Arthashastra Vol 1

By: Kautilya, LN Rangarajan - translator

Narrated by: Nathan D'Costa

Arthashastra' is one of the oldest books with immense historical significance written by Kautilya or Arya Chanakya as he was popularly known. This book is one of the most effective books ever written on the art of statecraft and the science of everyday living. Originally written in Sanskrit, this is the English translation of the book which highlights the role of Government in the lives of people and the important responsibilities that it should carry. The book also speaks a great deal about economics; hence the name 'Arthashastra' has been used which is the Sanskrit translation of the word 'Economics'.

Fascinating and engaging

The reader was crisp and enjoyable to listen to. Some of his pronunciations were jarring to this American's ears, but it may just have been a dialect I hadn't heard before (one of very many).
The rules and musings and disagreements within paint a grand mosaic of life from 200 BCE and the 12th century AD. There are laws about commerce and crime, shrewd guidance about how to boost revenue for the state, choosing allies, and successors, and the telling is categorized in subjects, so one does not have to flip between books and chapters to follow a topic.

False advertising, surreal, insufferable

I don’t know what this is, but it’s not the Artashastra, and Audible just stole two of my credits. It should be called “An Analysis of the Atrashastra,” and Kautilya should not be listed as the author.

The book appears to start with a long introduction and scholarly analysis of the text - but the reader gradually realizes that this introduction will never stop. The uninterrupted text is never presented.

I foolishly bought Volume II, hoping that would contain the actual text. It did not. The entire two volume work is a series of quotes interwoven with the translator’s analysis.

Skipping through the book was like peeling away the layers of an onion: there was nothing else at the center. Give me back my money.

Unbearable interruptions

The unbroken text is not presented. Only a droning introduction breaking up the material every few sentences, citing the place from the original work, in as many words as had been spoken from the text.