The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c14.s2.9

c14.s2.9

Curiously enough, however, in the history of Hindu political speculation it is not the historic Kautilya but a *nom-de-plume*, that of Śukra, a “sage” like Manu, that happened to become the patronymic of *nîti-śâstras*. The volume attributed to this *âchârya*, “learned doctor” or professor, viz., the *Śukra-nîti*³ (*Śukra’s Laws on Politics*) is almost synonymous with *Staatswissenschaft* or political philosophy in the scientific tradition of India. In its present form it is evidently a later compilation than the *Kâmandakî-nîti*, but it contains materials that go back to the earliest epochs of Hindu history.⁴