A mandala can be seen as merely a diagramic way to represent foreign nation relationships. The states participate in diplomacy and war using the six methods of foreign policy. In examining kautilyas political theory, the article answers the. Revisiting arthashastra unveiling the antediluvian. Kautilya wanted the expansion of the empire with harsh measures. Heinrich zimmer uses it to explain events in european history such as power configurations during world war ii. The arthashastra is an ancient indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in sanskrit. Introduction kautilya has been a great luminary in indian administrative history. Theory of state in kautilyas arthashastra kalindi college. Kautilya had discussed about states origin, nature and working. Saptanga theory of state refers to the seven limbs of the state. Kautilya s book came to be the guide for chandragupta. Kautilyas arthashastra is a book about economics written by kautilya.
Traditionally, geopolitical mandalas were based on the concept of there being a central location, or powerhouse, that sought to exert its influence and present its strength by means of gaining cooperation from other such power centers. Arthashastra is a science to the extent that it provides a practical manual for the means. Kautilyas arthasashtra is magnificent work on ancient political thought which was undoubtedly composed between 3rd2nd century b. This article argues that kautilyas concepts such as the mandala. It consists of various multiple permutations and combinations of dealing with the enemy or the shatru, in a battle, when facetoface with the shatru, chanakya says. The dissertation was written in sanskrit by chanakya, the teacher to the founder of the mauryan empire. Kautilya also believed in the divine origin theory. Kautilya, also known as chanakya and vishnugupta, wrote the arthashastra not later than 150 ad though the date has not been conclusively established. Article information, pdf download for diplomatic theory of kautilya. According to the theory of expansion and war, kings have a natural desire for expansion and the people seek security and peace, which kautilya says, is. Kautilya was an academician at taxila university and later the prime minister of the mauryan empire. Kautilya put this basic principle in a number of different ways, but most simply as, one with immediately proximate territory is the natural enemy. Kautilya was the great prime minister of chandragupta maurya. Pdf kautilyas concept of diplomacy tridib chakraborti.
Kautilya arthashastra saptanga theory indian political. This may not be possible now given the declining knowledge of. He reproduced the ancient political wisdom of india in the more pragmatic fashion. To understand the concept of raja mandala theory, the six methods of foreign policy enunciated by chanakya must be understood. Kautilya, the machiavelli of india education today news. Practice of diplomacy has become established as a classic text in the study of diplomacy. Kautilyas arthashastra is mainly a work on the art of government. The theory and practice of the mandala reduces your potential stress.
It also reveals growth of indian rulers during the pre gupta period. It describes circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the kings state. Mysore, 1951, is the source of quotations in this paper and page citations refer to it too. Buy kautilyas arthashastra book online at low prices in. But, kautilya cautions that unlimited coercive authority would defeat its very purpose and lead once again to matsya nyaya. While history shows his teachings were popular amongst statesmen, it is in independent indias policies that one sees a. The mandala theory, proposed by chanakya, dominates much of the narrative. However, the translation of a number of sanskrit terms has on occasion been altered in the light of other commentaries, or else the sanskrit term itself has been used. Saptanga theory which has been mentioned in arthashastra includes all the seven organs of the state which has been separately elaborated among the various volumes of arthashastra. This muchneeded second edition is completely reworked and updated throughout and builds on the strengths of the original text with a strong empirical and historical focus. The text was considered lost by colonial era scholars, until a manuscript was discovered in 1905. This article discusses the teachings of kautilya as compiled in his book the arthashastra and argues that his ideas are important for the understanding of indian strategic culture.
These cater for different situations in international relations. Relevance dutch society the teachings of kautilya has relevance for the netherlands as well in a time where its seeking for building trust among several stakeholders in the dutch community and leadership. For example, states brekke, the legends in hindu epics preach heroism qua kauyilya which is in contrast to kautilya suggestion of prudence and never forgetting the four hindu goals of human lifewhile kamandakis nitisarawhich is similar to kautilya s arthashastrais among other hindu classics on statecraft and foreign policy that suggest prudence, engagement. The mandala theory while describing and analyzing the international relations of the states, kautilya propounds the theory of mandala.
This volume will be of interest to students, scholars and teachers of political studies, indian political thought, and philosophy, south asian studies, political theory and international relations. The stress you have at work, your personal relationships, or many other problems you face in everyday life, all disappear when you lose. Indian strategic culture has manifold influences and one such is the thinker kautilya. Raja mandala theory and its relevance history essay. The reading of kautilyas arthashastra and sun tzus the art of war in. The king is the middle point of vast empire and kautilya s strong desire to him is to be the guard at all times. Michael liebig gave a summary of his phd thesis and pointed to followon research based upon it. The book also showcases the value these ancient texts can bring to the study of contemporary international relations and political theory.
Kautilya envisioned that a system of government must be spread, efficient, skilled and honest. Mandala or the theory of the political circles of neighbors is an abstract model used to describe foreign relations between various indian states at war with each other. In his political and administrative ideas, the focus of attention was the king. Kautilyas mandal theory and other theories indian political thought crash. The community of scholars needs to study kautilyas arthasastra and apply his concepts to political theory and other fields of enquiry, such as intelligence, internal security, war, foreign policy, sociology, political psychology, law, accounting and management.
According to kautilya king is independent and his responsibility for peace, justice and stability is stressed. The ideologies of kautilya regarding state, statecraft, and ethics. I am giving a brief details of it from my book kautilyas mandala system. Legend has it that he was either a brahmin from kerala or from north india. Indian foreign policy based on kautilyan principles. A copy of the arthashastra in sanskrit, written on palm leaves, was presented by a tamil brahmin from tanjore to the newly opened mysore oriental library headed by benjamin lewis rice. The dominating cultural ideas in psychology in that period were jungian and since jung had envisaged in mandalas the practical application of his archetype theory and orientalism was at one of its reiterating climaxes, tucci pubblished his theory and practice of mandala in the italian. Saptanga theory had been formulated by kautilya and mentioned in hi book, arthashastra share this article. The arthashastra refers to a practice of political diplomacy that arose in india, and is epitomized by the written material on position, policy and military strategy written by kautilya. The text was identified by the librarian rudrapatnam shamasastry as the arthashastra. Kautilyas arthashastra and its relevance to contemporary. Kautilya s mandala theory of foreign policies and interstate relationships though cannot be said to be completely applicable in the present context, though one cannot ignore its relevance.
Mandala pages templates bring about an enriched spiritual journey in finding ourselves beyond the difficult barriers we face in our daily living. In regarding to origin of state he accepted the theory of socialcohesion. The rajamandala was formulated by the indian author chanakya kautilya in his work on. This was the basic thought behind kautilyas mandala theory. In arthashastra, it is called the mandala theory circle of kings. Kautilyas mandal theory and other theories indian political. Kautilya developed this theory further to form the basis for defining all relations in the world order, detailing the theory of foreign policy and interstate relations based on the rajamandala. When there was renewed interest in and exploration of indian philosophy and political thought during and after the indian renaissance in british india, the streams of the initial rediscoveries tended to flow into one of the following channels. The four sciences of kautilya can contribute to a great extent to overcome the present catastrophe in public governance system. Leading authority examines mandala theory, tells how its used, considers its doctrinal basis, its use as a means of reintegration, its symbolism, its liturgy, more. The military affairs centre at idsa organised a talk by michael liebig, visiting fellow at idsa on 14th february 2014 on the topic relevance of kautilyas arthasastra for modern india.
In his excellent discussion of kautilyas mandala theory of foreign policy, singh continues by correctly stating that this is ancient indias most notable contribution to political theory. Pdf kautilyas mandal theory siddharth chauhan academia. Indian history part 38 the mandala theory sanu kainikara. In the kautilyas arthashastra, the entire process of a strategic and intelligence appreciation has been made into discreet and logical parts in a scientific manner to be thought through. In the ancient political thinking, kautilya has first time defined the state in arthashastra. The cosmological principles were interpreted, firmly based on the maxim that a friends friend is a friend and an enemys friend is an enemy.
This book was first pubblished in 1949, when giuseppe tucci had been regularly visiting tibet and india. Relevance of kautilyas arthasastra manohar parrikar. Kautilyas arthasastra on war and diplomacy in ancient india. The presented project is analysis of the one of the most important theories given by kautilya, which is the mandala theory, which deals with the interstate relations and the foreign policies of that period. The rajamandala or rajamandala meaning circle of kings. His concept stands as barrier against the idea of integration, both at regional and global level. The history of ancient indian political thought is of great significance and of practical utility for a clear understanding of the political wisdom of our own ancestors. Kautilya always remained with a viewpoint that there could be any harmonious relationship between two neighboring states. Mandala theory aiming at interstate equilibrium as a gigantic chess game in which certain moves were considered the most effective methods of attaining a particular end john spellman 27 the theory of mandala balance of power amongst 12 states 6. The word no suggestions originates from a primeval indian dissertation that discussed how the economy and military affairs of a state should function. Rangarajan an extraordinary detailed manual on statecraft and the science of living by one of classical indias greatest minds. Kautilyas mandala theory of foreign policies and interstate relationships though cannot be said to be completely applicable in the present context, though one cannot ignore its relevance. Book seven elaborates the mandala theory of the circle of states and.
1599 517 320 81 1411 478 1405 1061 856 1213 1534 1021 1058 840 984 1574 481 569 1112 420 259 1300 1060 1098 493 49 856 1112 1280 1384