Question

Which one of the following personalities is called India’s Machiavelli?
(A) Asvaghosha
(B) Patanjali
(C) Kautilya
(D) Bana

Answer 1

Hint: One of the ancient Indian treatises on military strategies, state crafts and economic policies is the Arthashastra which is written in Sanskrit. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru compared Chanakya to Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince”.

Complete answer:
Chanakya was a royal adviser, philosopher and an Indian teacher. He is also known as Vishnu Gupta or Kautilya. Initially, at the ancient Takshashila University in Takshashila, he was a professor of economics and political science. He played a vital role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire. The first Maurya Emperor was Chandragupta and he was managed by Chanakya to raise his power at a young age. The first empire to rule most of the Indian subcontinent in the archaeologically recorded history was the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta and his son Bindusara, both were served by Chanakya as the chief advisor. The Arthashastra, which is an ancient book of India, was written by Chanakya who was also the Minister of the Chandragupta Maurya. This book has 15 sections which tell about politics and administration. He also wrote the Nitishastra, the Chanakya Niti which is a treatise on the ideal way of life. His works were lost towards the end of the Gupta dynasty and they could be discovered only in 1915. The influence of the Arthashastra continued to exert even after the reign of King Ashoka. Later it disappeared and was considered to be lost. It was then discovered by a Sanskrit scholar Rudrapatna Shamasastry in 1905 CE.

Thus, option (C) is correct.

Note: This work of Arthashastra was also published in 1909 CE by Shamasastry. It was also translated into English and this version was published in 1915 CE which brought greater attention.