Zakir Husain Delhi College

Name- Masira Noor

Course- BA Honours
Psychology
Year- First Year
Roll Number- 22/725
Subject- General Elective-:
Ideas in Indian Political thought
Teacher- Nandita Pal

Kautilya
Kautilya, also called Chanakya or Vishnugupta (flourished
300 BCE), Hindu statesman and philosopher who wrote a
classic treatise on polity, Artha-shastra (“The Science of
Material Gain”), a compilation of almost everything that had
been written in India up to his time regarding artha(property,
economics, or material success). Chanakya’s birthplace is a
matter of controversy, and there are multiple theories about
his origin. According to one theory, he was born in
Pataliputra or a town Kusumpur near it. According to the
Buddhist text Mahavamsa Tika, his birthplace was Taxila. The
Jain scriptures like Adbidhana Chintamani mention him as
a Dramila, implying that he was a native of south
India. According to some other Jaina accounts, Chanakya was
born in the village of Canaka to Caṇin and Caṇeśvarī, a
Brahmin couple. Other sources mention his father’s name as
“Chanak”, and state that his name derives from his father’s
name.

Chanakya was educated at Takshashila, an ancient center of

learning located in north-western ancient India (present-day
Pakistan). He later became a teacher (acharya) at the same
place. Chanakya’s life was connected to two cities:
Takshashila and Pataliputra(present-day Patna in Bihar,
India). Pataliputra was the capital of the Magadha kingdom,
which was connected to Takshashila by the northern high
road of commerce.

KAUTILYA:- SAPTANGA THEORY OF

STATE
The word “Saptang” indicates seven limbs, constituents
or elements. Together, they constitute the State as an
organism, “like a chariot composed of seven parts
fitted and subservient to one another”. To an extent;
the Saptanga theory of State finds elaboration in the
Ancient Greek Political Philosophy. For instance: while
comparing the State with the human body, Plato had
argued that just as a cut in the finger causes pain in the
body, similarly injury of one organ creates problems for
the other organs of the body politic. Seven Angas,
Prakritis, or elements were enumerated and elucidated
by Kautilya for describing “the nature of the State” in
its totality. As laid down in the first chapter of
Arthashastra’s Sixth Book, entitled Mandala Yonih,
these are:
1) Swami (The Sovereign King)-
Subscribing to monarchy as the ideal form of state,
Kautilya has accorded to the king “the highest place in
the body- politic”. The Swami is the chief executive
head of the state and, is, thus “the consummation of
all other elements”. The word Swami is derived from
the word swayam which refers to self-determining. The
Swami, therefore, becomes a living and animate
embodiment, which is subjected to be ruled by none,
does not
follow any external rulings and is liable only to self-
imposed restrictions. He is, thus, the symbol of legal
and political authority and power. Kautilya gives a
comprehensive list of four broad categories of qualities
which constitute the ideals of a Swami: (i) Qualities of
an inviting nature; (ii) Qualities of intellect and
intuition; (iii) Qualities of enthusiasm and (iv) Qualities
of self- restraint and spirit. This categorization of
qualities supplements the usual notion of kingship
being characterized by coercion and subordination of
people. The king was, thus, not to be a despot,
exercising power through sheer military force, but was
to rule his subjects through affection. Accordingly, the
duties and functions that he is called upon to perform
are of two types:
(i) Protective Functions- The king being the natural
guardian and savior of his people, Kautilya expects him
to perform the following protective functions that he
should put down violence and maintain law and order,
he should avert dangers and command the army, to
redress people’s grievances, to punish the wrong-
doers and to administer justice impartially and in
accordance with the sacred law, evidence, history and
enacted law.
(ii) Promotive Functions- On the other hand, his
promotive functions include the following that he
should promote the moral and material happiness and
welfare of his people, as in their happiness lies his
happiness and in their welfare his welfare, to enable
them to pursue freely their independent efforts in life,
to maintain unity and solidarity, to reward virtue, to
promote agriculture, industry and arts, to regulate the
means of livelihood, especially of the laborers and
artisans and to encourage education and help
students.
In the exercise of these functions, Kautilya’s king was
all- powerful. The limits of his authority were imposed
by the social and religious customs of his state.
2) Amatya (The Minister)-
In its narrow sense, the term Amatya or Mantri is used
for the minister of the high grade. Kautilya describes an
elaborate system of recruitment of the Amatyas and
other officials who were to be morally and ethically
pure, honest in financial matters and of good
character. The Amatyas were expected to be natural
born citizens, persons of noble origin, free from all
vices, men of infallible memory, friendly nature,
wisdom, patience and endurance. The king was
expected to appoint only wise men to
these offices as they were to be his trusted advisers.
These ministers were not only to advise the king
whenever their advice was sought; they were also to
maintain the secrecy of their deliberations.
3) Janapada (The People and The Territory)- This
unique element of Saptanga is the symbol of State,
which stands for a “territorial society”. Here, ‘Jana’
denotes people and ‘Pada’ is a symbol of territory
where these inhabitants permanently reside. D.R.
Bhandarkar and R.S. Sharma are of the view that
Kautilya’s Janapada includes not only territory but also
population. Kautilya prescribes the following requisites
of a prosperous Janapada in terms of territory: (i)
accommodate and support people; (ii) defend the state
against enemies; (iii) find occupation of people; (iv)
have manageable neighbours; (v) provide pastures; (vi)
have arable land, mines, forest and (vii) provide good
internal communication, i.e. rivers, roads, and outlet to
sea.
4) Durga (Fortification)-
Kautilya regarded fortification as essential for the
defense and protection of the state. He wanted the
state to fortify the territories from all sides. He has
described four types of fortification which include
Audak, Paarvat, Dhannvana and Vana. Of these
categories, the first two are used for the protection of
the territory and the remaining two are used for the
protection of the farmers. These fortifications, thus,
would not only protect the people and the capital, but
would also be suitable for fighting purposes, i.e. for
both defensive and offensive purposes.
5) Kosha (The Treasury)-
The flourishing economy is essential for the existence
of the State in all times and circumstances. That is
probably why the philosophers of Ancient India looked
at treasury as an essential element of the State.
Though Kautilya wanted a prosperous treasury, he
specifically directed the king to earn the wealth of
nation only by legitimate and righteous means and in
no way by unfair and immoral means. For the
collection of revenues, Kautilya suggested the
following legitimate sources: (i) various forms of land
tax; (ii) duty levied on the sale of commodities in the
market; (iii) tax on imports and exports and (iv)
miscellaneous taxes.
6) Danda (The Army or The Force)-
Kautilya accepted a strong and hereditary Kshatriya
army, as the most important requisite of the state. He
insisted on the hereditary army, as it would not only be
skilled, well-
contended and obedient to the king’s will, but also be
free from duplicity. Such an army would serve both the
defensive and offensive purposes of the king. Hence, it
was obvious for Kautilya to pay great attention to the
maintenance and organization of the army. For
instance, in Arthashastra, we find him mentioning as
many as half a dozen heads of departments namely the
incharge of the armoury , naval forces, cavalry,
elephants, chariots and infantry.

7) Mitra (The Allies)-

Having realized that “political isolation means death”,
Kautilya proceeded to consider the Mitra or the ally as
a vital factor. Kautilya recognizes two kinds of allies,
namely Sahaja and Kritrima. The Sahaja or natural ally
is the one whose friendship is derived from the times
of King’s father and grandfather and who is situated
close to the territory of the immediately neighbouring
enemy. On the other hand, the Kritrima or the
acquired ally is the one whose friendship is specially
resorted to for the protection of wealth and life.
Kautilya, however, preferred an ally who is traditional,
permanent, disciplined, and enthusiastic and from
whom the possibility of opposition or rebellion is
minimum.
Conclusion
Kautilya’s concept of ‘State’ is, however, vividly
reflected in his description of angas or elements of the
state. He did not specifically define the term ‘State’, as
he was essentially a man of action, and not a theorist.
His concern for and emphasis on the internal and
external security of state was to save humanity from a
sort of Hobbesian state of nature. The Saptang theory
is a vivid manifestation of Kautilya’s deeper
understanding of not only the political nature of man,
but also the functioning of his political institutions,
especially the state.