Chanakya Explored in Jaina Literature

Author(s): Nalini Joshi
Publisher: Firodaya Prakashan

Page 12

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
[1] How my attention was drawn towards this subject ?
While preparing the articles for Prakrit-English-Comprehensive-Dictionary, a joint and giant project was undertaken by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and Sanmati-Teerth a Research Institute, it came to my notice that in ancient and medieval literature of the Jainas, copious references about Cāņakya are found in the form of stories, incidents, parables, analogies, narratives, examples and biographies. The number of references was really overwhelming. I felt it necessary to go deeper in the subject for bringing out the exact connection between the Jaina tales of Cāņakya and traditional brahmanical tales in the broader light of the present version of Kauțilīya Arthaśāstra.
Though Cāņakya is famous as Kautilya and Vişnugupta, the Jaina authors have mostly preferred the name 'Cāņakya'. At three to four places it is suggested clearly that these three names identify the one and same personality.
The Kauțilīya Arthaśāstra is a science of polity. It is of course a excellent blend of Politics, Economics, Ethics as well as History. This world-famous treatise is extensively studied by Orientalists, Indologists and Sanskritists all over the world. The Kauțiliya Arthaśāstra contains 15 adhikaraṇas and 150 adhyāyas. It is a practical guidebook for a sovereign king. There is no need to describe the greatness and all-time-relevance of the Arthaśāstra. It is noticed that almost each finance budget of India, when tabled into