History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s14.37

v1.c6.s14.37

The question of the date of the Kauṭilīya can be settled only approximately and for that we have to rely only on the internal evidence. The external evidence does not carry us far; we can only say that the Kauṭilīya is certainly not later than the 2nd century A. D., since Kāmandaka, the Tantrākhyāyikā, and Bāṇa, speak of it with admiration. No one claims it to be earlier than 300 B. C. Even Keith who assigns it a late date and cannot place it earlier than 100 B. C. at the most has to admit (J R A S 1916, p. 135) that for a precise date we have no real ground.