In the book, A History of India, Romila Thapar stresses the singular importance of kings in the history of India: "The protagonists of Indian history were the kings and the narration of events revolved around them" (Thapar 17). This significant role is clearly seen when studying King Ashoka, the third emperor of the Mauryan empire. To better understand King Ashoka and the revolutionary form of rule he established, I will look at one of Ashoka's ruling predecessors, Chandragupta Maurya, and compare Ashoka's and Chandragupta's underlying principles and philosophies by which they ruled. Through this comparison and examination of philosophies and principles, I will show the truly revolutionary form of rule Ashoka instituted, and the effect it had on the Mauryan Empire.
             The ruler Chandragupta Maurya ascended to the Nanda throne around 320 BC and ruled until 297 B.C (Thapar 70-71). The foundation for Chandragupta's rule was the Arthasastra, a political document written by Chandragupta's chief advisor, Kautilya, "the kingmaker" (Keay 80) in Orthodox tradtition. Kautilya was in fact Chandragupta's "guide and mentor both in acquiring a throne and keeping it" (Thapar 70), and his treatise, the Arthasastra, was certainly used by Chandragupta. In his book, India: A History, John Keay writes that the Arthasastra "should indeed supply uniquely well informed and authoritative insights into the working of the Mauryan state" (Keay 80). It is clear, then, that the foundation for Chandragupta's rule was found in the Arthasastra, a document written by his own "kingmaker."
             What then, is the Arthasastra? What are the principles, the guidelines outlined in this treatise that was the foundation for Chandragupta's rule? In the Arthasastra, Kautilya comprehensively lists the responsibilities of state officials, the policies for foreign relations and wa...