A. Royden D'souza

Chapters 16 through 21 of Arthashastra mark a final, inward turn; but inward in a new and more intimate sense. The king, now armed with spies and a functioning council, must secure the very chambers he sleeps in.

Arthashastra emphasizes that these first five categories—the fraudulent disciple, recluse, householder, merchant, and ascetic—constitute the five established institutes of espionage (samsthāḥ).

Arthashastra, a manual on statecraft so detailed and pragmatic that it makes Machiavelli's The Prince seem like a preliminary sketch. Written in Sanskrit, this ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy, and military strategy is a monumental work of political realism.