KAUTILYA:

Kautilya, also known as Chanakya or Vishnugupta was born in 300 B.C. He was a
philosopher and statesman who wrote a classic treatise on polity known as Arthashastra. It is
compilation of almost everything that had been written in India up to his time on the science
of Artha or material prosperity which is one of the four goals of human life. The means of
subsistence according to Kautilya is primarily, wealth and secondarily, earth.
Born in a Brahmin family, he received his education at Takshasila, the renowned centre of
learning at that period, where he studied politics, defence, architecture, medicine and a few
others. He became a counsellor and adviser to King Chandragupta, founder of the Maurya
dynasty, after a brief stint with the previous Nanda Dynasty.  It is believed that he was
instrumental in assisting King Chandragupta to overthrow the Nanda dynasty which ruled the
kingdom of Magadha.
He served as the Mahamatya in the Mauryan Empire which is a post similar to the present
day Prime Minister and thus possessed rich experience in political administration and defence
matters. Eventually, Kautilya became an intelligent scholar, fearless thinker, capable
secretary and astute politician.
Later, he retired from active politics and took upon the task of writing Arthashastra. Being a
profound scholar, he studied the literature available to him on subjects like philosophy,
religion, politics and diplomacy. However, he came out with an independent account and
commentary of his own in the form of Arthashastra. Arthashastra is an exceptional
compilation of his political theory and ideas on public administration, which is more a treaty
on statecraft.

INTRODUCTION:
Arthashastra means the science (sastra) of wealth/earth/polity (artha). ‘Artha’ however is bit
wider and an all-embracing term with variety of meanings. In ‘Arthashastra’ itself it is being
used in various contexts, points out L N Rangarajan in his translation of Kautilya —
Arthashastra. It is used in the sense of material well-being, in livelihood, economically
productive activity trade etc. This is bit similar with ‘wealth’ which is defined in ‘Wealth of
Nations’. In rather simple way, ‘arthashastra’ can be defined as ‘science and art of politics
and diplomacy’. This treatise is divided into sixteen books dealing with virtually every topic
concerned with the running of a state – taxation, law, diplomacy, military strategy,
economics, bureaucracy etc. The book is a masterpiece which covers a wide range of topics
like statecraft, politics, strategy, selection and training of employees, leadership skills, legal
systems, accounting systems, taxation, fiscal policies, civil rules, internal and foreign trade
etc. Arthashastra advocates rational ethic to the conduct of the affairs of the state. The
emphasis is on codification of law and uniformity of law throughout the empire. In this essay
we shall try to explore Kautilya’s views on legal systems, justice and king’s role in
maintaining law and order as discussed in Arthashastra by Kautilya himself.

KAUTILYA ON LAW AND JUSTICE:

Kautilya maintained that it is essential duty of government to maintain order. He defines

‘order’ broadly to include both social as well as order in the sense of preventing and
punishing criminal activity. Arthashastra thus contains both the civil law and criminal law.
Kautilya ascribed a lot of importance to ‘dharma’. According to him, ‘the ultimate source of
all law is dharma’. He appealed in the name of ‘dharma’ to the sense of honour and duty and
to human dignity, to moral responsibility and to enlightened patriotism. It’s quite intelligible
that the judge in the arthashastra was called ‘dharmashta’ or upholder of dharma. He
maintained that so long every ‘Arya’ follows his ‘svadharma’ having due regard to his
‘varna’ and ‘ashrama’ and the king follows his ‘rajdharma’, social order will be maintained.

Kautilya’s emphasis on duties of King in maintaining law and order in the society is so much
that he writes in Arthashastra, “because the King is the guardian of right conduct of this
world with four ‘varnas’ and four ‘ashramas’ he [alone] can enact and promulgate laws [to
uphold them] when all traditional codes of conduct perish [through disuse or disobedience].”

The King was looked upon an embodiment of virtue, a protector of dharma. He too was
governed by his dharma as any other citizen was. Thus if any actions of the King went
against the prevailing notion of dharma, associations and/or the individual citizens were free
to question him. He recalls every time that ‘dharma’ alone is guiding star for every king, or
rather every individual and that following ‘dharma’ one shall have a life of dignity while
social order prevailing in society. He remarks, “A King who administers justice in
accordance with ‘dharma’, evidence, customs, and written law will be able to conquer whole
world”. Kautilya recognized the importance of rational law or King’s law and its priority to
‘dharma’, ‘vyayhara’ and ‘charitra’. He maintained that King’s law was to be in accordance
with the injunctions of the three Vedas wherein the four ‘varnas’ and ‘ashramas’ are defined.
King was not the sole interpreter of dharma. In fact there was no specific institution vested
with the authority of interpreting dharma. Every individual was deemed competent to
interpret it. This was an important factor in ensuring the non-religious character of the Vedic
state.

Kautilya did not view law to be an expression of the free will of the people. Thus sovereignty
– the authority to make laws, did not vest with citizens. Laws were derived from four sources
– dharma (scared law), vyavhara (evidence), charita (history and custom), and rajasasana
(edicts of the King). Kautilya prescribe that any matter of dispute shall be judged according
to four bases of justice. These in order of increasing importance are:

– ‘Dharma’, which is based on truth

– ‘Evidence’, which is based on witnesses

– ‘Custom’, i.e. tradition accepted by the people

– ‘Royal Edicts’, i.e. law as promulgated.

In case of conflict amongst the various laws, dharma was supreme. The ordering of the other
laws was case specific. Rajasasana ordered the relationship between the three major social
groupings — the citizen, the association, and the state. The constitutional rules at the state
level were specified in the rajasasana but the constitutional rules at the level of the
association were to be decided by the members of the association. The collective choice and
the operational level rules of the association were also decided by the members of the
association though the state did promulgate laws to safeguard the individual member from the
tyranny of the majority in the association. Arthashastra outlines a system of civil, criminal,
and mercantile law (now known as business laws). For example the following were codified:
a procedure for interrogation, torture, and trial, the rights of the accused, what constitutes
permissible evidence, a procedure for autopsy in case of death in suspicious circumstances,
what constitutes defamation and procedure for claiming damages, valid and invalid contracts.

We see in Arthashastra that law was not viewed just as code of prohibition, nor was it limited
to corrective justice of law courts. Its range was wider than morality itself and institutions
were creation of law while traditions and customs rested on its sanctions. All ideas of society
were moulded by it and law was blended with religion, with morality and with public opinion
and by its subtle operations subjected the society to its will. The role of law in the society was
to bring a just order in society and the tremendous task was to be shouldered by the King
along with his subordinates. As rightly pointed out by Kautilya in his famous verse —

“In the happiness of his subjects lies the King’s happiness; In their welfare his welfare. He
shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but, Treat as beneficial to him
whatever pleases his subjects”

KAUTILYA’S SAPTANG THEORY OF STATE:

The Mauryan era of ancient India gave the world a significant treatise, the Arthashastra
of Kautilya. It offers deep insights into political statecraft. Kautilya is known as the Indian
Machiavelli because of his ruthless and shrewd tactics and policies reflecting an approach to
statecraft including warfare.

Nature of State
The state of ‘nature’ is imagined to be one of total anarchy, in which ‘might was right’.When
people were oppressed by Matyanyaya, the law of the fish, according to which the bigger
fish swallows the smaller ones they selected Manu– son of Vivasvat the king.
It was settled that the king should receive one-sixth of the grain and one-tenth of merchandise
and gold, as his due. It was the revenue which made it possible for the king to ensure the
security and prosperity of his subjects. People agreed to pay taxes and he ruled by one person
in order that they might be able to enjoy well-being and security. In Kautilya’s Arthashastra,
there is no explicit theory of social contract as laid down by
the contractualist. Neither does Kautilya use the contract to make the king all powerful.

Elements of State
Kautilya enumerated seven prakritis or essential organs of the state. They are as follow:-
(i) Swami (The Ruler)
(ii) Amatya (The Minister)
(iii) Janapada (The Population)
(iv) Durga (The Fortified Capital)
(v) Kosha (The Treasury)
(vi) Danda (The Army)
(vii) Mitra (Ally and Friend)
Swami(The Ruler)
It is the first and the most important element. Swami means the monarch. He should be a
native of the soil and born in a noble family. He should be brave and well learned. He makes
all the important appointments and supervises the government. He has to be virtuous and
should treat his subjects like his own children. Kautilya has given extensive powers to the
monarch but those powers are meant for the welfare of them subjects. In the welfare and
happiness of his subjects, lies his own happiness.

Amatya (The Minister)

It refers to the council of ministers as well as the supporting officials and subordinate staffs.
They are meant for assisting the monarch in day to day affairs of the state. Amatya gives
suggestions to king, collects taxes, develops new villages and cities, ensures defense of the
state and all other tasks as assigned by the king.

Janpada (The Population)

It refers to territory and people of the state. The territory of the state should be fertile and
should have abundance of forest, rivers, mountains, minerals, wild life etc. It should have
have good climate. People should be loyal to their king, hard working, disciplined, religious,
ready to fight for their motherland, should pay taxes regularly and happily.

Durga (The Fortified Capital)

It refers to forts. The state should have sufficient number of forts across its territory at
strategic locations for ensuring defense against foreign invasions. Forts should be built near
hills/mountains, deserts, dense forests and big water bodies. They garrison soldiers, store
food grains for emergency and also serve as a hideout for the king when his life in danger.

Kosha(The Treasury)
This means treasury of the state. Finance is life blood of any state without which it is almost
impossible to run it. Money is needed for paying salaries, building new infrastructure, etc.
The treasury should be full of money and valuable metals and gems. It can be increased
through taxation and plundering enemy states in war.

Danda(The Army)
It refers to military. The  state should have a regular, large, disciplined and well trained
military. It is crucial for the security of the state. The soldiers should be recruited from those
 families which are traditionally associated with military. The soldiers should paid well and
their families should be taken care of in most suitable way. Proper training and equipment
should be made available. Well fed and well trained soldiers can win any battle. The king
should take care of the soldiers and the soldiers will be ready to sacrifice even their life for
him.

Mitra (Ally and Friend)

It refers to friends of the king. The monarch should maintain friendly relationship with
traditional friends of his forefathers. He should also make new friendships. He should send
gifts and other pleasantries for his friends. They should be helped in times of emergency.
They should be loyal. Friends add to the power of the state. They are also important from
foreign trade view point.

 Role of king
Kautilya gives extensive powers to the kings and attaches an element of divinity. His
foremost duty is protection of the subjects and their property. King’s sources of power
revolving around three sources– Prabhu Shakti (the power of the army and the
treasury),Manta Shakti (advice of wise men, specially the council of ministers) and Utsah
Shakti (charisma). Duties of Kings Kautilya’s Arthashastra does not believe in the ‘Theory
of Divine’ origin of the Monarch. According to him, state is a human institution and it should
be manned by a human being. So, the king should be the protector of the dharma of whole
society.  Arthashastra pointed out duties of kings are:
 Should follow his rajya dharma.
 Should exhibit attributes, Atma Vrata (self-control) l Should ease the six enemies—
Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobh (greed), Mana (vanity), Mada
(haughtiness), and Harsh (overjoy).

System of Law

Although, Kautilya’s state theory states the monarchical democracy, but the sole authority
vested under the king to make law and that it derived from four sources Dharma (sacred
law), Vyavhara (evidence), Charita (history and custom) and Rajasasana (edicts of the
king).
Arthashastra represents a system of civil, criminal and mercantile law. For instance, the
following were codified a procedure for interrogation, torture, trial, the rights of the accused,
Constitution of permissible evidence, a procedure for autopsy in case of death in suspicious
circumstances, Constitution of (deformation) and procedure for claiming damages, invalid
and invalid contract.

 Machinery of Government

The Arthashastra catalogues a phalanx of officers called superintendents, lower in importance

than the ministerial officers and much below them, belonging to the sixth order, according to
remuneration. They are not heads of departments. The superintendents might be as chiefs of
sections dealing with various economic and other activities of the government. Most of these
sections are the modern business departments. A dual control is exercised over the
superintendents. As far as control of the services of the personal and collection of revenue are
concerned, they are under the Collector-General.

ADMINISRATION:

'The discipline of public administration is as old as the civilization itself. In the Indian
context, Indian administration is one of the oldest administrative systems in the world. The
history of ancient Indian administration begins from the Harappan times and continued up to
the beginning of the first millennium till the establishment of the Mughal administration.

In the earlier times, village administration gained precedence over administration of the state.
Gandhian concept of village administration is rooted in the Vedic times. The epics Ramayana
and Mahabharata make a mention of administrative officers and their relevant
[Link] a detailed mention of the administration of the State is found in Kautilya's
Arthasastra. In ancient India, the empires were divided into provinces, provinces into districts
and districts into villages and urban and rural centres.

The modern principles of Administration had their roots in ancient Indian Administration.
For example, the principle of hierarchy had been given a practical shape and coordination
was very much present between the [Link] Indian administration is by and
large, considered synonymous with Kautilya's - the most celebrated figure of Indian
administrative history. His celebrated work Arthashastra is the most important work on
public administration in ancient India. Kautilya's is said to have lived somewhere between the
fourth and third century B.C. and Arthashastra, the oldest text on public administration of the
world was written sometime between 321 and 300 B.C.

Kautilya who was otherwise known as Vishnugupta or Chanakya was the Prime Minister of
Chandragupta Maurya (345-300 B.C.), the founder of Mauryan dynasty. According to
historical sources, it was Chanakya who made Chandragupta Maurya, the king of Magadha.
Through his statesmanship and diplomacy, Chanakya established the Mauryan suzerainty
over the whole of northern India. The name of Kautilya or Chanakya in India symbolizes
diplomacy and statesmanship. Kautilya is often compared with Machiavelli (1459-1527),
whose name is considered to be synonymous in the West with political realism.

CRITICAL REVIEW OF LAW, STATE AND ADMINISTRATION:

Before evaluating Kautilyan thought, we must not forget the context in which the Arthasastra
was written. Kautilya was trying to create, almost single-handedly, order out of chaos, peace
out of war, a public state out of a corrupt one. That is why his ideas were extremely complex.

On the one hand he had suggested the use of all evil means; on the other hand he was
obsessed by the idea of creating a neat administrative system, town planning, problems of
mines, rural and urban colonialisation and settlement, with the creation of dams and canals no
less than with a monetary system and control of weights and measures. Obviously, such a
man could not be preaching political gangsterism; he is not preaching that the end justifies
the means, the only end, which justifies the means, is the preservation and development off
the state, punishment of the wicked and protection of the good.

His great insight lies in the discovery that any agency entrusted with the task of maintenance
of order, acquisition of what has not been achieved so far, and distribution of surplus to the
deserving in society, required creation of an agency or authority which cannot be a common
standard to evaluate all human action, namely, the imperative of life in society, to continue
without hurting anyone in the process. Consequently, it means that nonviolence is good
because as Bhishma said in Mahabharata, anyone who is non-violent gives life breath to the
universe.

Arthashastra, the great Indian classic on public administration, deals with the hierarchy of
officials, the merits and failings of bureaucracy including corruption, geographical divisions
of the empire, field administration through an all-purpose coordinating district overlord, land
revenue and taxation. The Arthashastra is comprised of 413 maxims. Of the fifteen chapters
of the book, public administration claims four.

Foreign relations and defence are discussed in nearly half of Arthashastra, which has little
concern for public administration. In brief Kautilya's work is a comprehensive handbook of
imperial administration and diplomacy. Also, it is remarkably practical and utilitarian and it
advocates 'real politics'.

Kautilya's Arthashastra is unashamedly practical. This work is the loudest proof of the
practical turn of the Indian mind. It is a manual of practical state craft for the day to day
guidance of the prince - that is the ruler. 'Arthashastra' means the science of politics and
public administration. What Kautilya calls 'Arthashastra', most other Indian writers of this
shastra call by other name namely 'nitishastra' or 'rajanitishastra'?

The hallmark of the Arthashastra is the sharp acumen of Kautilya. The principles of public
administration implied in Arthashastra does not command as much attention as the machinery
of government does.

Kautilya, himself, does not give a definition of the science of public administration. In fact,
the term, 'the science of public administration is of recent origin. According to the scholars of
the ancient society and polity, the executive - which is the administrative branch of the
government - evolved much earlier than the judicial and the legislative branches.

According to Kautilya, the science of polity is the Arthashastra and it, mainly, treats public
administration. It is the combination of the science of wealth and the science of government.

The finance department and the other departments dealing with business and allied economic
activities form a vital part of the government.

All ancient Indian writers including Kautilya have invariably discussed the following topics
such as monarchy, constitution and functions of the ministry, principles of foreign policy,
problems of taxation, provincial and local administration, theories of the origin of the state
and the elements of state and miscellaneous theories.

Kautilya says that Crown property is the main basis of production and its profitable
administration is the chief preoccupation of the state. The concern of the state is all-
embracing, replacing private enterprise to an extent "never seen before or after in India".

Kautilya believed in a strong centralized state. For the good of the state, the king enjoyed full
freedom - meaning that he was free to practice treachery, deceit and sacrilege if necessary.

According to him, the constituent elements of the state are the following:

1. The king who exercised political authority (The Svamiri)

2. The officials, who advised him on public administration (The Amatya)

3. Territory (Janapada)

4. The forts (The Durga)

5. The army (The Danda)

6. The treasury (The Kosh)

7. Allies (Mitras)

Among these, the king is the most critical element. He must attain superiority, pre-eminence
and over lordship in his kingdom. He is the personification of the state and its first citizen. He
is the embodiment of power. The principle of unity of command is reflected here.

In the eyes of Kautilya, the king and the state are indispensable - the latter is such an essential
part of society. Succession by heredity was the general rule though exceptions also did exist.

Kautilya says, an ideal king is one who possesses the highest qualities of leadership, intellect,
energy and other personal attributes. He must not be dilatory in his decision making, be
stronger than his counterparts of nearby countries and to be assisted by competent ministers.

Arthashastra portrays a paternal king imbibed with a desire to promote the happiness and
welfare of his subjects. In the happiness of his subjects lays his happiness, in their welfare his
welfare, whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider as good.

Hence the king shall ever be active and discharge his duties, the root of wealth is activity and
of evil its reverse. The welfare of the people claims the first place in his eyes. The main
function of the state was to maintain law and order.

According to Kautilya, the king was a servant of the state. A king has no personal likes; it is
the likes of the subjects (that should be followed by him). The king should surrender his
individuality in the interest of his duties and be virtually a constitutional slave.

The functions of the state were wide ranging and all-pervasive. This means that the public
administrative system designed in the state was necessarily large and sprawling. A large civil
service, to use the modern term for officials of that day, was needed to perform the myriad
functions required. The following words of Kautilya speak of the concept of welfare state,
which is embedded in the directive principles of the constitution of India.

"In the happiness of his subjects lays his happiness, in their welfare his welfare, whatever
pleases his subjects he shall consider as good, but whatever pleases himself he shall not
consider as good."
CONCLUSION:

The ideal country of Kautilya is described as self sufficient villages. The picture of ideal
Kautilyan state that emerges is one of a well run state, prosperous and bustling. Among other
things, for him, the state should be easy to defend, should provide easy means of livelihood,
such as agricultural lands, mines, forests, pastures, trade routes, and so on and should be
inhabited by hardworking agriculturalists and men mostly of lower varnas. The rule of Yatha
Raja Yatha Prajah (As the King is, so are the people) must be upheld. It is a sacred task of
the king to continuously strive for the happiness and welfare of his people. He should treat
them all as equals. In the happiness of the subjects, lies the king’s own happiness and what
may be dear to the king may not be beneficial to him rather what is dear to the people may be
beneficial to him. The king would act as a good leader and take his people to where they
ought to go.  It is prescribed that the Law of Inheritance (dharma), which may be peculiar to
any region or community or village should be recognized and upheld. One of the major
reasons of disputes in the country of India is this only, that one community or religion does
not respect the ideas of the other, so much so that they cannot tolerate each other’s existence.
Kautilya’s ideas on polity also inspire us to see through the fact that power comes from the
countryside, which is the source of all activity.
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kautilyan-views-on-law-and-justice/
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