Economics of Kautiliya Shukra and Brihaspati.pmd
Economics of Kautiliya Shukra and Brihaspati.pmd
Economics of Kautiliya Shukra and Brihaspati.pmd
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Introduction<br />
CHAPTER SIX<br />
GOVERNMENT FINANACE<br />
The government finance has been discussed by Kautilya,<br />
<strong>Shukra</strong> <strong>and</strong> Brihasapti in detail. According to Kautilya his treatise<br />
presents basic principles for mobilizing resources from the earth1- natural resources, agriculture, trade <strong>and</strong> commerce etc., which are<br />
related with people. The meaning <strong>of</strong> word palan in the <strong>Kautiliya</strong><br />
definition is related with manusyawati that denotes the l<strong>and</strong> with people<br />
should be developed by taking returns- labha from that earth. The<br />
return is obtained by mobilizing natural resources <strong>and</strong> manpower.<br />
Kautilya uses the word kosa-d<strong>and</strong>a frequently that refers peace <strong>and</strong><br />
order <strong>and</strong> the government income go parallel to each other. In this<br />
background the science <strong>of</strong> government finance as visualized by Kautilya<br />
deals with resource mobilization <strong>and</strong> resource use for the purpose <strong>of</strong><br />
the smooth functioning <strong>of</strong> the state. (Panchmukhi, 2006: 260) In<br />
<strong>Shukra</strong>'s definition the word Political Economy has been used clearly.<br />
In this chapter we shall evaluate the primciples <strong>and</strong> practices<br />
<strong>of</strong> government finance in <strong>Kautiliya</strong> Arthashastra <strong>and</strong> <strong>Shukra</strong>-niti. The<br />
76<br />
relevancy <strong>of</strong> their theorues shall also be analyzed. Measures to raise<br />
government fund applied by Kautilya <strong>and</strong> <strong>Shukra</strong> also should be<br />
compared with classical <strong>and</strong> modern views <strong>of</strong> government finance.<br />
Treasury<br />
It becomes clear after the study <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kautiliya</strong> Arthashastra,<br />
<strong>Shukra</strong>-niti <strong>and</strong> <strong>Brihaspati</strong>-sutra that they had paid supreme importance<br />
for a rich treasury- the kosa. In ancient times the word treasury has<br />
been used in two senses. In narrow sense treasury means wealth,<br />
fund, <strong>and</strong> income <strong>and</strong> in wider sense treasury means the economy or<br />
the economic prosperity <strong>of</strong> the country. The narrow meaning has been<br />
clearly defined by <strong>Shukra</strong> in the following words- the collection <strong>of</strong><br />
same article or thing is kosa <strong>and</strong> the kosa is <strong>of</strong> different types. (<strong>Shukra</strong>niti,<br />
4.2.1.1) The definition given by <strong>Shukra</strong> is similar to the modern<br />
word bank. We use commercial bank, book bank, or blood bank in<br />
this sense. In wider sense the kosa is used to denote the efficiency <strong>of</strong><br />
national economy, for example the income generation capacity <strong>of</strong><br />
agriculture, animal husb<strong>and</strong>ry, trade, <strong>and</strong> mines in the country. Modern<br />
economists also agree with the concept that one important function <strong>of</strong><br />
state is to acquire public goods <strong>and</strong> to develop agriculture, animal<br />
husb<strong>and</strong>ry <strong>and</strong> commerce.<br />
Sources <strong>of</strong> Revenue<br />
In Mahabharata five sources <strong>of</strong> government revenue have been<br />
traced. These are- mine, salt, grain market, water route <strong>and</strong> elephant<br />
forest. In <strong>Shukra</strong>-niti the classification <strong>of</strong> revenue sources is as follows-<br />
1. Tax<br />
2. Fee<br />
3. Labour tax<br />
77