UNIT – 1 - According to Chanakya there are 6 basic principle Management lesson from

Vedas.
SESSION - 4

1. Vasudha-Eva-Kutumbakam (Accepting the whole world as one and one’s family)

Yes, he did support the idea of nation-states, yet he strongly upheld the Vedic belief that the
nation-state exists “not just for the welfare of its citizen” but also for “the whole world.” This is
evident from the very first stanza of Arthashastra “I, therefore, write this book for the greater
good and uplifting of the world…”.
2. Samarpan Bhaav (Dedication)
When he saw the sad state of his nation Chanakya was depressed and sought revocation; but then
realized, contemplating on Vedic literature, that vengeance is a dangerous and that it can harm
even the one who is holding on to it. He then decided to work to establish a single empire for the
greater good. He certainly dedicated many years of his life to it. Legend has it that he found
Chandragupta when was a teenager, then educated, nurtured and mentored him to be King. It was
at least over a span of two decades. This is a testimony of Samarpan Bhaav (Dedication),

3. Lokasangraha (Welfare of all beings)

According to Chanakya, this was the supreme duty of everyone, including the King. This is
evident in Book I of the Arthashastra which reads “… King… shall maintain his subjects in the
observance of their respective duties by exercising authority; keep up his personal discipline by
receiving lessons in wisdom, and endear himself to the people by bringing them wealth and
doing good to them.” Also, “… The King shall keep away from hurting the innocent and their
property; avoid not only lust, even in a dream, but also falsehood, haughtiness, and evil
proclivities; and keep away from unrighteousness and uneconomical transactions.”

4. Shubh Laabh (Ethical Profits)

This was the key economic objective which the King had to observe not just among his subjects
but also for himself. In Chapter 7 of Arthashastra he notes “Not violating righteousness and
economy, he shall enjoy his desires. Then he shall never be devoid of happiness. He may enjoy
in an equal degree the three pursuits of life, charity, wealth and desire, which are interdependent
 on each other. Anyone of these three, when enjoyed in excess, hurts not only the other two but
also itself.” Chanakya held that wealth is as important as desire and charity; but that this is
possible only by “wealth of their knowledge”.

5. Nishkaama Karma (Deeds without greed)

Apart from other altruist attitudes, Chanakya upheld the idea of deeds without greed. While
mentioning the “Duties of the King” he writes, “A King by overthrowing the aggregate of the six
internal enemies, namely lust, anger, greed, vanity, haughtiness and overjoy, shall restrain the
sense organs…” Also, in the same chapter, “The King may enjoy his desires but only by
ensuring non-violation of righteousness and no harm to the economy. “

6. Ati-Hyaastha-Varjayet (Shunning extremes)

Balance is a key ingredient according to teachings of Kautilya in Arthashastra. While he clearly
shunned negative qualities, he also mentioned that people should shun extreme and senseless
goodness for the sake of unworthy people. “In the woods”, he says “that tree is chopped first
which is straight.” The essence of life, according to him was ” finding the balance between good
and bad actions, happiness, and unhappiness, pain and pleasure, cries and laughter.”
Management Lessons from Kautilya’s Arthashastra.

Arthashastra, the treatise on Economic Administration was written by Kautilya in the 4th
century before Christ. It consists of 15 chapter, 380 Shlokas and 4968 Sutras. In all probability,
this treatise is the first ever book written on Practice of Management. It is essentially on the art
of governance and has an instructional tone.

Kautilya wrote this treatise for his swamy (the king) Chandragupta Maurya and stated in its
preface that it has been written as a guide for “those who govern”. Kautilya was interested in
establishment and operation of the machinery through which the king preserves the integrity and
solidarity of the State and generates power.

It is astonishing to observe that several concepts of present day management theories have been
explicitly explained by Kautilya in his work. As in the present day management, the importance
 of vision, mission and motivation was captured in Arthashastra. Kautilya advise his swamy to
rule through Prabhu Shakti (vision), Mantra Shakti (mission) and Utsah Sahkti (motivation).

Kautilya’s concept of the objectives of a king seem to be virtually adopted by Peter Drucker in
his book, Managing for Results. Drucker proposed Economic Performance as corporate objective
and highlighted the constituents of Economic Performance as:

• Making present business effective;

• Identifying the potential and realizing it; and
• Making it a different business for a different future.

Kautilya reminds his swamy that his objectives for his rule are:
• Acquire power; (Making present business effective)
• Consolidate what has been acquired; (Making present business effective)
• Expand what has been acquired; (Identify potential and realize it)
• Enjoy what has been acquired. (Making it a different business for a different future)

Kautilya is aware that for efficient running of the State, elaborate machinery has to be
established. He is equally clear on the organizational aspects, human dimensions of an
organization as well as the leadership requirement of an organization.

The essence of leadership, he stresses, lies in its acceptance by the subjects. He therefore, advises
the Swamy never to forget the two pillars of the art of governance: Nyay, the justice and
Dharma, the ethics.

Kautilya seems to have given a lot of thought to human resource development for the
government machinery. He is specific about the qualities Mantris must possess. He writes about
these qualities as qualifying standards for appointment as a Mantri. These qualities are:
Drudhachitta (power of concentration), Shilavan (character), Pragna (thinking capability),
Vangmi (communication skills) and Daksha (observation / vigilance). In addition, he highlights
the competencies that a Mantri must possess. These competencies are the same as the
competencies advocated by the management gurus of the present times, namely, Knowledge,
Skills and Attitude.

Kautilya’s knowledge about human behavior is really astounding. He advises his Swamy about
six emotional devils which he should avoid and ensure that his cabinet members also avoid. He
makes it amply clear that times six emotional devils do not allow appropriate decision making in
any operation. The emotional devils identified by Kautilya are: Kama (lust), Krodha (anger),
Lobha (greed), Mana (vanity), Mada (haughtiness) and Harsh (overjoy).
At this stage, Kautilya refers to diplomacy as an important element in Nitishastra (foreign
affairs). His clarity of thought is evident from the identification off six attributes of diplomacy.
The attributes he talks about are: intelligence, Memory, Cleverness of Speech, Knowledge of
Politics, Morals and Readiness to provide resources. Though he is not shy of launching an attack
as an external strategy, he also advises the use of diplomacy as a useful strategy to be explored
showing his pragmatic approach to the external realities. He identifies the external threats as the
superiority of strengths of other kingdoms as well as ambitions of other kingdoms. If one
replaces the word ‘kingdom’ with ‘corporate’, Kautilya’s advice makes sense in today’s
corporate turf battles.