The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c13.s1.5

c13.s1.5

It is here, I think, that we have to look for the practical value of the *Arthaśāstra*. If we think of the importance of *mantra*, the consilium of king and councillors, it is easy to see that the art of argumentation and discussion is not a purely academic concern but a matter of extremely practical importance. The interesting point is that whereas administration usually was in the hands of specialized castes or, rather, families of brahmins, kāyasths, and the like who naturally tended to guard their expertise in arguing and deciding administrative business so as to be indispensable to their masters, the matter is here thrown wide open, and the master is invited to acquire the special skills of argumentation and debate that are the brahmin's, not the kṣatriya's, birthright and raison d'être.