AN INTRODUCTION TO THE KAUTILYA’S POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

It is very much noteworthy that though the sole credit for dispelling the disparaging notion, especially among the western scholars, that the ancient Indian Sanskrit Literature was a barren land of serious political theory, goes to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, but the whole body of ancient Indian Sanskrit literature contributed a great deal to political theory, statecraft and theory of government and hence to the progression of the Universe in general and to the progression (Abhyudaya) of political Universe in particular. Chanakya himself has acknowledged that his work (Arthashastra) is a presentation of the political wisdom collected from the preceding Indian scriptures. The knowledge that man has acquired today is the result of his long struggle for existence and survival. It is a long story of trials and errors, and accumulated experience. During the long history of the march of mankind, there were several periods of glorious achievements and progress in all walks of life and also periods of dismal failures. A continuous narration of this fascinating story for the last twenty five centuries and more are recorded in Sanskrit literature