Heera Singh

Student Id-20185072

Kautilya’s Saptang Theory of State

Introduction
Kautilya was a great philosopher, statesman and economist, He was
contemporary to Alexander and Aristotle. Kautilya was the chief counselor of
the Indian Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. He was the first person who united
all the small kingdoms of his time . History is not certain about Kautilya, but it
is sure that Kautilya was a historical person and he was the author of
compilation of a work on politics, a work that has affected a great ability on the
development of political thoughts in traditional India, in the some sense in
modern period. Kautilya collected his lifelong work in Arthasastra. Kautilya is
traditionally known as the author of Arthasastra. It means ―Science of Politics.
This Sanskrit work was written in the end of the 4th century B.C. there are
different opinions about it, The Arthasastra was also believed to have been
lost more than 1400 years and it was known through only references and
word, from it in subsequent works in politics in Sanskrit. So, we are not totally
unaware history, but we know things with certainty.

Kautilya‘s Arthasastra
Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is not small work, it is in prose, it has many section and
subsections. Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is divided in fifteen Adhikarnas {section}
and 180 Prakarnas {subsections}. It is divided into fifteen parts and it contains
six thousand hymns (shlokas) it is an inclusive manual on a method of a state,
how it be ruled and administrated by a king. In the modern period we have
many English translations of Kautilya‘s Arthasastra. Kautilya is political realist
and gives effect of being amoral. The Arthasastra is an ancient Indian treatise
on political economics, statecraft and military strategy. There is controversy
on the authorship about the text, there are different opinions about it, while
some believe that it is the work of many writers of different generations who
related to school of political thought. There is controversy about the date of
compilation of Arthasastra too. Mostly Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is compared to
Machavelli‘s Prince‘, in the terms of it content as a political theory.

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Content of Kautilya‘s Arthasastra

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There are fifteen chapters in Kautilya’s Arthasastar, below is the diagram
of these with name of each.

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Seven/Saptang Elements of State

According to Kautilya, there are seven elements of the state are: 1.Swami
2.Amatyas, 3.Janapada,4. Durga, 5. Kosa, 6. Danda 7.Mitra.

Mitra
Swami
Danda
Amatyas
Janapada
Kosa
Durga

1) Swami (The Ruler)

The first element of the state according to kautilya is Swami which in

ruler or king of the state. According to kautilya, the swami occupies
a very important position in the state. An ideal swami, according to
kautilya is a native of the territory and is a noble by birth, he should
have many qualities like, he should have quality to inspires
confidence in people related to state administer and it populations,
ruler should be easily approachable, also he should have qualities of
truthfulness, piousness, sharp intellect, bravery, quickness of
decision and strength of mind. King should not be afraid of death. He
is said to be the sovereign but in the restricted sense. The ruler
should be a person who founds the personal attachment the state.
The ruler should act as the head of state and also shoulders above
others. He should be exemplary and ideal of for the state.

2) Amatya {Friend or ally}

The second most important element of state is Amatya or the

minister. It is like administered necessity for the state because

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 according to Kautilya though king can be a powerful, but he cannot
run the administration without help. Therefore, king has to take the
support and service of the ministers for the effective administration
of his state. The Amatyas are the persons in the charge of the whole
administration. Therefore, for the working of whole sate system the
minister are very important.

3) Janapada (The Population)

The third element of state, according to kautilya ,is janapada (the

territory with people settled on it), which literally means population
and land. Janapada, as well-defined in the Arthasastra, specified both
region and populace. Kautilya sates that perfect territory of the state
should be lacking rocky, saline, uneven and throny tracts, it also
should be unrestricted from wildernesses, animal like as tigers and
wild creatures, and it should have wood, productive lands, and
elephant jungles.

4) Durga (The Fortified Capital)

According to kautilya, the fourth element of the state is Durga (the

fort), meaning a fortification. It also used by Manu and Sukra, as
Pura. As a synonym of puIra, it should also stand for the fortified
capital. In fact, two terms, two independent sections of Arthasastra,
‘durgavidana and durganivesa’is offered by Kautilya. It signifies
soldierly institution and its aim include both goals at the
simultaneously defends the people form natural disasters, so that at
the time of danger the people of the state could come and seek
shelter under it and also durga/fort is some kind of collection, a
storage of military atrilleries and ammunition. At the time of war,
durga helped the purpose of defence system. So, it is necessary for
the very physical existence of state.

5) Kosha (The Treasury)

The fourth element of state is Kosa (Treasury) kautilya described it as

most important element of state in the Arthasastra because survival
of all the other activities of the state depend on finance and,
therefore, prime consideration should be given to the treasury. He

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 provides the knowledge of the all various sources that can contribute
to the advance or decrease of treasury. The treasury should be
lawfully under acquired by the king’s ancestors or by the king himself
and it should be filled with gold, silver, precious jewels and gems.
According to kautilya the treasury should be rich enough to resist the
calamity when the state has no income for a long time. More
precisely, Kautilya says that without treasury, it is difficult to preserve
the army and to keep it trustworthy. Therefore, the treasure is
necessary for running of state.

6) Danda (The Army)

The fifth element is army or military. For the existent and sovereignty
every state needed a regular, large, disciplined and well-trained
military. It is central need of state for the security of the state-run.
The militias should be enlisted from those families which are
traditionally associated with military. The soldiers should pay
appropriate money, and their families should be taken care with
special efforts from the state. Without appropriate training and
equipment army can do its assign work therefore it is must for state.
The king should involve directly army and also should have some
sense of personal relations so the soldiers can sacrifice their life for
him. So it important for to preserve the sovereignty of state and
dignity.
7) Mitra (Ally and Friend)
The last element of state according to Kautilya is mitra (friend), it
also know in some version of text as is also known as suhrid .He
assert that the ally should include the quality of to a be true friend
and it should be free from any possibility of rupture with him and he
should be ready to offers help whenever the occasion demands,
more importantly the friendship should be developed on hereditary
basis to ensure continuity in inter-state relationship. Only a man of
virtue can be a mIitra, for, according to kautilya, a neighbouring king
who is greedy, unjust and an evildoer is most likely to be an
opponent. Kautilya’s conception of mitra is not based on political or
military pragmatism but on ethical principles and affirms that, for
Kautilya, the state is not an instrument of self-aggrandizement in the
hands of the king but partakes of socio-ethical principles. The
mention of allies as an element of the state is highly significant in
indicating not only the existence but also the importance of inter-

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 state relations and the prevalence of some sort of international law.
This strengthens the existence then of the concept of the political
nation state as it exists today.
Conclusion
As we discussed above the Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is the text on the state, it talks
in detailed about the management of state, the text describe every element of
state in detail, however Kautilya‘s Arthasastra more focus on the practical
aspect of state. Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is both way important because it talks
about theory and also show its practical aspect. Therefore, the importance of
Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is crucial because it show the India fundamental thought
of politics. As we discussed above the seven elements of state, these are the
fundamental elements of state and these all elements are universal, every state
in world have it, so Kautilya‘s Arthasastra is not only restricted to India, but it
have universal implications, therefore, it is crucial to discuss Kautilya‘s
Arthasastra with the comparison of the world political thought.