The text was considered lost by colonial era scholars, until a manuscript was discovered in 1905. A … See more

The authorship and date of writing are unknown, and there is evidence that the surviving manuscripts are not original and have been modified in their history but were most likely completed in the available form between th… See more

Different scholars have translated the word "arthashastra" in different ways.
• R.P. Kangle: "Artha is the sustenance or livelihood of men, and Arthaśāstra is the science of the means to Artha" "science of politics"; … See more

Arthashastra is divided into 15 book titles, 150 chapters and 180 topics, as follows:
1. On the Subject of Training, 21 chapters, Topics 1-18
2. On the Activities of Superintendents, 36 chapters, Topics 19-56 (largest book)… See more

The ancient Sanskrit text opens, in chapter 2 of Book 1 (the first chapter is table of contents), by acknowledging that there are a number of extant schools with different theories on proper and necessary number of fields of … See more

The text has been translated and interpreted by Shamashastry, Kangle, Trautmann and many others. Recent translations or interpretations include those of Patrick Olivelle and McClish. See more