite for understanding it in its proper context. Such exercise in philology and antiquarianism, however, is untenable in India given the current state of data gathering. An alternative approach is close reading and comparative analysis with relevant contexts, either coeval or chronologically disparate. Attempting to do so, this paper seeks to historicise the Arthaśāstra , positing that it documents an early political philosophy of what compares well with the fiscal-military state—a type of state that had geared its economy to raise and sustain standing armies by subjecting its populace to regular taxes and implementing fiscal innovations such as national debt and organised credit, albeit with a number of crucial differences. The paper also examines why the Arthaśāstra ’s enlightened approach was subsequently undermined by socio-political forces beyond its control.
Authors
- Attribution
- Saikat K Bose, “Historicising the Arthaśāstra: Early Fiscal-Military States in South Asia,” ORF Occasional Paper No. 451 , October 2024, Observer Research Foundation.
- Pages
- 31
- Published in
- India
Table of Contents
- Introduction Introduction 3
- Context and Character Context and Character 4
- Context and Character Context and Character 5
- Nature of the State in Nature of the State in 6
- Nature of the State in Nature of the State in 7
- Nature of the State in Nature of the State in 8
- Nature of the State in Nature of the State in 9
- Emergence of the Emergence of the 10
- Modern Modern State State 10
- Emergence of the Emergence of the 11
- Modern Modern State State 11
- Emergence of the Emergence of the 12
- Modern Modern State State 12
- Anarchy and the Rise of State Power 13
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 13
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 13
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 14
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 14
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 15
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 15
- Character of the Magadhan Army 16
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 16
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 16
- Administrative Machinery and Taxation 17
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 17
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 17
- Impersonal Institutions and Meritocracy 18
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 18
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 18
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 19
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 19
- Human Capital Development 20
- Empirical Evidence from Empirical Evidence from 20
- Magadha and Contemporary States Magadha and Contemporary States 20
- Magadha and its Contemporaries Magadha and its Contemporaries 21
- Magadha and its Contemporaries Magadha and its Contemporaries 22
- After Magadha After Magadha 23
- After Magadha After Magadha 24
- After Magadha After Magadha 25
- After Magadha After Magadha 26
- After Magadha After Magadha 27
- Endnotes Endnotes 28
- Endnotes Endnotes 29
- Endnotes Endnotes 30
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