4.2 Kautilya: Theory of Saptang (Statecraft)

The text: the Arthashastra (c. 300 BC, attributed to Chanakya/Vishnugupta Kautilya — Chandragupta Maurya's minister): the world's most systematic ancient manual of statecraft,economy and administration — fifteen books, from ethics of kingship to spies' salaries.The Saptang theory — the seven limbs (organ-members) of the state (learn the listcold):#LimbMeaning1Swamithe sovereign (king) — the head2Amatyaministers/officials — the brain3Janapadaterritory and population — the body4Durgathe fortified capital — the frame5Kosathe treasury — the sinew6Danda/Balathe army (force) — the fist7Mitrathe ally — the extended armThe state as a body-politic whose health is each limb's strength and balance — a constitutional anatomy fifteen centuries before the word; the circle-of-states (mandala theory) extends it outward: the king's potential enemy (the neighbour), the potential ally (the neighbour's neighbour), the middle-king, the neutral — foreign policy as geometry (the doctrine that still governs Nepal's "yam between two boulders" predicament — Nepali History Unit 5's Prithvi Narayan Shah).Statecraft's pillars:1. Yogakshema — the welfare aim: "in the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness" (the famous verse); the Arthashastra's economics: irrigation, roads, famine relief, forest and mining administration, weights and measures, price controls — the administrative state avant la lettre.2. The secret service: the gudhapurushas (the occult corps) — spies in every guise (ascetic, housewife, merchant), internal surveillance and foreign intelligence; the test of loyalty; assassination as policy instrument (the…