Political Concepts in Ancient India /108

888
 
Palitical Concepts in Ancient India
 
cive authority (Dandṇḍa). In other words, Danṇ-
d
ḍanīti consists of the principles (nīti) of the said

coercive authority (Dandṇḍa). Cf. tasya nitir
danītir
daṇdanītiḥ (AS' I. 4.)
 

(4) According to Amara, it is same as Arthasā
śā
stra (q.v.).
 

(5) Thus Daṇḍanīti means the science of politics

or polity. Cf. Raghu Vamsṁśa, XVIII. 46 etc.
 

(6) U. N. Ghoshal suggests that in Kautṭilya's

Arthaśāstra a distinction is maintained between

Dandṇḍanīti and Arthasaśāstra. Arthaśāstra is con-

cerned with the art of government in the widest

sense of the term including central and local

administration, internal and external policy,

civil and criminal laws and the art of warfare.

But Dandaniṇḍanīti is defined as comprising only

policy and impolicy. Hence according to the

earlier conceptions of these terms, Dandṇḍanīti

is only a branch of Arthanīti (vide U.N. Ghoshal.⠀

HIPI. p. 83 f.). This authority further main-

tains that 'this distinction is obliterated in fact

as well as in name in the Mahābhārata and later

works.' (Ibid).
 

(7) In our opinion no such distinction is implied

in the AS'. Non-mention of Arthaśāstra as a Vidyā

by Kautṭilya rather suggests that he wants to

mean Arthaśāstra by the term Dandṇḍanīti itself.
 

(8) 'prṛithivyā lābhapālanopāyaḥ śāstram arthā-

śāstram (AS' XV. 1).--This definition of Arthasśā-

stra compared with the description of Dandṇḍanīti

as 'alabdhalābhārthā, labdhapariraksśaṇī, vṛddh-

asya tīrtheṣu pratipādanī ca' seems to suggest an

identity of the two,
 
Digitized by
 
Google
 
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
 
.