The Arthashastra is an atypical text. For one, it is unlike the religious texts of that period in being quite precise and definite. One’s eyes might glaze over after reading some of the smritis ...

Budget 2012: Pranab quotes Kautilya and Shakespeare Image: Mukherjee had quoted a Sanskrit couplet of Kautilya.

Way back in his Budget speech for 1984-85, Mr. Mukherjee had quoted a Sanskrit couplet of Kautilya, while talking about his “endeavour to keep the budgetary deficit to a relatively low figure”.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ancient Sanskrit text the Arthashastra, regarded as one of the major works of Indian literature. Written in the style of a scientific treatise, it provides ...

Today, the plaintiff is expected to provide evidence in court. Jurists in ancient India saw the issue as more complex—the burden of proof was determined after both parties had spoken.

Some believe that Indians “must” follow Kautilya, but not that Western strategy must follow Machiavelli.

We can describe the discovery of the Arthashastra as a fortunate accident, happening as it did in 1905. The first Sanskrit edition, published in 1909, was very timely. The new century had barely ...

Kautilya is the author of Arthashastra — the book on government art. Historians, due to the absence of any historical evidence, could not get a lot of information about the author's life and ...