The Mauryan Polity c5.s2.t2.1

c5.s2.t2.1

The following is another argument. “The metre of the ślokas (300 in number) in the *Arthaśāstra* is far more classical in type than that of the *Rāmāyaṇa* itself, and it contains correct Triṣṭubh stanzas in regular metre which is clear proof of comparatively recent date. . . . This fact, coupled with the fact that the language is not markedly archaic, suggests that we cannot look for a very early date for the work.”³ This leads us to examine the philological data which find mention in the work.⁴