Chanakya Niti-Shastra eBook in hindi and English pdf Chanakya was an adviser and a. Download Mac OS X. Chanakya Niti Audio 2.2 Free download. Listen Chanakya Niti Offline. Quotes in Hindi and English. Simple GUI Best apps and games on Droid Informer. File size: 1556 Kb Date added: 2 may.
This article includes a, related reading or, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks. Please help to this article by more precise citations. ( March 2011) Niti Saara or Niti Sastra is a popular collection of morals written by Baddena, a poet. Baddena (1220-1280?
AD) is the composer of the most famous as well as Niti Sastra. Complete details about his origin are not known. But, He was believed to be a Chola prince and was called as Bhadra Bhupala. He was a Samanta Raju (vassal) under the Kakateeya (reign: 1262-1296 AD) during the thirteenth century.In the post mauryan age, kamandhaka wrote 'neetisara' based on kautilya's artha shastra and serves as an important literary source of guptan age.Translated to Malayalam:Sri K Chandrasekharan Nair in 1951 SeptemberClick belowPopular verses from Niti Sastra 1. I shall expound Nitisara (essence of maxims on right conduct) compiled from all scriptures, bowing down to Vishnu, the lord of the universe.2. Listen to the complete essence of dharma (right action) and contemplate on it.
'Do not do unto others what one would not like others to do unto oneself'.3. Do not act without examining the situation carefully; one ought to act only after scrutinizing the situation carefully. Otherwise, one will have to grieve like the brahmani (Brahman woman) who killed the mongoose.4.
Man is bound to experience the fruits of his good and bad actions. The karma does not diminish even after billions of days of Brahma (2) unless one experiences fruits of karma.5. One cannot earn or retain wealth without undergoing suffering.
There is suffering in earning wealth as well as in spending it. Is not wealth the home of suffering?6. Only a learned person can understand the hardship borne by another learned person to earn knowledge just as a barren woman cannot understand the severe pain endured by a pregnant woman.7. The parents who do not educate a child are his enemies since he is humiliated in an assembly of learned men like a crane among swans.8. Onion does not lose its smell even if it is planted in a basin of, tended using musk and watered using the dew from rose petals.9. A student acquires quarter of knowledge from the teacher, a quarter from self study, a quarter from classmates and the final quarter in course of time.10.
When a girl is getting married, the father of the girl looks for education in the bride groom; the mother for wealth, the kith and kin for family reputation and the girl for beauty.11. A scorpion has poison in its tail. A bee has poison in its head. Has poison in its teeth. An evil person has poison in all his limbs.12. Sky is the strength of birds, water the strength of fish; king the strength of the weak and wailing the strength of babies.13.
Renounce that wife who is quarrelsome, steals money, faithless and speaks ill of her husband, eats before feeding her husband or children and visits others‟ houses, even if she is the mother of ten sons.14. An ideal wife will have these six virtues – she will be like a counselor in dealing with various situations, like a maid servant in serving her husband, like Goddess in beauty, like the earth in patience, like a mother in giving love and be like a in bedroom.15. Keep aloof from a horse that is drenched in water, mad elephant, bull that is maddened with lust and an uncultured man who is educated.16. Helping an evil person will cause harm to one even as feeding milk to a snake will only increase its poison.17. The fruit of giving charity to a knower of Truth (Brahma Jnani) multiplies like an arrow, shot by Arjuna that turns into ten arrows when he takes aim, hundred when he shoots them, thousand on the way and a shower of arrows when they hit the target.18. Even God does not know about the leaps of a horse, roaring of clouds, minds of women, destiny of man, lack of rain or excess of rain. Then how can a man know these?19.
Attainment of wealth by an incompetent person, knowledge by a man of ignoble descent, a woman by undeserving person, etc. Are in vain like the rainfall on a mountain.20. Win the whole world by truth, sorrow by charity, elders by service and the enemies by archery.21.
Jati (jasmine) among flowers, among men, among women, Kanchi among cities, Ganges among rivers, among kings, Magha among poetic compositions and Kalidasa among poets excel the others.22. He who gives birth, takes one to the Guru, imparts knowledge, gives food and protects one from fear – these five are equal to father.23. The wives of teacher, king and elder brother, the mother-in-law and the mother who gave birth – these five are mothers.24. Keep a distance of 5 hasta3 (cubits) from a vehicle, ten cubits from a horse and 1000 cubits from an elephant. Keep as much away as possible from an evil person.25. In childhood, a woman is protected by her father, by her husband in her youth and by her sons in her old age.
A woman should never be left alone to fend for herself.26. The snake and the wicked person are both dangerous. The poison of a snake can be neutralized by mantra or medicine while there is no mantra or medicine that can remove the poison of a wicked person.27. Longevity, deeds, prosperity, knowledge and death of a person are decided even while he is in the mother‟s womb.28. Ordinary poison is insignificant when compared to the poison of the sin of usurping the property of a Brahmin (one who is virtuous).
Poison kills only one person while the sin of usurping the property of a Brahmin destroys three generations (oneself, one‟s children and grand children).29. Having two wives in spite of being poor, building a house on a road, doing cultivation in two different places, becoming a witness or bail in a lawsuit are the five self-sought misfortunes.30. Seeing the elephants, snakes and birds in bondage, the eclipse of the sun and the moon and the poverty of the wise men I conclude that destiny is inevitable.31. Those who are uneducated do not shine even if they are endowed with beauty and youth and are born in renowned families just like kimsuka (4) flowers which are beautiful but odourless.32. Those who have one wife, three sons, and two ploughs, six cows and a house in the centre of a country are immensely fortunate.33. Clothing is the prime requisite for decorations, ghee is the foremost requisite for food, virtue is the foremost requisite for women and knowledge is the chief requisite of scholars.34. Ant-hill, honey in a honey-comb, moon in bright half of the month, wealth of the king and food received by begging, grow gradually.35.
Truth is my mother, knowledge is my father, righteousness is my brother, compassion is my friend, peace is my wife and patience is my son. These six are my kith and kin.36. The Sun sets daily taking away a part of one's longevity. Knowing this, one should reflect daily what righteous action one has performed.37.
Speaking sweet words to the wicked is like offering a garland of exquisite flowers into the hands of a monkey.38. Morning Sun, smoke from funeral pyre, coitus with old woman, muddy water and eating curd-rice at night increase ill health day by day.39. Setting Sun, smoke from Homa (sacrificial pyre), coitus with young woman, pure water and eating milk rice at night increase longevity day by day.40. One's wealth and properties remain at one's home, sons and relatives take leave at cremation ground. It is one's good and evil actions that accompany oneself after death.41. Righteousness prevails and not unrighteousness.
Truth prevails and not untruth. Patience prevails and not anger. Gods prevail and not demons.42. Stocking grains, taking care of calves, doing cultivation oneself, serving one's elders – these five habits foster one's family.43. Treat the child like a prince till the age of 5, like a servant till the age of 15. When the son reaches the age of 16, treat him like a friend.44. Even a wise man perishes by teaching a fool, contact with evil woman and by resorting to the company of the wicked.45.
Save wealth for difficult times; how can the wealthy have difficulties? If one squanders wealth, one will eventually lose all the accumulated wealth.46. One's physical body, wealth and other resources are transitory. Death is always at hand. Knowing this, a wise man should strive to do righteous actions.47.
One who plants a holy fig tree, a neem tree, an Indian fig tree, ten tamarind trees; three trees each of pomegranate, wood-apple and Emblic Myrobalan and five trees each of mango and coconut will not suffer Hell.48. Will Neem ever acquire sweetness even if it is grown on top of a mountain of molasses and watered thousands of times with milk?49. One who is beneficial is a kinsman though he is a stranger.
One who is harmful is an enemy though he is a kinsman. When one is seriously sick, herbs from distant forest are used as medicine.50.
The knowledge confined to books, wealth that is in the custody of others and a son who has gone to foreign countries are useful in name only.51. Company of wife is as good as the treatment given by ten physicians. Sun is ten times beneficial than the care given by wife.
Mother is ten times beneficial compared to the Sun. Yellow Myrobalan is ten times beneficial than the mother.52. Even a virtuous person perishes due to association with the wicked just as the swans that gave refuge to the crows perished because of the evil deeds committed by the crows.53. The characteristics of the wicked persons and phlegm are surprisingly similar. Both of these are agitated by sweetness and are pacified by bitterness. (Phlegm is agitated by sweet food and is pacified by bitter food while the wicked person is agitated by sweet words and is pacified by bitter words).54.
Enmity comes to an end by death. Youth ends with pregnancy. Anger comes to an end by bowing down.
Pride comes to an end by begging before others.55. He, who renovates or helps to regain the glory of fallen family, abandoned well or lake, dethroned king, refugee, cows, temples and wise men, attains fourfold merit.56. Profession of an artist or writer is the highest. That of cultivation and trade is mediocre, that of a servant is the lowest and that of a porter is lower than the lowest.57.
A bee pursues fragrance. Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth pursues a tactful person, water pursues depth. Fate follows intelligence.58. The following give better results when they are beaten: the wicked, gold, drum, stubborn horse, unchaste woman, sugar-cane, sesamum and uncultured person.59. I bow down before these six persons – one who gives pure food, one who performs agnihotra (daily fire ritual) everyday, a knower of Vedanta, one who has seen one thousands full moons, one who fasts every month and a chaste woman.60. Flees desire wounds, kings desire wealth, the wicked persons desire to quarrel and the wise men desire to have peace.61.
The sun stone shines by the mere presence of the Sun. In the same manner, knowledge shines in a disciple by the mere presence of the teacher.62. One who does not do any charity is in fact a man of renunciation since he leaves behind all his wealth when he dies and goes to the other world empty-handed.
I consider the person who does charity as a miser because when he dies he takes with him the fruits of his charity.63. He is a wise man who sees the wives of others as his mother, the wealth of others like clod of earth and all beings as his own self.64. Though the blue water lily, lotus, fish and white water lily are born in water, they have different odours.65. The wealth that is not used for the gods, wise men, relatives or for oneself is destroyed by water, enemy, king and thieves.66.
One, who decides the course of action after intelligent contemplation when confronted with difficult situations, loss of wealth or life-threatening incidents, laughs at the lord of death.67. The fruit of giving cloth in charity is attainment of kingdom; that of footwear is attainment of vehicle; that of Tamboolam (5) is enjoyment of pleasure.
One gains all the above by giving food to the poor.68. The virtue of cuckoo is voice; the virtue of women is chastity; virtue of Brahmin is knowledge and that of ascetics is patience.69. The following three are the characteristics of a wicked person: lotus like face, speech as cool as sandal wood and a heart burning with fire (of evil thoughts).70. Just as a coconut tree bears the weight of coconuts on its head and gives nectarine water throughout its life in return for a little water that was given to it during the first year, a saintly person never forgets the help that he had received.71. Saints live to serve others just as a river flows, the trees bear fruits and the plants grow not for themselves but for others.72. One should receive knowledge from a Brahmin (wise man), food at the hands of mother, betal leaves (tamboolam) from one's wife and bracelet (recognition) from the king.73. Moon is cool.
Sandal wood is cooler than the moon. The words of virtuous persons are cooler than moon and sandalwood.74.
Elephant shines by the rut (6), sky by rain clouds, woman by character, horse by speed, temple by regular festivals, speech by grammatical correctness, rivers by swan couples, an assembly by the presence ofscholars, a family by virtuous son, earth by king and the three worlds by the Sun.75. One who is jealous, one who speaks untruth, one who is ungrateful and one who carries enmity for a long time – these four are karmachandalas (7)76.
Protect your fame by giving up life. Life is transitory while fame will exist as long as the moon and the stars exist.77. One who has received knowledge despises the teacher; one who is married, despises the mother; the woman who has given birth to a child, despises the husband; one who has recovered from disease despises the physician.78. One who wears fragrant flowers on head, keeps the feet always clean, associates with beautiful women, eats food in small quantities, does not sleep on bare ground and does not have union with women on new moon days regains the wealth that was lost previously.79.
The wicked, if they are educated, start arguing unnecessarily; become arrogant if they are rich; if they become powerful, they start tormenting others. At the same time the virtuous persons utilize education, wealth and power for knowledge, charity and protection of others.80. The following four are the doors to destruction: doing improper actions, opposing groups of people, quarreling with powerful persons and believing in the words of women.81. One ought to ask the following questions repeatedly before beginning any new venture: What is the ideal time? Who are my friends? What is the ideal place?
What are my income and expense? What is my strength?82. One ought to learn one lesson each from lion and crane, four lessons from domestic fowl, five lessons from crow, six lessons from dog and three lessons from donkey.83. One ought to learn the following virtue from lion: Once a work is begun, one must put maximum effort to complete it whether that work is big or small.84. A wise man ought to perform his duties knowing the time, place and strength and also having controlled all the senses like a crane.85. One ought to learn from dog the virtues of getting up early in the morning, fighting, sharing food with near and dear ones and toiling for one's livelihood.86.
One ought to learn from a crow, five virtues of copulating secretly, valour, stocking food, etc. For bad times, impeccability and not believing in anyone.87. One ought to learn from a dog six virtues: To eat in large quantities when food is available, to be content with even small quantities of food, to have deep sleep, to awaken easily, devotion to master and valour.88. One ought to learn from a donkey the virtues of carrying load even when one is tired, not caring about heat and cold and always being content.89.
That person who cultivates these twenty virtues, will attain success in all his ventures.90. Physicians, astrologers and sorcerers received with respect and offered food by everyone while those who have mastered other science do not get even a glass of water.91. Knowledge is lost by laziness; women are lost when they are in the custody of others; cultivation fails when the quantity of seeds sown is very less; an army without a commander is lost too.92. Though the Ketaki creeper is infested with snakes; does not bear fruits; is thorny, crooked (winding) and grows in muddy places and is thus not easily accessible, it is liked by all due to the fragrance of its flower. A single virtue nullifies all defects.93. Fire is the guru of twice-born (those who undertake Vedic studies); Brahmin is the guru of other castes; Husband is the guru of women; A guest is the guru for everyone.94. Of what use is nobility of family if a person is illiterate?
A learned man is respected by Gods too though he does not belong to a noble family.95. One can acquire knowledge by serving the guru or by offering sufficient wealth in return for the knowledge or by exchanging one branch of knowledge for another. There is no means other than these three to acquire knowledge.96. Just as a pot is filled continuously falling water drops, knowledge, dharma (virtue) and wealth too increase gradually if one pursues them persistently.97. One ought to learn both the art of fighting with weapons and knowledge of various arts and sciences. The former is scorned in old age while the latter is always respected.98. Knowledge is like Kamadhenu, the wishfulfilling cow.
Knowledge protects one like a mother when one is in foreign lands. Therefore, knowledge is considered as 'hidden wealth'.99. Knowledge without application is poison; Food undigested is poison; Assembly is poison for the poor; Young woman is poison for an old man.100. One's friend during foreign journey is knowledge; wife is friend to one who is at home; medicine is the friend of those who are sick; fruit of good deeds is the friend of the departed soul.101. Knowledge is extolled by everyone; knowledge is considered great everywhere; one can attain everything with the help of knowledge; a wise man is respected everywhere.102. A king can never be considered equal to a wise man.
King is respected only in his kingdom whereas the wise man is respected everywhere.103. The life of one who is ignorant is meaningless like the tail of a dog which is of no use in hiding the secret parts or in chasing away the flies that bite the dog.104. A student who serves the guru attains knowledge just as one who digs the earth gets water from the bottom of the earth.105.
One ought to make each day fruitful by studying at a verse or a part of it; one must spend time in studies, meditation and in doing one's duty.106. The wise men spend their time enjoying literary works, reading or listening to scriptures while the fools waste their time in grief, sleep or quarrel.107. An only son who is educated and virtuous brings joy to the whole family happy just as a single moon brings light at night.108. Ambrosia should be obtained even from poison; gold must be taken even if it lies in filth; knowledge has to be received even from a person of lower social status; a woman of beauty and character should be accepted even if she is from a fallen family.109.
One ought to give one's daughter in marriage into a noble family; One's son must be given proper education; One's enemy must be made to grieve and guide one's dear ones on the path of righteousness.110. What is impossible for those who are competent? Does distance matter to those who are industrious? Which is foreign land for the learned persons? Who is a stranger for those who talk sweetly?111.
One who is free from modesty attains success and happiness in following matters: In acquiring wealth, grains and knowledge, while eating food and doing business deals.112. The following are the qualities of a student: eyesight similar to that of a crow, concentration similar to that of a crane, light sleep similar to that of a dog, small quantity of food and simple cloths.113. The fruit of acquiring a kingdom is that everyone will obey one‟s commands; the fruit of austerity is Brahmacharya (celibacy and study of Vedas); the fruit of education is knowledge; the fruit of wealth is enjoyment and charity.114. Anger is like the lord of death; greed is like the river Vaitarani (which is very difficult to cross over); knowledge is like Kamadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow; contentment is like the Nandana garden (which is in Heaven).115. Virtues adorn beauty; character adorns family; success in work adorns knowledge; enjoyment adorns wealth.116.
Beauty is in vain if one has no virtues; family reputation is of no value for one who has no character; knowledge that doesn't give success is in vain; wealth that is not used for enjoyment is also in vain.117. Wake from sleep the 7 persons mentioned below: student, servant, traveler, a hungry person, a person struck with fear, a porter and watchman.References 1 Here the reference is to the story of the woman who killed a mongoose assuming that it had killed her child. She came to know later that the mongoose had in fact saved the child by killing a snake that was about to bite the child. Thus, she had to grieve on account of her thoughtless action.2 A kalpa is equal to a day of the creator.
Patheos offers.Book DetailsEnglishShyama ShastryPublished in 1926324 pagesHindiUdaiveer ShastriPublished in 1925976 pagesSanskritGangaprasad ShastriPublished in 1940714 pagesYou may also be interested in the.These books are currently out of copyright in India as per the IndianCopyright Act 1957. Please check copyright law within your country beforedownloading the books. In case of any issues send us an email. About Chanakya Arthashastra and the Authenticity of ChanakyaIn ancientIndia (321-296 B.C.) a unique economic policy and law were set forth byChanakya (Vishnu gupta), who was a great statesman, economist, philosopher andlaw-giver.It is argued that the discussions in the Arthashastra generally end bystating the author's opinion with the words: 'Iti Kautilya. ' We generallyfind this mention of the name of the teacher in texts emanating from schools,e.g., Jaimini in the Purvamimimsa Sutra, Badarayana in the Vedanta Sutra,Baudhayana in the Baudhayana-Dharmasastra. But Pataii.jali does not state hisopinion by saying 'Iti Patanjali.' Much is made of the expressions 'ItiKautilya' and 'neti Kautilya' which occur as many as 72 times in the work.
Toan ordinary Sanskrit Pandit in India the phrase connotes no specialsignificance. It is always taken for granted that such works, where expressionslike 'Iti Kautalyal;,' 'Iti Baudhayana;' etc.
Occur, are the works ascribed tothese authors. The attribution to schools will not find favour with an orthodoxPandit. One could not divine reasons for supposing that Jaimini Sutra,Badarayana's Vedanta Sutra or Baudhayana's Dharmasutra belong to schools andnot to individual authors. Not that we do not accept any school as such. But itis more reasonable to assume that originally a certain Jaimini or Badarayanaflourished and propounded certain doctrines which were accepted and followed bytheir devoted disciples. To-day while one Hindu follows Apastamba his neighborfollows Baudhayana.
This means that the former belongs to the Apastamba schoolwhile the latter is of the Baudhayana school.What is the underlying idea? Originally when Apastamba propounded his theoryit appealed to certain members of the community. They followed them and thentheir descendants. Thus the school automatically came into being. But it may beasked, how could we explain the peculiar use of 'Iti Kautilya,' 'ItiBaudhayana.' In certain works, and its absence in other books like Patanjali'sMahabhasya?
The answer is simple. In India literature is broadly classifiedinto two heads, the sutra and the beeja.
The sutra is an original work composedby master minds on a certain subject or subjects. It may be philosophy,theology.
Or any secular science. The sutras in themselves are a strenuousreading and especially so, when they deal with abstruse and technical sciences.It was not possible for all persons to grasp them. Hence interpreters came intobeing. Their works were bhashyas or interpretations of the sutras in popularstyle. The sutrakaras generally-there are also exceptions,used the phrase 'ItiBaudhayana.' , etc., meaning thereby that that was their final conclusion.
Onthe other hand a bhashyakara could not speak with such definiteness. For,oftentimes, more than one interpretation may be placed upon a certain phrase orpassage. It depends to a large extent on the ingenuity of the writer. Someinterpretations might be ingenious but could not win general approval.Therefore, the bhaskaras are justified in omitting their names.In the light of this can we still maintain that Iti Kautilya is a seriousargument against the authenticity of the work? We cannot follow Prof.
Keithwhen he advances the argument that under the explanation of the term in thelast book of the Arthasastra is cited one of Kautilya's sentences from whichthe prima facie conclusion is that Kautilya is cited as an authority and not asthe author. This science has been composed by Kautalya, easily understandable,correct in the exposition of truth and in the use of words, and all free fromerrors. Meyer in his translation of the Arthashastra furnishes aconvincing reply.2 Based as it is on old works 'every sutra having originalopinion of the author necessarily became apadda. It is a commonplace practicein India to give the author's name in his world.
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Jacobi's observations are tothe point: 'The agreement obtaining between the words of Kautalya and thecharacter of his work, and the personality that characterises them would bedifficult to understand, if those were not the very words of the author. Alater writer who wanted to palm off his own lubrication of that of his schoolon the name of the famous statesman, would surely have faltered somewhere. Fromthis view-point the higher criticism must acknowledge the authenticity of theKautaliya.' (5)The very name Kautilya never called Chanakya and only once Vishnguptaraises great doubts.'
For, Kautilya means 'crookedness', 'falsehood', etc. Ltis unlikely that a minister should style himself 'Mr.
Crooked' or 'Crookednesspersonified'.There has been a war of words about the name Kautalya. Some manuscriptscontain the word Kautilya while others Kautalya. Shyama Shastri and Jolly usedKautilya, while the editor of the Trivandrum edition, Ganapati Sastri usedKautalya. It is asked whether a minister would style himself Kautilya meaning'Mr. Crooked' or 'Crookedness personified'. Granting that it is Kautilya, suchnicknames are not uncommon in ancient India. Mention may be made of a few;Vatavyadhi (the wind-diseased) is no other than Uddhava, a relative of Krishnaaccording to the Puranas.
Pisuna (tale-bearer) is another name for the sageNarada; this is also the name of the Brahman minister of king Dushyantaaccording to Kalidasa's Shakuntala. Kaunapadanta (the teeth of the Rakshasas)is identified with Indra, the God of Heaven.
When one minister can stylehimself as Pisuna, why not another as Kautilya What we wish to point out forthe sake of argument is that after all there is nothing in the name. To advancesuch feeble arguments with regard to the name of the author, demonstrates theirweakness in all nakedness.There is, however, another reading Kautalya which may be adopted withadvantage and which may silence all controversy so far as this particular topicgoes. Not only is there the authority of the manuscripts for this but alsothere is inscriptional evidence besides lexicographical. Ganapati Sastri saysthat the term Kautilya is certainly a misnomer.
For, neither the term Kautilyanor its root Kutila as explained in the Nighantas Gotra and crooked. On theother hand the word Kutala is mentioned by Kesavasvamin in his NiHartharsavasamkepa as meaning both Gotra and an ornament.It is then obvious that the name is derived from the root Kutala. If it isgranted that the patronymic is Kutala then we cannot grammatically deriveKautilya but only Kautalya. Secondly, there is the testimony which bears to thefact that all the manuscripts of the text and the commentaries relating to thesame invariably contain the expression Kautalya and not Kautilya. It isdifficult to understand how Indian and European scholars have failed to noticethis in handling the manuscripts when editing and publishing them. Apparentlysome have noted it but have not utilised it, for example in Jolly's edition.Evidently Jolly discarded the correct reading Kautalya.
It may he that in hisopinion it was a wrong reading. That Kautalya is the correct reading isattested to by another literary evidence.It appears that Kautalya is the family name of Vishnugupta, the family namebeing derived from the patron saint or Kutala by the addition of derivativesuffix 'ya'. Last but not the least is the invaluable inscriptional evidencesupplied to us by D. He writes: 'I have found an inscription fromthe village near Dholka in Gujarat which in clearly reads Kautalya. It recordsthat Vastupala the famous Jain minister of the Vaghela king who built a templeof Gajesvara in 1291 as equated to Kautalya in statesmanship.
This inscriptionis valuable to us in more than one respect. Not only does it show that the nameKautilya is the misspelling of the name Kautalya but also it bears witness tothe fact that Kautalya is acknowledged to be a statesman and not at as Gotraand crooked. On the other hand the word Kutala is mentioned by Kesavasvamin. Itis then obvious that the name is derived from the root Kutala. If it is grantedthat the patronymic is Kutala then we cannot grammatically derive Kautilya butonly Kautalya.It silences two important arguments in regard to the name of the author andthe authenticity of the work. But it may be asked why the name Kautilya alsosticks on in some Indian literature. Only one explanation can be offered andthat is due to the ingenuity with which Visakhadatta invested his characterKautilya in his famous play Judrartikmsa.
For the purpose of his play heperhaps drew from his imagination a name which being a twisting of the originalname answered his purpose well. Dramatic literature says being a popular branchof literature the wrong name might haye caught the fancy of the masses andmight have eventuaily become a by-word for 'crookedness' or 'crookedpolicy'.Kautalya is known not by one or two names, but by a number of names. Theseare Vatsyayana, Kautalya.
Dramila, Yami, Vishnugupta, Angula. TheVaijayantl of Yadavaprakasa( cir 1100 A.D.), a contemporary of Hemacandra.omits Chanakya.' The name Chanakya is unmistakably a patronymic for Hemacandradistinctly says. This falsifies the story contained in Visakhadatta's playnamely, that the Nanda king imprisoned Kautalya who consequently had to takegram for his food, and hence the name Chanakya. This story is nothing but aproduct of the dramatist's imagination and is valuable so far as it shows theauthor's ingenuity. The same value should be attached to the otherinterpretation of Visakhadatta in regard to the name Kautilya:Because he had peverted and crooked views, people called him Kautilya thoughhis name was really Kautalya.
Even a Pandit of a lower order could not stylehimself 'Mr. Crooked,' speaking of himself as many as 12 times in the text. Toadd to this is the fact that Kamandaka speaks of him in a term of great respectgenerally used when speaking of sages. Kamandaka adds that he belonged to aneminent family and was a past master of all the four Vedas, who, by force ofintelligence and skill. Deposed the powerful Nanda king and crownedChandragupta, the moon among the people, king. Kamandaka does not stop therebut concludes that section by saying that it was the same politician who wasthe author of the well-known Arthashastra, the very cream of political science.It is significant to note that Kautalya's another name is Vatsyayana.Vatsyayana is the author of the extant Kamasutra.
There is another Vatsyayanathe commentator of the Natayashastra of Gautama. Both the Vatsyayanas may bethe same as Prof. Rangaswami Aiyangar seems to think. But the reallyinteresting feature is the identification of Kautalya with Vatsyayana.Kautalya's reputation for versatile genius and all-round knowledge should beacknowledged on all hands. His aim, even according to the Arthashastra. Was notmere policing of the state which would amount to the safeguarding of thesecurity of life and property. It extended beyond and looked to the common goodand welfare of the citizens at large.
These are indeed the primary functionseven of the modern state in spite of all our vaunted constitutional progress.This narrow outlook on politics did not appeal to a versatile man like that ofKautalya. He wanted the state to rest on an economic foundation. In other wordshe was devoted more to analysing a man's aims in life and endeavouring how bestto promote individual interests with those of the social group as a whole. Hisaim was the ultimate realisation by the people of the state of the four objectsof human existence.If this were his policy, it may not be far wrong to state that he could havebeen the author of a Dharmashastra, Arthashastra, Kamashastra. AndMokshashastra as well. There is therefore some justification for the assumptionthat Kautalya was no other than Vatsyayana.
The author of the Kamasutra. Thefollowing coincidences endorse the statement:-(1) The style followed and the method adopted in the Kamasutraare exactlythe same as are met with in the extant Arthashastra.(2) The style is didactic, midway between that of the sutra(3) The sections end invariably with verses in the manner of theArthashastra.
Vatsyayana like Kautalya seems to have composed aphorisms andcomments.(4) Both authors claim to base their teachings on experience or usage.(5) Of the previous writers quoted by Kautalya, Gotamukha and Chanakya findmention in the Kamasutra.(6) Both refer to Vaishika. Apparently the work of Dattaka of Pataliputra,written according to Jacobi, at the earliest in the second half of the 5thcentury B.C.(7) The aim of both seems to be the realisation of the three objects ofhuman pursuit. Dharma, artha and kama.(8) The Kamasntra ends with a secret chapter as in the Arthashastra.(9) The morality of the Kamasutra is that of the Arthashastra 'all is fairin love and war.' (10) As Kautalya often refers to an acharya so also Vatsyayana refers to anacharya.(11) Both refer to a work of Parasara as an authority.As against these remarkable coincidences, the differences are only few andfar between. One mentioned by Jacobi is Vatsyayana's prescription of abstentionfrom meat, and Kautalya's rules regulating the sale of meat. Even here theArthasastra is a practical manual of administration and hence must formulateregulations of a comprehensive character. It does not mean a recommendation oracceptance of the principle.
The Kamasutra discusses the question from anentirely different aspect.It is indeed difficult to explain why Kautalya has been known by so manynames. One explanation is that due to his popularity as well as his rare skilland policy, different people endowed him with different,titles. Mallanaga isanother name. It means Jndra's Elephant and this implies that he possessed thegreat energy and progress of the Iravata, the state elephant of the Lord ofHeaven. This seems to fit in especially in view of the fact that Sakara, in thefirst Act of J1rcchakatika.
Who thinks too much of his valour, takes pride incomparing himself to Chanakya. It may be again that Nanda is the name of acountry and perhaps Kautalya is a native of that Nanda country. He was styledan elephant among the Nandas who were the people of the Nanda country. If thisinterpretation be established Dramila may not mean a native of Dramila or Tamilcountry as is rendered by the V acaspatsa of Taranatha.
The view that Kautalvamust have heen a native of South India is gainmg currency among thescholars.J. Meyer, the latest writer on the subject, seems to favour this viewfrom the fact that Kautalya's plaza was of silver and was equal to 16 asagainst 20 in the Smrtis. Mitra speaks of a poet known as Dramila. Healso explains the term Pakilasvami thus: 'As a student of Nyaya his memory wasstrong that he could remember for a fortnight (paka) a thesis once cold him andhence the name.' That this interpretation is not impossible is seen from thefact that it is said of a much later writer by name Pakadhara Misra. His othername vas Angula as is seen from the Samkepa! Pakilasvami is a well-known namefor the celebrated Vatsyayana.
Mitra suggests that the epithet shows thatKautalya became an ascetic-preceptor in the evening of his life. Or as theteacher of teachers he could have been regarded master by his successors whowere authors of smriti texts. For example, Kamandaka calls him as his acharya.Dandi calls him as Acarya Vishnugupta.
To repeat the remark of Dr. Winternitzagain 'the very name Kautilya never called Chanakya and only once Vishnuguptaraises great doubts. There seems to be no necessity for a doubt for obviousreasons. It has been already shown that Kautilya with vowel 'i' in the middleis a misspelling and Kautalya with vowel 'a' is the right spelling.
Vishnuguptais his own name perhaps giwn by his parents. And the name. According to Mitra,'is a fair index to the religion which his father professed.' As a true Hinduhe took a legitimate pride in his ancestry and styled himself after hisfar-famed ancestor Kutala. He could not be using different names of his in oneand the same work. If it had been done it would give rise to grave doubts thatdifferent hand had been at the work. Probably to avoid such a mistake, towardsthe end of the book he made it clear that Kautalya of the extant book is theVishnugupta of the family of Kutala.
Excepting the name Vishnugupta.other names are the titles earned by him from the public and not taken byhimself. It may, however, be asked that Chanakya is not a title and still hehas not used it. It is the peculiar custom in India even in modern days tovenerate the father and the teacher to the of their lives. One mode ofveneration is not to utter the name of either the father or even the teacher.It may amount to an insult if not to an offence. Kautalya was Chanakya becausehe was the son of his father Chanakya.
A man like Kautalya who had profoundrespect for orthodox tradition could not go against it. In the light of theabove observation we are led to think that scholars will do justice to a nameand a personality. The type of which is indeed rare in the history at least ofthe ancient world.