Talk:Arthashastra

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Contents 1 Re Attention tag 2 Regarding? 3 Meaning of Artha 4 Versions in other languages

[edit] Re Attention tag

The article currently focuses strongly on the kingship and statecraft angle. The Arthashastra also has amazing cultural and technical description of the society for which it was written (see [1]). I think the article needs abridging and cleanup of the Rajarishi section (which is about Book I) and expansion of these other aspects.

The Rajarishi text comes from an article by Navendu Shirali - it can be found elsewhere on the Web, but he did write it, so no need for copyvio alerts (especially once it's copyedited). Tearlach 01:28, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding?

"He should be just in regarding and punishing."

'Regarding', or 'rewarding'? TheMadBaron 08:04, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

Kautilya says that artha (Sound Economies) is the most important; dharma & karma are both dependent on it.

Presumably kama, not karma - in line with dharma, artha, kama? Tearlach 03:09, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Meaning of Artha

Artha has many meanings, and this text touches on most of them. Some of the appropriate ones would be "power" and "wealth", so I have to disagree with the translation of the title as "The Science of Material Gain", especially considering that this is a treatise concerned with how a king should rule, not how an individual should pursue material gain. It is different from other texts such as the Kama Sutra in that way. I would personally translate the title as "The Science of Power" or as a compromise "The Science of Power/Wealth". Unlike our corresponding words, Artha implies both of these simultaneously, and that should be reflected in the title.

I agree. Academic sites and book intros divide between three translations: "Science of Wealth", "Science of Material Gain" and "Science of Polity" - "polity" being the form and process of civil government or state. WP:NOR guidelines stop us creating an original translation, but mentioning the alternatives would be good. Tearlach 10:21, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure Handbook of Profit is sufficiently common to go up-front as the implied dominant translation. I found about three Google hits. The Arthashastra entries in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions don't mention it. I can only find it in the Britannica Online, where two articles use it ("Carvaka" and "Artha-sastra") but seven others use the usual Science of Material Gain and Science of Polity. Tearlach 01:46, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Versions in other languages

It should be noted that there are not many versions of the Arthashastra in other languages. However, there is a Telugu version of Kautilya’ Arthashastra by an eminent Professor of History and Political Science, from Andhra Pradesh, M. Venkatanrangaiya and Akundi Venkatashastry. The version was first published in 1923. There is no reprint of this, however, a copy of the same is available upon request at vmamdipudi@yahoo.com. The book starts with an introduction highlighting the expertise of Kautilya. The divisions of this version are the same as in Samashastry’s 1915 edition of the book in English.