The Classical Accounts of India c22.s2.26

c22.s2.26

Special interest attaches to this Fragment, for it contains an account of the Municipal and Military Boards of Administration. Very important conclusions have been drawn from this Fragment regarding the state of things in the time of Chandragupta Maurya, and it has figured prominently in the discussion of the genuineness of the text of the *Arthasastra*, attributed to Kautilya. In particular, the absence of any reference to the Municipal and Military Boards in Kautilya's *Arthasastra* has been put forward as a strong argument against accepting that work as belonging to the time of Chandragupta Maurya. In view of such great importance naturally attaching to any statement of Megasthenes, we must be very cautious in attributing to Megasthenes any passage for which his name or authority is not specifically cited.