Political Science · Indian Political Thought
UGC NET December 2019 Political Science
The Arthashastra is also known as:
AShruti
BSmriti
CSamhita
DNitishastra ✓ Correct
Correct answer: (D) Nitishastra — The Arthashastra is also known as Nitishastra, the science of polity and statecraft.
Explanation
★The Arthashastra is also known as Nitishastra, the science of polity and statecraft.
★Written in Sanskrit and dated to around the 3rd century BCE, it deals with statecraft, economic policy and military strategy.
★It was authored by Chanakya, also called Kautilya, the adviser and prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya.
★The work covers the nature of government, law, the court system, ethics, economics, diplomacy and the duties of a king.
★Shruti refers to revealed scripture such as the Vedas, which the Arthashastra is not.
★Smriti refers to remembered texts of law such as the dharmashastras, a different genre from Kautilya's manual.
★Samhita denotes a collection, especially of Vedic hymns, again distinct from a treatise on polity.
★Kautilya treated artha, material well-being, as an independent science, and the Arthashastra is often called the first textbook in geopolitics.
★Kautilya based good governance on four branches of knowledge: anvikshiki (philosophy), trayi (the three Vedas), varta (economics) and dandaniti (the science of government).
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