Question

lExamine Kautilya’s Mandala theory and its significance in the context of modern

nation state.
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Answer 1

Answer:

Kautilya, India's earliest known political philosopher was the minister in theKingdom of Chandragupta Maurya during 317  !"3 #.C. Kautilya is known $est for hisenormous e%position &

Arthashastra’

which contains e%tensie iews and theories onpolitics, economy, diplomacy and warfare. (e is considered as one of the shrewdestministers of the times and has e%pressed his iews on )tate, *ar, )ocial )tructures,+iplomacy, thics, -olitics and )tatecraft ery clearly in his $ook called

Arthashastra

.he Mauryan mpire was larger than the later #ritish India which e%panded from theIndian /cean to (imalayas and upto Iran in the *est. 0fter 0le%ander left India, thiswas the most powerful kingdom in India and Kautilya was minister who adised theKing.!. here were many sages in India who composed the )hastras $ut 0rthashastra ismost comprehensie of all the treaties written earlier. (istorians considered Kautilya for  

 

his iews on state, statecraft and ethics which are ery realistic and astly applica$leeen in todays conte%t. +rawing upon his ast knowledge and as some scholars claim,from the writings of other eminent thinkers of those times, Kautilya wrote the 0rthashastra encompassing su$2ects such as duties of a king, construction of forts andfortifications for a kingdom , the reenue system, law and order, pu$lic finance,diplomacy and foreign policy and the art of warfare called &0rthashastra . he te%tcontains 1 40dhikarmas5 6$ooks, 18 chapters and 198 :-rakarnas: or sectionsdeoted to specific topics. 3Kautilya was a ersatile genius, well ersed in military science, the art of diplomacy, political economy, metallurgy, medicine, chemistry, law and order and of course the ;edas. Kautilyas 0rthasastra is a treatise on artha and sastra. 0rthasastra isthe science, which is the means of the ac<uisition and protection of a kings territory. 0rthasastra could $e regarded as the sastra concerned with the general well $eing onearth. 0nd since the well organi=ed state actiities alone can make such a well $eingpossi$le, the protection of ones territory and its ac<uisition are an essential part of state actiity which are declared to $e proince of this sastra. he wide range of stateactiity coered in arthasastra has a two>fold aim. ?irst, it gies out how a ruler shouldprotect his territory, which principally refers to administration of the state. )econd, itgies out how territory should $e ac<uired which principally is con<uest of territory fromothers. his inoles a consideration of the foreign policy of the state.@. 0rthashastra is a $ook of political realism where )tate is supreme and King shallcarry out duties as gien in his $ook to safeguard his state. Kautilyas work is so deeplyrooted in pragmatism that he goes to descri$e the gory and $rutal means a King mayadopt to $e in power. Kautilya maintained that the prosperity of the state and itsinha$itants will not $e maintained unless new territory is ac<uired either $y alliance or $y con<uest. Kautilya also proposes that the kosha or treasury is an essential elementof the state. 0 king with a depleted treasury eats into the ery itality of its citi=ens andthe country also at the same time a king who depries his own people or angers them$y unfair e%actions will also lose their loyalty. 0 $alance has to $e maintained $etween

 

the welfare of the people and increasing the resources of the state.

 

(e emphasi=ed theneed for a sound national military strategy and con<uest of new territory and thereforethe continuous necessity of preparing for and waging war..he 0rthashastra is a treatise of political adice to the king. Kautilyaspragmatism is reflected in policy adice on how to conduct war and diplomacy $y $othhonest and dishonest means toward the goal of increasing the power, wealth, andsecurity of the state. Kautilya adocates the interface of warfighting capa$ilitiescom$ined with diplomacy, opportunism, and guile. (is ideas for competitie adantage,resonate today. Kautilyas ideas centre around the concept of his 4Aa2 Mandala5 > amodel upon which the king could decide on

collusion coo!"ration allianc"ac#uisition or $"struction in $"alin%s

with other nations. hrough all of this he setforth a

sch"&" o' co("rt $"alin%s &isin'or&ation s!i"s !lann"$ assassinations

and

!oisonin%

Explanation: