Studies in Ancient Hindu Polity (Based on the Arthashastra of Kautilya), Vol. I c3.16

c3.16

are acknowledged authorities in their respective subjects, had a common author, and that that author was Chāṇakya. Compare in this connexion the enumeration of Chāṇakya’s names in *Abhidhānachintāmaṇi* quoted above. The boast about “rescue of learning” is also supported by Kāmandaka, who refers to Chāṇakya’s encyclopædic learning in such phrases as “यो बभूव भुवि विश्रुतः,” “वेदविदां वरः,” “विद्यानां पारदृश्वनः,” etc. Another significant fact to be noted in this connexion is the identity of numerous passages in the three works named above, pointing to their common origin. The whole subject, however, deserves a critical investigation.