Kautilya's Arthashastra: A Timeless Grand Strategy

Kautilya’s Arthashastra: A Timeless Grand Strategy

This document is a thesis submitted by Wing Commander Vinay Vittal of the Indian Air Force to the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies for graduation requirements in June 2011.

Approval and Disclaimer

The thesis has been certified as meeting master's-level standards by Dr. Everett C. Dolman and Dr. James M. Tucci. The conclusions and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official positions of the US or Indian governments, Departments of Defense, Air Forces, or Air University.

About the Author

Wing Commander Vinay Vittal is an experienced Indian Air Force fighter pilot with $3600$ flight hours. He holds Bachelor of Science (B Sc) and Master of Science (M Sc) degrees. He is a graduate of the Indian Air Force Academy, a Fighter Strike Leader, and an Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner. He has served as a Flight Commander and Commanding Officer of fighter squadrons and is a graduate of the Defense Services Staff College, Wellington, India.

Acknowledgements

The author expresses gratitude to Dr. Everett C. Dolman for his inspiration and guidance, Dr. James M. Tucci for reviews and critiques, and Dr. Harold R. Winton for writing advice. He also thanks Dr. R. P. Kangle, Dr. Roger Boesche, L. N. Rangarajan, Dr. T. N. Ramaswamy, and V.K. Subramanian for insights into Arthashastra. Finally, he thanks his wife and daughter for their love and support.

Abstract

Kautilya’s Arthashastra offers insights into ancient Indian political wisdom and statecraft and presents timeless concepts relevant to the contemporary world. It guides a wise king in promoting national interests related to security, wealth, and prestige. The text emphasizes the link between good governance, economic prosperity, and territorial expansion. It recommends diplomacy to achieve world conquest and consolidation, suggesting six measures of foreign policy to manage transitions from decline to advancement. The aim is to increase state power at the enemy's expense. The Arthashastra is considered a comprehensive statement of political realism, defining war as an expression of foreign policy, providing guidance for employing national power to gain a continuing advantage, and presenting a grand strategy.

Introduction

Arthashastra, comparable to Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, is a classic treatise on war and governance from the 4th century BCE. Rediscovered in 1904 and translated into English in 1915, its authorship is attributed to Kautilya, also known as Chanakya or Vishnugupta, an advisor to Chandragupta Maurya (321-297 BCE). The text emphasizes rescuing the earth from the Nanda Kings. Gerard Chaliand regards Arthashastra as a major political and strategic treatise of the ancient world. Max Weber noted its radical Machiavellianism, while Heinrich Zimmer saw it as an anthology of laws of politics, economy, diplomacy, and war. Dr. A.L. Basham defined it as a treatise on polity, Dr. R.P. Kangle as the science of politics, Dr. D.D. Kosambi as a science of material gain, and Dr. R. Boesche as a science of political economy. Arthashastra is defined as an art and science of governance, diplomacy, and war, providing strategies for territorial acquisition, maintenance, administration, and foreign policy.

Kautilya in His Time

In the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great's invasion led to the emergence of the Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta Maurya and Kautilya. Kautilya, a Brahmin and professor, believed India was vulnerable to invasion. After being insulted by Dhanananda, the ruler of Patliputra, Kautilya vowed revenge. He educated Chandragupta in science, arts, and military strategies, leading to the establishment of the Mauryan Empire. By 321 BCE, Chandragupta had conquered Punjab and Sindh from the Greeks, and by 305 BCE, he had compelled Seleucus to cede territories. The Mauryan Empire had a population of over 50 million, and Chandragupta's army comprised 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 8000 chariots, and 9000 elephants. Kautilya composed Arthashastra to guide a wise king in ruling for the general good.

Organization and Contents of Arthashastra

The primary theme is ruling well, with artha denoting material well-being and economic activity. Arthashastra includes guidance on productive enterprises, taxation, revenue collection, and budget, balancing welfare and state resources. An efficient administration ensures law and order. Kautilya advocates that the ruler takes an active interest in economic affairs. He insists that the prosperity of the state cannot be maintained unless new territory is acquired. To deal with other kings' aspirations, Kautilya advocates peaceful or hostile means. Since conquest provided the primary means for acquisition, preparing for, and waging war is integral to Kautilya's Arthashastra. Thus, Arthashastra is an art of governance, including administration, economy, and foreign policy.

Kautilya's society followed the traditional Hindu class system. Brahmins were priests, Kshatriyas were warriors, Vaishyas were traders, and Shudras were laborers and artists. Kautilya advocated state power over class and religion. Arthashastra is an extension of artha, focusing on acquiring and protecting territory. Its twofold aim is to guide the ruler to protect his territory and to show how territory should be acquired. Arthashastra comprises fifteen books, with 150 chapters, 180 sections and $6000$ verses. It covers the king, ministers, executive officers, law and justice, crime suppression, salary scales, foreign policy, circle of states, calamities, preparation for war, types of troops, battle arrays, and methods of treating a subject.

Arthashastra is primarily a treatise on governance, dealing with internal administration and foreign relations. It provides an education in the ways of attaining the goal of expansion of the kingdom. A state has seven constituent elements: the ruler, ministers, population, fortifications, economic base, military capacity, and ally. Kautilya's analysis includes internal administration and relations between states. Arthashastra has three distinct parts: administration, law and justice, and foreign policies corresponding to wealth, justice, and growth.

Conclusion

Arthashastra is perceived as a harsh form of political realism. Kautilya focuses on ruthless efficiency for the wealth and safety of the realm. He was a celebrated humanist, with his political study centered on ruling well. Throughout Arthashastra, three fundamental objectives flow: good governance leads to a good economy, which allows for territorial expansion. It is a grand strategy for the proper governance of a state, including political, economic, military, diplomatic, and information strategies, advocating the primacy of the state.

Chapter 1: The Kautilyan State

The key to setting up a well run state is to provide the base for expansion and thwart the expansion of external states into one’s own. Therefore, before a king actually sets on an expedition of conquest, he has to employ measures to guard against the dangers that may weaken any of the constituent elements of his own state. Kautilya uses the term vyasana (or calamity) to denote any weakness that may affect the constituent elements of a state. The duty of the king was first towards his people, to protect them in time of natural calamities and from enemies, both internal and external with protection, administration, and welfare. An ideal king has qualities of leadership, intellectual energy, and personal character, embodying all state constituents. He should achieve self-control, give up negative traits such as lust and arrogance, avoid over-indulgence, and dedicate 12 hours a day to state affairs, including defense, intelligence, public audience, and administration. The king should be active in the management of the economy, focus on economic activity, and maintain the treasury (kosa). From wealth comes the power of the government. Sources of revenue include crown property, mines, animal husbandry, irrigation, forests, manufacturing, taxes, customs duties, auctions, tolls, transaction taxes, and fines. But it is important that the king does not rely too heavily on any one source, and that the process or amount of extracted revenue does not negatively affect the revenue stream.

Kautilya states that an essential duty of government is maintaining order. Civil law covers family laws, contracts, and labor, while criminal law includes recommendations for a penal code. A description of the legal system explains procedures, the law of evidence, investigation, and forensic science. The prevention of crime is an important aspect in Kautilya’s views on the maintenance of law and order, and clandestine agents were responsible for collecting information about various crimes. Kautilya insists that an efficient administration is a prerequisite for a burgeoning economy of a state and explains the structure of administration and details the duties for heads of departments. A king shall have his agents in the courts of the enemy, ally, the middle, and the neutral kings to spy and advocated creation of a secret service with spies, double agents, and specialists, to include assassins, as a task of paramount importance for the king.

Chapter 2: Foreign Policy

Kautilya’s foreign policy involves logical analysis of all aspects of relations between states. The power depends on how close to ideal the internal constituents are. When he refers to the interest of the king, the king is the symbolic representation of the state. As it is in the interest of every king to oversee the expansion of his kingdom, and conquest is the primary means for doing so, the would-be conqueror is called the vijigishu. A neighboring king is designated an enemy. Arthashastra is concerned with the security and foreign policy needs of a state interacting with numerous other states, what we would term today a multipolar state system. From his theoretical concepts and analysis, Kautilya offers four devices or models to provide practical advice for specific situations. These are relative power, deviations from the ideal, classification by type of motivation, and the influence of the intangible and the unpredictable.

Kautilya classifies the states as hostile or friendly, and creates further sub-classifications such as types of neighbors, types of allies, and types of vassals in the mandala model. Kautilya also underscores the intangible and unpredictable factors that affect policy choices. Power is not measured only in terms of the resources of the state or the size of the army. Kautilya lays more importance on the power of good command. In accordance with his perception of the world as a continuously interacting mandala of self-motivated kings, Kautilya’s concept of diplomacy comprises two basic ideals of statecraft: world conquest and world consolidation. The six-fold state policy comprises careful attention to war, peace, neutrality, invasion, alliance, and dual policy.

The guiding principles of Kautilya’s foreign policy are straightforward. 1A king shall enhance the capabilities of the state. 2 the enemy shall be eliminated or neutralized and intellectual discretion or prudence in policy choices promotes stable growth and peace. E 3 Peace is always preferable to war, so long as the outcome is equivalent. 4Active foreign policy is followed with an objective of enlargement of one’s power and influence, and in turn, one’s territory. Relations with foreign states are to be established and negotiations carried out through the ambassadors or envoys. The model appears quite complex, with 72 internal constituents in the circle of states. The mandala dynamic is based on geopolitical or territorial position. Kautilya asserts that neighboring states tend to be hostile to each other and that states with a common enemy tend to be allies. The conqueror is regarded as the center of a number of states with interest in the matter. Kautilya categorizes six measures of foreign policy selected as appropriate: samdhi (making peace with a treaty), vigraha (hostility), asana (neutrality), yana (marching on an expedition), samshraya (seeking shelter or protection), and dvaidhbhava (dual policy). Also there are the use of four ancient concepts that overlap the six measures of foreign policy and can be adapted to any of them such as adopting a conciliatory attitude (sama), placating with rewards and gifts (dana), sowing dissensions among enemies (Bheda), and using force (danda).

Kautilya states that the king is responsible for protection of the state from external aggression and enlargement of territory by conquest. Kautilya defines war broadly and does not confine it to only the physical or active component of hostility. To engage in clandestine war, the king uses his agents, double agents, allies, vassal kings, tribal chiefs, and supporters of the enemy. Various physical defensive methods and fortifications are enumerated in detail by Kautilya. The king is recommended to retain control over the military, primarily by ensuring that the chiefs of the military are well paid. War is the ultimate expression of state power interaction, and Kautilya spends considerable time on the practicalities of planning and executing the military campaign. In the circle of states, the conqueror is advised first to conquer his natural enemies, those on his border that are making preparations to expand their own kingdoms. Kautilya states that a king shall engage in declared war when his military is superior, his instigations in the enemy camp have been successful, all precautions against dangers have been taken, and the terrain is suitable. Kautilya strongly advocates the use of psychological warfare and propaganda against the enemy forces. Finally, Kautilya recommends that a conqueror rule the acquired territory justly, in accordance with the customs and traditions of the local people. Kautilya’s foreign policy provides guidance to a wise king to further the national interests of the state such as security, wealth, and prestige. The concept of diplomacy is primarily to achieve world conquest and world consolidation. Therefore, six measures of foreign policy are recommended for a state and advises the king to employ the elements of national power to achieve a state of continuing advantage and gives guidance for a grand strategy.

Chapter 3: The Grand Strategy

Kautilya’s Arthashastra is an anthology of wisdom and theory. The focus of statecraft should always be the safety and comfort of all its people. The wealth of the nation is in its territory and the people. The state has an important role in maintaining both the physical size of the state and the skills and interests of its population. To do so, state leadership is required to ensure maintenance of law and order and to uphold the fabric of the society. Kautilya advises the leadership to pursue economic policies that increase the revenues of the state, but also increase wealth of the population and ensures the needs of the people are met. The duties of a king include protection of the people of the state from external aggression; maintenance of law and order within the state; and safeguarding the economic welfare of the people as displayed in the Kautilya model.

The trinity of political leadership, the economy, and the military with relation to the population is a useful model. The seven constituent parts of a state, as enumerated by Kautilya, provide a framework with vital significance. Kautilya describes the power that a state can bring to bear in promoting its own interest vis-à-vis other states depends on how close to ideal the constituents are. Therefore, before embarking on a campaign, it is essential to harness the power of the different constituents of the state and, at the same time, affect the constituents of the enemy adversely. Therefore, a sound grand strategy would include the orchestration of all instruments of the national power: political, economic, military, social, information, and diplomatic. The seven constituent parts of a state also denotes the target structure for any operations undertaken. In each operation all constituents of the state impact upon each other at each level of interaction (strategic, operational, and tactical).

Kautilya lists eight factors that need consideration before starting a military expedition. These are: (1) the relative value of the end compared to likely losses, expenses, and gains; (2) the relative power of the enemy state; (3) the place of operations; (4) time (primarily duration) of the anticipated military engagement; (5) season for operations,(6) composition of suitable forces to be employed in operations; (7) support and political will of the population and (8) consideration of the dangers that are specific to the campaign. National interests shape the policy of a state. Kautilya’s three constituents of military power are the commander’s intellect or capacity for planning and carrying out a campaign, the forces available and the enthusiasm and morale of the combatants.

However, Kautilya also incorporates the modern liberal nature of statecraft while addressing the governance of the people and the importance of the people for long term success. There are three discernible conditions of state health. These are a kingdom in a state of decline, stability, or advancement. When in a state of decline or in a condition of stability, each kingdom focuses on defending itself by making alliances and solving internal problems. If the kingdom has a prosperous economy and support of the population, and is without calamities and endowed with strong leadership, it should further its national interests by advancing and conquering neighboring states.

Chapter 4: Kautilya’s Astropolitics

Space operations and activities have greatly enhanced the national power of the United States, and have increased military dominance and economic prosperity. Therefore, space stability is fundamental to the national security of the United States. To preserve peace, the strategy of space warfare should be part of a comprehensive and integrated plan to augment all instruments of national power. Kautilya provides a straightforward and practical framework to apply space power in the pursuit of peace.

Kautilya’s theory, describes seven constituent elements. From its perspective, the US should maintain leadership in the space environment, requiring the sustaining of technological leaderships, effective National Space Policy, and an effective National Security Space Strategy that ensure the enhancement of national security and economic prosperity. Kautilya would understand these goals as leadership sustaining prestige, security, and wealth.

The economic constituent of Kautilya’s model provides a platform for achieving and sustaining a lead in space operations, including an effective institution of research and development. This also helps maintain technological superiority though constant innovations and to implement space operations. Satellites perform telecommunications services and provide increasing uses for high precision signals (ie GPS). The free market model of capitalist competition is demonstrably the most efficient producer of wealth and encouragement is necessary. The free market model of capitalist competition is demonstrably the most efficient producer of wealth. Also there are physical and ideological constraints and enablers (terrain). This also enables the best talent in business to find appropriate activities while encouragement is provided too. Therefore encouragement can only supplement what is there.

According to Kautilya, the military is one of the most potent instruments of national power to achieve the objectives of the state. Therefore, it is essential to deter and to be prepared, if necessary, to prevent aggression against space infrastructure that supports US national security. The role of the military is clearly defined in the national security space strategy. The U.S. forces must be able to deter, defend against, and defeat aggression by potentially hostile nation-states through enhancement, protection, resilience, cooperation, retaliation, and diplomacy. A defensive posture with offensive capabilities is required to maintain domimance (ie space based self-defence, ground based weapon systems). Space should be a defensive domain and not weaponized despite threats emerging. In addition, these efforts should be combined with use to military power to enhance diplomacy. Also, to complement the U.S., long term alliances and development and use of partners on missions.

The U.S. should follow the advantageous treaties or be prepared to alter it. Also, hostile and secret war should be continued to prepare between interwar periods. Also in place is a stay quiet approach to review space strategy and prepare it if needed through safeguarding space assets. Another is the dual-policy where allies should be nurtured to augment it when needs be and it becomes a proxy. Kautilya theory provides framework for the formulation of a strategy as well. This allows effective domestic regulations of space and its strategic control of external relations. This allows for recommendations for policies in almost any situations to help attain a balance in space or favourable situation for the nation to benefit from. Space activities have contributed to the U.S. security, wealth, and prestige, to continue this trend leadership must be used with the following in mind.

The political is accountable for national power . There’s also a need for infrastructure in the space and the resources for the U.S. to remain a leader. The U.S. must be ready to defend this leadership. They should not act based on fear but preparation and readiness. The weak are forced to accept treaties, the strong make them to their advantage

Conclusion

Kautilya’s Arthashastra provides insight into the ancient wisdom of political theory, and his strategies were responsible for the expansion of the Mauryan Empire. It is a science of statecraft, politics, administration, and diplomacy.

Arthashastra has three components 1) wealth, law, and order 2) and growth. Just and efficient administration is key. It provides a blue print. The seven components of an empire are: 1) the king, 2) the ministers, 3)The people 4) fortified city 5) the treasury 6) the army and 7) the allies. These are all needed to ensure expansion.

The key concepts are Protection, effective leadership and justice. Kautilya advocated for secret service, diplomacy, and good foreign policy relations. It can be a guide for the king to ensure clarity, and to exercise control to ensure well being of the state during peace time or times of unrest. These also include power, time and war. His framework is a guide for a modern ruler to make sure their kingdom can remain as powerful as it can and what they could do to be prepared for anything that may affect their political leadership and influence around the globe.

The key to setting up a well run state is to provide the base for expansion and thwart the expansion of external states into one’s own. This means that a successful state must establish a foundation that allows it to grow and extend its influence, while also preventing other states from expanding into its territory or diminishing its power. It's about ensuring internal strength for external ambitions and defense.

Chapter 4 of Kautilya's Astropolitics emphasizes the importance of space operations and activities in enhancing a nation's power, particularly for the United States. It suggests that space stability is crucial for national security and that space warfare strategy should integrate with all instruments of national power to preserve peace. Kautilya’s framework advises the U.S. to maintain leadership in space through technological advancements, effective space policies, and strategies that enhance national security and economic prosperity. This includes leveraging the economic sector for research and development, utilizing the military for deterrence and defense of space infrastructure, fostering international alliances, and preparing for clandestine warfare. The chapter also highlights the need for strategic control of space activities through domestic regulations and external relations, ensuring that the U.S. remains a leader by balancing political accountability, infrastructure development, and readiness to defend its leadership.