Kautilya Arthshastra

by Anil Mishra

‘अर्थशास्‍‍त्र’ कौटिल्य यानी चाणक्य द्वारा रचित संस्कृत वाड‍्.मय का एक अद‍्भुत ग्रंथ है। इसका पूरा नाम ‘कौटिलीय अर्थशास्‍‍त्र’ है।चाणक्य सम्राट् चंद्रगुप्‍त मौर्य के महामंत्री थे। उन्होंने चंद्रगुप्‍त के प्रशासकीय उपयोग के लिए इस ग्रंथ की रचना की थी। यह मुख्यतः सूत्र-शैली में लिखा हुआ है। यह शास्‍‍त्र अनावश्यक विस्तार से रहित, समझने और ग्रहण करने योग्य सरल शब्दों में रचा गया है।‘अर्थशास्‍‍त्र’ में समसामयिक राजनीति, अर्थनीति, विधि, समाजनीति तथा धर्मादि पर पर्याप्‍त प्रकाश डाला गया है। अभी तक इस विषय के जितने भी ग्रंथ उपलब्ध हैं, वास्तविक जीवन का चित्रण करने के कारण उनमें यह सबसे अधिक मूल्यवान् है। इस शास्‍‍त्र के प्रकाश में न केवल धर्म, अर्थ और काम का प्रणयê

184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book all that much. What is Coercive power? Well, it is something based upon the follower's belief that the leader has the supremacy to chastise him for non-compliance. Was Vishnugupta an agent of coercive power? Certainly not. In actual fact, he was one of the innovators of the theory of ‘checks and balances’. Remember that tyrant named Mao? Well, he held that "Political power flows from the barrel of a gun". This statement asserts that ‘force is the key political resource’. Perhaps, Mao’s point is that the ultimate credibility of political power rests upon the ability of the leader to monopolize the guns and use them if need be. In a sense, the use of might by state agents is a concession that authority and power have been futile. If the citizens believe either that the state has legitimacy or that it would reprove them cruelly for non-compliance, it would be gratuitous to use force. Violence is used by the state when the impartiality of power of the authorities is called into question. No state can survive indeterminately by using force against a major portion of its folks over stretched periods of time. Such a circumstance corrodes the assurance in the ability of the men in power to regulate society in a satisfactory manner… Get it? Vishnugupta said no such thing. The translation of this book is very very feeble and fucking maladroit. Even though the ‘juvenile delinquists’, the ‘blanquists’ have permeated the academia, there are people who distinguish them. 1 out of 5.

[Vishal · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read