Chanakya Neeti -Audio Textbook

Chanakya was an epoch-making personality. It was the time when India was emerging out of the ‘Dark Age’. The old values were losing their relevance and the new were yet to be established. It was an age of confusion, which permeated every walk of the society. The Dharma, so far a guiding and uniting force, was being subjected to the contradictory interpretations. The factionalism and fundamentalism were raising their ugly heads and entering into the vitality of the social and religious norms. Taking the advantage of his confusion, Alexander of Macedon invaded India with the help of the selfish rulers of some border states. Chanakya witnessed and felt the severe trauma of this major invasion by a real foreigner. Earlier all the invaders, who attacked us eventually settled in our country itself. But Alexander’s invasion was an attack of totally an alien culture and army which had strong tradition and strength of their own glorious past. But, ironically, this shattering jolt helped efface the prevailing confusion in India and expedited the emergence of a new system, which was in essence authored by Chanakya. Chanakya was the first thinker of the ancient times who nurtured the sense of nationalism and inculcated in the minds of the people that they owed their basic allegiance to the Rajya (State of Nation) and not to the Dharma. In contradistinction to the earlier concept he made the State paramount. He had seen that in the absence of any omnipotent religious authority the misconstrued faiths were shattering the very structure of society and morality.

What was needed the total change or renovation of the system. But, there were no guiding beacons to enlighten the people about this new system. Then he wrote two significant books the ‘Arthashastra’ (known as Kautilya’s Arthashastra) and a collection of his observation on various practical aspects of life entitled ‘Chanakya-Niti’. ‘Chanakya Niti’ is, in fact, this great thinker’s pithy observation to impart the practical wisdom to the people of his time. But these teachings are so fundamental that it’s relevance is almost ever lasting. Enshrined in the simple sense. Written in simple lucid language with clear thoughts, these observations have not only withstood the test of time but many of phrases, like and have become the oft-quoted proverbs of our attempt has been to bring out their full meaning and interpret them in the context of the modern times so that their undecaying relevance may be fully appreciated. To bring home the fundamentality of these sayings, we have also compared them with the prevailing modern concept. The need for these rather lengthy explanations was felt owing to the occasional terseness of these observations. Sometimes Chanakya even contradicts his own, earlier observations, perhaps to reveal the fundamental truth by sheer contradiction. At times even some of the immoral teachings are the part of this book. But they appear immoral only at the prima facie viewing.