The Arthashastra for Children

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India's priceless gift to the world, Kautilya's Arthashastra is a remarkable discourse on the intricacies of statecraft. From the duties and objectives of the ruler to social welfare, financial management, town planning, law and justice and foreign affairs, the book covers everything. Lost for centuries, it was miraculously rediscovered by Rudrapatna Shamasastry, a Sanskrit scholar, in 1905 ВСЕ.

Crafted with a focus on engaging young minds, this rendition aspires to acquaint readers with a treasure trove of heritage. It delves into the art of running a country, by comparing historical events and modern world situations. By doing so, it demonstrates how Kautilya's governance principles are still relevant after two thousand years.

Deepa Agarwal is an author, poet and translator with over sixty published books for children and adults. She is a regular contributor to magazines and journals in India and abroad and has curated numerous anthologies. Her writing focuses on themes of gender equality, social justice and environmental preservation.

Deepa Agarwal has received several accolades and awards, including the NCERT National Award for Children's Literature for her picture book Ashok's New Friends and recognition on the IBBY Honour List for her historical fiction Caravan to Tibet. Her non-fiction work, Journey to the Forbidden City, was honoured on the Parag Honour List 2020 and was a finalist for the Neev Book Award 2021.

AN AMAZING DISCOVERY

Shamasastry began his education in his hometown, Rudrapatna, a village on the banks of the Kaveri River. A brilliant student, he continued his Sanskrit studies in Mysore and graduated from Madras University. Not only did he master classical Sanskrit but also learned Prakrit, Kannada, English, German and French.

No wonder Sir Sheshadri Iyer, the dewan or chief minister of the then princely state of Mysore, considered him the right candidate for the librarian's role at the Mysore Government Oriental Library in Mysore and recommended him highly.

It was a demanding task to assess these texts-rare relics of India's ancient literary traditions. But Shamasastry found his work exciting and rewarding. For him, each manuscript was like a precious heritage, and he felt privileged to have the opportunity to handle these sometimes almost forgotten writings.

When the library was set up under the patronage of Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore, many people who possessed such manuscripts came forward to deposit them at the library. Most of these had been preserved over generations in families with a tradition of learning. A few days ago, a pandit from Tanjore had appeared with a large pile of palm leaf manuscripts, and the librarian was reading them with his usual interest and curiosity. One glance informed him that they were written in the Grantha script, which had been commonly used to write Sanskrit in the Tamil-speaking areas of South India since the fifth century CE. The word grantha means 'knot' in Sanskrit and was used for written manuscripts since the palm leaf strips were tied together with a knot.

Intrigued, Shamasastry bent to peer closely at the writing on the delicate old document.