The history of the Arthaśāstra: sovereignty and sacred law in ancient India
The Arthaśāstra is the foundational text of Indic political thought and ancient India's most important treatise on statecraft and governance. It is traditionally believed that politics in ancient India was ruled by religion; that kings strove to fulfil their sacred duty; and that sovereignty wa...
| Published in: | Ideas in context |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge, United Kingdom New York, NY Port Melbourne, Australia New Delhi, India Singapore
Cambridge University Press
2019
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| In: |
Ideas in context (120)
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| Series/Journal: | Ideas in context
120 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Arthaśāstra
/ Historiography
/ History
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| Further subjects: | B
Kauṭalya ; Arthaśāstra ; Criticism, Textual
B Kauṭalya Arthaśāstra Criticism, Textual B State, The Early works to 1800 B Political science ; India ; History ; Early works to 1800 B Kauṭalya ; Arthaśāstra B India ; Politics and government ; To 997 B India Politics and government To 997 B State, The ; Early works to 1800 B Political Science History Early works to 1800 (India) B Kauṭalya Arthaśāstra |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Arthaśāstra is the foundational text of Indic political thought and ancient India's most important treatise on statecraft and governance. It is traditionally believed that politics in ancient India was ruled by religion; that kings strove to fulfil their sacred duty; and that sovereignty was circumscribed by the sacred law of dharma. Mark McClish's systematic and thorough evaluation of the Arthaśāstra's early history shows that these ideas only came to prominence in the statecraft tradition late in the classical period. With a thorough chronological exploration, he demonstrates that the text originally espoused a political philosophy characterized by empiricism and pragmatism, ignoring the mandate of dharma altogether. The political theology of dharma was incorporated when the text was redacted in the late classical period, which obscured the existence of an independent political tradition in ancient India altogether and reinforced the erroneous notion that ancient India was ruled by religion, not politics. |
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| ISBN: | 110864158X |
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/9781108641586 |