Kautilya's Maxims
Overview of Kautilya Sayings in ArS

Kautilya sayings occur in ten of the fifteen books of the Arthashâstra, but they cluster in only five of them: ArS 1, 3, 7, 8, and 9. It is those five topics - statecraft, law, diplomacy, strategy, and war - that seem to have defined the range of Kautilya's statecraft thought. In this reconstruction, we have rearranged the Kautilya sayings to put them wholly under those rubrics. On the Evolution page we show how that beginning was thematically expanded in the later layers of the Arthashâstra, and how some Kautilya maxims were redistributed to legitimize that expansion at key points.

Clicking on a reference will take you to that saying. See also the parallel list of Chinese Statecraft passages cited in the notes.

• 1. The Statesman (ArS 1-2)
  • The Place of Our Science: 01, The Sage King: 02
  • Civil Order: 03, 04
  • The Heir Apparent: 05, 06
  • Succession and Usurpation: 07
  • Choosing Ministers: 08, 09
  • Consulting Ministers: 10, 11
  • Dishonesty of Ministers: 12, 13
• 2. The Judge (ArS 3)
  • Family Law
    • Marriage: [not represented]
    • Divorce Through Abandonment: 14, 15
    • Inheritance: 16, 17
      • Addendum: 16a "Usanas"
  • Civil Law
    • Witnesses: 18
    • Contracts for Labor: 19
    • Robbery: 20, 21
      • Addendum: 20a "Teachers"
    • Assault: 22, 23
    • Gambling: 24
• 3. The Diplomat (ArS 7)
• Policy Options: 25

[to be completed]

Kautilya's Maxims is Copyright © 2001- by E Bruce and A Taeko Brooks

19 Feb 2006 / Contact The Project / Exit to Kautilya Page