TIMELESS WISDOM FROM THE ARTHASHASTRA AND THE CHANAKYA-NIti

Full title:

Timeless Wisdom from the Arthashastra and the Chanakya Niti: On Accounting, Auditing, and Fraud. 

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.

From the draft preface:

In this book I aim to consolidate and interpret Chanakya’s advice on accounting, auditing, and anti-fraud measures. Chanakya’s Arthashastra is deservedly celebrated for its enduring relevance to modern statecraft, and its insights have been successfully applied to modern diplomatic and business practices.  However, the Arthashastra’s treatment of accounting, auditing, and the mitigation of corruption is less well known. Supplementing the Arthashastra’s insights into these topics, the Chanakya Niti’s treatment of moral questions raised by the accumulation and possession of wealth provides a rounded depiction of Chanakya’s thoughts on these topics.

In our age of proliferating and voluminous professional standards for accounting, auditing, and anti-corruption compliance, Chanakya’s summary of basic principles is a refreshing reminder of the uncomplicated substance at the core of these practices. Of equal if not more importance, Chanakya emphasized the ethical considerations related to these topics. For Chanakya, accounting, auditing, and anti-fraud safeguards are as much moral as technical matters. 

I also aim, as a secondary purpose of the book, to introduce Chanakya to an international, English-speaking readership. Awareness of Chanakya is limited outside of India and the Indian diaspora, and I wish to acquaint non-Indian readers with Chanakya’s genius. I have therefore linked Chanakya’s genius with the wisdom found in Biblical texts, with a focus on the Book of Proverbs, and in the writings and records of ancient Greece, from Pythagoras to Aeschylus to Aristotle. These parallel sayings from antiquity may be illuminating for international readers, as they illustrate the universality of ancient wisdom that has arisen independently in separate, distant societies.

Notwithstanding the preceding comments, it would be misleading to suggest that Chanakya’s wisdom simply mirrors that of the Jewish and Greek traditions. Many concerns were common to these cultures – the need to prudently safeguard wealth, the hazards of accepting bribes, the requirement for consistent weights and measures, and the patience required to accumulate sustainable capital. However, in many instances, especially for the processes of accounting and auditing, Chanakya’s insights have no ancient international parallels. The uniqueness of Chanakya’s wisdom is a testimony to both the originality of traditional Indic culture in general, and the uniquely innovative nature of Chanakya’s genius in particular.

More details forthcoming.