The Arthasastra: Selections from the Classic Indian Work on Statecraft.

• Author: Scharfe, Hartmut
• Position: Brief reviews of books - Book review

The Arthasastra: Selections from the Classic Indian Work on Statecraft. Edited and Translated, with an Introduction, by MARK MCCLISH AND PATRICK OLIVELLE. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2012. Pp. lxvi + 169. $52, [pounds sterling]37.95 (cloth): $16.95, [pounds sterling]12.95 (paper).

The authors have produced a handsome, readable overview of an important ancient Indian Sanskrit text with representative selections in translation. They describe the delicate balance of political expedience and traditional ethics that the king has to maintain in the rough and tumble of power politics. Professing adherence to religious values, he may use temples and holy men in ruthless ploys to strengthen his rule--but note that Vedic scholars are never used in such schemes! The king fosters the welfare of his subjects, not like a populist politician, but primarily to make his state more prosperous and thus his rule more secure. But we should not neglect that besides his goal to expand his kingdom to eventually comprise the whole world, his rule should also establish the rule of dhanna "righteousness": his goal was the "acquisition and protection of the earth" (I 1,1) with all its creatures. If his measures may be harsh, they shall follow from his royal obligations, not from capriciousness or a perverse pleasure in inflicting harm. In such severe actions he shall be dharma-ruci "finding satisfaction in carrying out his duty"; "finding delight in his duty" (p. 106) gives it a misleading slant. The king has to control his senses so as to avoid improper impulsive actions. "Senses, faculties" (indriya) implies more than "the inputs from one's sensory organs" (p...