A History of Hindu Political Theories from the Earliest Times to the End of the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century A.D. c9.6

c9.6

Thus the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya is much more than a summary of the earlier literature on the subject : it involves, in the form of a closer analysis of the earlier ideas and notions, a virtual reconstruction of the science. Well may Kāmandaka, himself an enthusiastic disciple of Kauṭilya, acclaim his master as the maker of a new science.∗ But much as Kauṭilya stands high above his fellows, there is one respect, we think, in which he fails. The most obvious attribute of his genius which stamps itself almost upon every page of his work is its intensely practical nature. The same bent of mind which apparently made the author impatient of the conflicting views of the older Arthaśāstra manifested itself in a studied neglect of abstract speculation. Thus Kauṭilya's work strictly corresponds to the definition of Arthaśāstra—it deals not with the theory of the State, but with the Art of Government and kindred topics.†