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The Arthasastra: Selections from the Classic Indian Work on Statecraft
The Arthasastra Selections from the Classic Indian Work on Statecraft Author:Patrick Olivelle, Mark McClish The only extant treatise on statecraft from classical India, the Arthasastra is an invaluable resource for understanding ancient South Asian political thought; it also provides a comprehensive and unparalleled panoramic view of Indian society during the period between the Maurya (320 185 BCE) and Gupta (320 497 CE) empires. This volume offers mo... more »dern English translations of key selections, organized thematically, from the Arthasastra. A general Introduction briefly traces the arc of ancient South Asian history, explains the classical Indian tradition of statecraft, and discusses the origins and importance of the Arthasastra. Thorough explanatory essays and notes set each excerpt in its intellectual, political, and cultural contexts.« less