Over the years, ancient Indian literature has gained a name for itself. The Rig Veda, Mahabharata, and the Ramayana, books closely tied to Hinduism, are famous the world over. Rarely does one see references to other books, apart from Hindu epics, when one talks of ancient Indian literature. One book that stands out, however, is the Arthashastra. Though the Arthashastra is a book praised for its pragmatism, one cannot ignore the blatant casteism it advocates.
Arthashastra was written by a Brahmin named Chanakya, otherwise known as Kautilya. Chanakya was the teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, the King who established the Maurya Dynasty. Chanakya also taught his son and grandson.
Arthashastra expounds on various subjects related to statecraft – particularly military, politics and economy. It’s a guidebook for Kings that explains how a king should do things. Known for contrarian perspectives, it deviated from religion or supernatural elements and focused on practicality. But the one aspect most scholars who praise the book ignore is its emphasis on caste-based segregation.
Chanakya’s treatise emphasises mistreating lower castes as part of a King’s rule. For instance, while explaining how to deal with a man who commits adultery with a Brahmin woman, Kautilya divides punishment based on caste.
If a Kshatriya (or those from the warrior caste) commits adultery, he should be let go of it after paying a fine. If a Vaishya does so, the Arthashastra postulates that his property must be confiscated. On the other hand, a Shudra (or a man of ‘lower caste’) must be burnt alive.
-30-
Copyright©Madras Courier, All Rights Reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from madrascourier.com and redistribute by email, post to the web, mobile phone or social media.Please send in your feed back and comments to editor@madrascourier.com
