Kautilya and Machiavelli Views on state and politics: A Comparative analysis

:Kautilya has often been compared with Nicolo Machiavelli, the modern Italian political thinker whose famous reflections are set forth in his three complimentary works: The Art of War, The Discourses on King and The Prince. Machiavelli occupies the enviable position of being the first modem political thinker or philosopher in European history, one who symbolised a revolution in political theory that reflected the Renaissance spirit. Kautilya on the other hand. inherited a long tradition of pre-existing Arthashastra school of thought, to which he had given a modernistic outlook and content. Both Kautilya and Machiavelli were concerned with acquisition, retention and perpetuation of political power. The latter provided an insight into the deplorable conditions prevailing in Italy during his times and advocated for its unification. Explaining the intellectual qualities of the king Kautilya sought for the expansion of the empire. But while advocating for mandala-politics, he was a religionalist rather than a nationalist. Through this paper I would like to highlight the major similarities and variances of Kautilya and Machiavelli works on state and politics