Chanakya whose earlier name was Vishnu Gupta and also known as Kautilya wrote a book which is Widely known as “ Arthashastra “ all over the world and this book describes the Chanakya Niti which he used to build the prosperity in the state and how to deal with enemy .
He was the king maker and a great philosopher , Economist and a law -maker . Before delving into the Niti of Chanakya let us have some background .
Introduction
The Chandragupta era was started during the period of 321- 296 B.C. Chanakya who was born as a Brahmin got humiliated for his appearance by the King Nanda , he was determined to overthrow the Nanda dynasty and establish a king who would be more dynamic and loyal towards him .
And finally he got Chandragupta Maurya who was eligible to become the king of Patliputra .
The political , economical and social conditions which are described in ArthaShastra are more advanced than other kingdoms . Let us discuss the most advanced Chanakya Niti which had made Chandragupta Maurya Empire , the strongest one in every field at that period of time .
- Economic development
- Taxation
- Mining
- Agriculture
- The law of debt and deposit
- Rules regulating labour and trade
- building of forts
- Institution of Spies
- Protection of princess
- Duties of a king
- Formation of villages
- Dandaniti ( Punishment for inhumane act )
Let us throw some light on some of the above mention list .
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Duties of a King
- He Should be well educated and must have Knowledge of every field and have the capabilities of taking the right decision .
- Completely dedicated to providing good governance to his Kingdom.
- No Mercy for the person who was Involved in a mischievous act .
- It was the duty of a king to Construct reservoirs and provide enough materials for the construction of reservoirs to the farmers .
- King was responsible for the maintenance of the Forest . Forest could have been a very good source of commodities .
Economic development
To have economic development , a country must have an idea of manufacturing ,categorization of the sectors , Distribution and consumption of food and services . So , the Arthashastra written by Chanakya gives us an extraordinary Perspective to deal with it .
- To have a better idea of economic development , the administration should have vital information about their citizens . Like – Census work Should be done to know exactly how many people are from which Varna , the number of male , female , child , farmers , merchants and so on .It Gives a basic idea to the Administration and fiscal management of “ how to take action “.
- Roads were made to get access to the forest for economic purposes . The commodities which were available in the forest were big money making deals .
Agriculture
Agriculture is the most Important factor to lead a country . Ignoring agriculture is like ignoring the fundamental part of life .
Chanakya knew it very well, so he systematically classified agricultural land .
- Land which was in direct supervision of the Superintendent of agriculture was known as Crown land . The superintendent of agriculture must have the knowledge of tree plantation and its statistics . This was done to ensure the profit and Actual cost of production .
- Irrigation facilities were given to every farmer .
- Before sowing seeds , he believed to perform some Dharmic rituals which indicates that he never forgot to take the blessings of the motherland who provides food to the people .
- Had the proper arrangements of godowns on elevated areas .
- Chanakya had the expertise in seeds of grains . He knew very well that seeds need to be exposed to the heat and mist for certain days which can finally give them high yield .
Mining
- Most senior officers had been posted for the supervision of mining operations .
- He Should be in charge of keeping an eye on production of ores and metals . He must have the expertise in dealing Gold ,copper , silver and other metals .
- Licences were provided to those private persons who wanted to do the mining business with limitations
- The superintendent of metals had been given the responsibility of Manufacturing the ironwares . Irons were largely used in armed forces so , from the perspective of protection of the kingdom , iron played a vital role .
Institution of Spies
According to Chanakya’s Arthshastra , there should be an espionage system which keeps an eye on everyone whether they are going through compliance or not . Are they loyal to the Administration or not ? Any citizen doing any unethical act ? Following are the lists which need to be spied upon .
- Whether subjects (citizens) are fulfilling the duties of paying taxes and the payment of land revenue as per directed or not .
- There is a chance that people working for the administration , especially people Who are in the post of Regulating commodities and trade and Commerce are functioning properly or not .
- Special groups of spies are appointed to keep an eye on other spies whether they are loyal to the King and administration or not .
- Spies appointed to keep an eye on the management of finance , law and order and Army .
Dandaniti
The whole society was based on the varna system . Brahman , kshatriya , Vaishya and Shudra . The way we understand the varna system today is not the same as the varna system which was followed by people who lived centuries ago . It was completely based on self – realisation .
- Anyone who tries to kill or instigate someone against the king and tries to dismantle the power of the Army , then that person will be burnt alive from head to foot .
Drowning Consist of unbearable physical torture was also one
of the punishment for the same act .
- No Mercy for the person who is in the act of killing his son ,daughter , his parents ,brothers or sisters .
- A person who is involved in manufacturing counterfeit coins , will be punished with a charge of 1000 Panas .
- One-eighth Pana would be charged if someone threw his /her dust on the street .
- When someone tries to provide a prohibited drink to Brahman , then that person has to charge 500 to 1000 Panas ( fine amount ) . And when he tried to do the same act with Kshatriya ,Then that person would be charged with 200 to 500 Panas and 48 to 96 Panas for Vaishya and 26 for Shudra .
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FAQ ( Frequently asked questions )
How many sutras are there in Chanakya Neeti?
There are 572 sutras in Sanskrit language and each Sutra gives us a deep understanding of how a King should act and what responsibilities he should carry to provide the best administration to the kingdom .
Who wrote the book Chanakya Niti Darpan ?
Pandit Mihirchandra Sharma .