Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c2.3

c2.3

The question of the extent to which the unique Sanskrit work, the *Arthaśāstra* of Kautilya, may be treated as a source of Maurya history, has been amply answered in the pages of the book. I have utilised much material found in the *Arthaśāstra*, which is not yet sufficiently known or noticed. I am indebted for its interpretation to the erudite commentary known as *Śrīmūlam*, written by the late T. Ganapati Sastri on the basis of the earlier Sanskrit commentaries by Bhaṭṭasvāmī and Mādhavayajvan, and also a Malayalam commentary discovered by him, which are of great value as preserving older traditions. The work also embodies collation and comparison of evidence from different sources, Classical Works, Sanskrit, Buddhist and Jain Texts, and the Inscriptions of Asoka.