The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c11.s8.3

c11.s8.3

The most commonsense and matter of fact view of the last chapter of the *Arthaśāstra* ought to be (1) that the writer of this chapter is not the same man as Kauṭalya, (2) that Kauṭalya is a famous name and is very highly adored by the writer, and (3) that the writer has collected together the Kauṭalyan ideas for publication under his editorship. As for the relation in which the writer of the last chapter stands to Kauṭalya two alternatives may be suggested. First, the writer is a pupil, colleague or secretary of Kauṭalya. Or perhaps the writer is exploiting Kauṭalya’s name in order to palm his own ideas off as Kauṭalyan. Now, it appears that there is nobody to challenge the alleged Kauṭalyan authorship of the main body of the book. It has, therefore, been accepted by the people as emanating from Kauṭalya himself on the assurance or authority of the editor, i.e., the writer of the last chapter. The origin of the Indian tradition about the Kauṭalyan school or system may have to be sought in these circumstances. The tradition may have been started by this editor and it caught the imagination of the folk or the literary public.