The Arthasastra of Kautilya has been the subject of several monographs. The present study is, however, the first attempt to determine its various strata through the identification and analysis of about four hundred Arthasastra terms relating to administration, finance, justice and warfare occuring in inscriptions from the third century B.C. to the twelfth century A.D. The author has identified four time-brackets on the basis of the distribution of the maximum ...
