000 02015nam a22001817a 4500
999 _c1947
_d1947
020 _a9788124601877
082 _a320.954 Su73 K
_b101927
100 _aSuni Sen Sharma
245 _aKauntilya's Arthasastra: In the Light of Modern Science and Technology (Reconstructing Indian History and Culture)
250 _a2nd ed.
260 _aNew Delhi
_bD.K. Print World Ltd
_c2012
300 _a271
500 _aA Sanskrit treatise of the fourth century bc, Arthashastra is, ostensibly, the world's oldest surviving document of its genre. Written by Kautilya (also known as Vishnugupta and Chanakya): the astute Brahmin preceptor and prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya, it is now widely recognized as a classic on statecraft, including a discussion of contemporary Indian polity, political theories, administrative mechanisms, war and peace, and a variety of other subjects. Though a lot has already been written on Kautilya's world view of statecraft, polity and kindred themes, this book is veritably the first ever effort to examine Arthashastra from the standpoint of modern science and technology. Analysing meticulously layers after layers of Kautilya's complex sutras (aphoristic statements), the author unfolds scientific perceptions, hypotheses, operational techniques and other significant dimensions of several ancient Indian disciplines, like minerology, mining, gemmology, metallurgy, agriculture, town planning, civil engineering, and even environment. Himself a professional geologist, Sunil Sarma has adopted the current normative techniques for the scientific evaluation of Arthashastra, while using all through modern idiom to spell out its scientific content. An unbiased study based on Sarma's honest, altogether fresh interpretation of Arthasastra's archaic Sanskrit language and its peculiar scientific terminology, the book will fascinate Indologists, historians of science, and many area-specialists.
650 _aScience
650 _aTechnology
650 _aArthashastra
942 _cBK