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It’s hundred years since the discovery of Chanakya’s great work from a manuscript


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Digression
1
Aug 10, 2009
Finding Kautilya

Thank you for the article on Chanakya—and how he continues to influence our thinking to this day (Year of the Guru, Jul 27)! One of the companies I consult for is called Arthashastra Consulting, and it works in the space between consulting, banks, and business process outsourcing. It’s the sort of multi-tasking and consulting Chanakya was adept at.

Vijay Menon, Bangalore

Strange that the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore, has no plans yet for celebrating the discovery of Chanakya’s work. When will we start respecting our scholars?

Seema Ojha, New Delhi
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1/D-4
Jul 19, 2009
12:46 AM
Fascinating history! Better methods must be used to preserve Shamashastry's discovery.
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
2/D-30
Jul 19, 2009
10:39 AM
The article was an eye opener about Chanakya. However, what a surprise that a country like Indian politicians should try to revive a modern economy and should fall back to someone who is so outdated!
Dinesh Kumar
Chandigarh, India
3/D-32
Jul 19, 2009
11:18 AM
This makes us proud of past history and our heritage in number of fields. Our contribution in the field of medicine is also outstanding.
Praful R Shah
Houston, USA
4/D-37
Jul 19, 2009
11:51 AM
Arthshasthra is not about economics.
It is about the art of running the State.Many ideas of Chanakya are worthy of practice even today and for ever.
In one of the chapters he mentioned that police can not be above the social disturbance and/or opinion about the King and hence Police officials can not be trusted with the protection of the King.

Chanakya says that King has to take a decision and this decision may be very antagonistic to certain sections of people and the police can not above this judgement(about the King).

So, to protect the King a special force must be raised and these special guards be selected only under recommendations and after thorough check on their integrety.
Like widse he writes about the people who could enter inner parts of the palace where Royal ladies move around.
In India our IAS babus or IPS did not advise any such special forces or guards until a legendary Prime Minister Mrs.Indira Gandhi was assasinated !!

All modern studies , and our selection methods of first class officers is definetely faulty.

Chankya told about how to protect a king in 320 BC. and we do not know it even today.

About the people or groups who revolt against the State ,
Chankaya says that the revolutionary leader must not be arrested or killed. His ideas must be arrested , (nullify them by fulfilling them) and all his followers shall be crushed. If you fisnish the leader he says, a leader much worse than him leads the movement against the State.

About the people who work inside the palace of the King be selected only after thorough and rigorous practical real life tests and not thorough examinations.
The book is mindboggling and unbelievably useful even today.
bowenpalle venuraja gopal rao.
warangal, india
5/D-42
Jul 19, 2009
12:46 PM
This article was a real relief from always reading about Sonia,Rahul,Arundhati etal.Congrats'Outlook',please give us more like this.
S.S.Nagaraj
Bangalore, India
6/D-40
Jul 20, 2009
07:32 PM
Good Refreshing News on a boring Monday Morning.
Raju
Visakhapatnam, India
7/D-49
Jul 20, 2009
10:34 PM
I think people are knive and ignorant when talk about Indian heritage and hisotry in some of elite parties without having conceptual and thorough knowledge of on Indian scholars.. like Chankya.. Everything today avaiable in shortcut. I bet not even 1% of Indian scholor group would aware of Shamashastry well known aheivements.
infoway
India, India
8/D-9
Jul 22, 2009
02:58 AM
What is 'The Prince'?
Adi
XXXXX, USA
9/D-30
Jul 22, 2009
02:35 PM
Chanakya's work ''Arthashastra'' remains one of the most definitive work by an Indian of ancient age on law,society and state craft.Every effort should be made to preserve the text of the work in which ever form it exists.People engaged in the preservation work must be recognized and honored.
sunil kumar
delhi, India
10/D-36
Jul 22, 2009
05:14 PM
OUTLOOK praising a hindu historian, that too a brahmin???. some thing wrong here. for OUTLOOK, the only historian is christian fanatic max muller, the only king is aurangzeb.
namo4
London, United Kingdom
11/D-44
Jul 22, 2009
07:15 PM
Adi,

>> "What is 'The Prince'?"

Machiavelli's treatise on state craft published in 1532 in Florence, some 1600 years after 'Arthasashtra'.
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
12/D-28
Jul 23, 2009
05:51 PM
A different article, thanks! Chanakya continues to inspire in strange ways. One of the companies I consult for in Bangalore is named Artha Shastra Consulting by its founders as a tribute to the savant. This company plays in the space between consulting, banks, and BPOs and they both advise and implement--something that Chanakya did brilliantly as both sage and prime minister to the Mauryas!
Vijay Menon
Bangalore, India
13/D-35
Jul 23, 2009
07:41 PM
Great story...Its really pitiful that ORI which houses such important manuscript has no plans to celebrate the centenary year.I do not know when will we in India start respecting our scholars?
seema ojha
delhi, India
14/D-35
Jul 26, 2009
11:09 AM
">>>>public-welfare groups should finance the bringing out of cheap editions of the book, for children, translated into all the languages in india.
that will deliver more national benefit for the money spent, than arranging a centenary for shama-saastry discovering the manuscript<<<<
>>v.seshadri
chennai, india"<<<

Your opinion is very ,very optimistic professor ji.
We,Indians really do not know how to respect our own scholars or sages of ancient days.

As far as I know no book is vailable on Arthshastra in Telugu language !!

None of its excerpts , at least good one's or the relevant one's of present day is not in the syllabus of any school cirriculum.
You can read english versions of Arthshastra mostly written by Western authors!!
It is very depressing to know this.

You can read online ( now, in this dot.com world ) an exact translation of Shamashastry.
bowenpalle venuraja gopal rao.
warangal, india
15/D-26
Jul 27, 2009
11:09 AM
>>>>if you happen to have the web reference on the engl-transl of artha-saastra by Syaamaa-saastry, kindly give it.
v.seshadri
chennai, india<<<<<

Yes sir, you can cut and paste the below given link.
R.Shamashastry's translation , you can read it here but it not the entire book.
Shamashastry's translation is not changed ,it is given as it is.

http://www.bharatade...tra/arthashastra.php
bowenpalle venuraja gopal rao.
warangal, india
16/D-28
Jul 27, 2009
11:15 AM
Mr. Rao,

Thanks for the link.
dip
Dhaka, Bangladesh
17/D-39
Jul 27, 2009
02:49 PM
Some of the gems of Arthshastra of Kautilya:
Kautilya means "kutil" ( or cunning) and yet Chanakya who was nick named Kautilya proudly calls himself Kautilya in his book.

Says Kautilya (Chankya addresses himself) that King has no day or night for work, he shall be working all through the day and all through the night taking 1 and half hour rest at various points of time, 1 and 1/2 hours each afternoon, before sun-set, before midnight and before sun rise.

** The king shall give audience to the chief of spy organisation at about 11:30 am and the King shall be alone ,must listen and also he shall see his kingdom from the eyes of Intelligence (spy)wing.

In Indian history we read that Mrs.Indira Gandhi started this practice of RAW and Intelligence bureau cheif having direct access to PM.
She also started spy organisation called RAW.

PM Morarji Desai for example drank urine early in the morning and reduced the staff,funds etc., to RAW.

But Kautilya says that Intelligence wing should have direct access to PM.
In modern India for a long time, Intelligence wing reported to a Cabinet Secretary or additional secretary.

The King shall appoint spies in all religious instititutions who may be fake God-men , and fake sadhus etc., because spies work for money and all those God-men ready for more money shall be recruited to work as spies.
(May be the reverse is happening now with CIA and ISI present in God-men organisations)

** The king shall establish grain markets for farmers
and supply seeds at subsidised rates.

** In case of foreigners collaborating with locals (against the State) we shall know ,Kautilya says that foreigners can not be induced by locals with money and likewise Locals can not be induced by foreigners (against the State) by money.

So the King (in case locals conspiring with foreigners) shall have conciliatary approach towards such locals( minor groups) by giving them concessions in the form of less taxes,grants,aid and prasing them how important they are etc., in public (propaganda)!!!!
and try to address their problems.

If a minister revolts his son or brother must be used against him, by means of spies and the miniser shall be murdered by using his family members( helped by spies),if the revolt is in the middle of external aggression the King shall make an agreement with the minster.

** When the King dies ,the news shall never,never be announced immediately. Even an imposter attired in Royal dress can be used to give an impression that the King is still alive.

The death of the King shall be announced only after his successor sits on the throne and that through means of intelligence wing the outside situation (in the city) is properly assesed as safe.
Kautilya belongs 320 B.C.

In modern times Mrs.Indira Gandhi's death was announced within few minutes while she was still in the hospital(AIIMS) and in the riots that followed nearly 3000 people died.

Kautilya's theory on war and expeditions are so great that we can explain the reasons for Hitler's failure to capture Mascow. May be Hitler should have read Arthshastra.
bowenpalle venuraja gopal rao.
warangal, india
18/D-78
Aug 31, 2009
09:06 PM
The complete collection can be found in the following link. One can cleary see the Machivillie's books comes as a small subset of Chanakya Arthasastra.

"http://projectsouth...hashastra/index.htm"
Jay
Toronto, Canada
19/D-79
Aug 31, 2009
09:07 PM
Sorry here is the correct link


http://projectsoutha...thashastra/index.htm
Jay
Toronto, Canada
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