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THE "PRIMITIVE” IN THE KAUTILYA'S ARTHAŠASTRA'
Ganesh Thite
In the ancient and medieaval Indian literature on various subjects we can find numerous traces of primitive (irrational, prescientific) way of thinking. Thus not only in the Atharva. veda but in all the vedic literature including Upani-ads there are many primitive thoughts, inagico religious beliels ard practices, superstitions etc. The same is true in connection with the epics and Purānas, with the socalled scientific literature on medicine, chemistry etc and with the literature on the fine aris like music, architecture, painting etc Tne present paper aims at a survey of primitive elements in the Arthaśåstra of Kautilya.
The Arthaśāstra is well-known as an important text of ancient Indian political and economical thought this text, really speaking should not have any scope for primitive thoughts and magico religious elements. But this text contains a lot of them. Here we find both the black and white magics. The magic is often inseparably mixed with religion Therefore we get numerous references to obeisance to gods, worship of gods, offerings to be paid to them ctc Aims etc. of magico religious rites.
The magico-religious rites prescribed in the Kautiliya Artha. Sastra are to be performed for the sake of getting a favourable son, removing the calamities like over-rains or drought, posse ssing some superhuman powers like that of walking on fire or of walking incessantly for a very long distance etc. Similarly, 1 For the translations of the passages from the Arthasästra, I have
used R P. KANGLE's The Kaufiliya Arthusastra-11, Bombay, 1963 2 cf.V SAUNDRES. "Some allusions to magic in Kautilya's Artbajāstra"
JAOS, 42, 1922, (p. 75 ff.). "Throughout the work, there are fre. quent allusions to sorcery, demons, obsessed persons, Incantations, witchcraft etc" p. 75, cf. B. P SINHA. "Significance of religious data in Kautilya's Arthasastra " JBRS 44, 1958, (p. 77 ff.), P 80.
