Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c11.71

c11.71

We have also seen that both Megasthenes and Kauṭilya are at one in describing how hunting was preeminently a royal pastime. As has been already noted, Kauṭilya is in favour of hunting as a healthy and useful sport for the king, but he provides for his safety by the employment of hunters (*Lubdhakas*) who, with the hounds of the royal kennels, would keep the forests free of ferocious animals like tigers, so that the king might learn in safety the difficult art of shooting at a moving mark like deer.