Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.s20.7

c11.s20.7

Kauṭilya deprecates the use of wood in fortifications and defences ; but that Pāṭaliputra was surrounded by a wooden palisade is evident from Greek writings and the results of excavations. But to assume that Kauṭilya must belong to a much later age is not by any means the only way in which this discrepancy could be explained. Other equally inconclusive evidences that have been cited as proof of a much later date for the *Arthaśāstra* than the Mauryan epoch are : the use of Sanskrit as the language of royal rescripts contemplated in the *Śāsanādhikāra* which is in striking contrast with the employment of Prākrit in the inscriptions for several centuries from the days of Asoka ; and the mention of Pārasamudra and Cinabhūmi (II, ii) which remind us of Palasimundu of the Periplus and of the contact with the Chinese silk trade of a later epoch.