Nitisara (transl. Essence of Statesmanship) or theNitisara of Kamandaki, is anancient Indian treatise on politics and statecraft. It was authored byKamandaka, also known as Kamandaki or Kamandakiya, traditionally identified as a disciple of Vishnugupta (Kautilya). It is traditionally dated to the 4th-3rd century BCE,^[1] though modern scholarship variously dates it to between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE betweenGupta andHarsha period and its in fact a recension based onSukra Nitisara of 4th century BCE.^[2] It contains 19 sections.^[1] The work has been dedicated toChandragupta ofPataliputra.^[1]

TheKāmandakīya Nītisāra is considered to be a post-Mauryan treatise for it refers to theMauryan emperorChandragupta by name. The historianK.P Jayaswal attributes the text to theGupta age (3rd–6th century CE).^[3]

It is possible to fix aterminus ante quem of the 7th century CE for the text, since the 7th-century poetBhavabhuti refers to a Kamandaka who is described as proficient in the art of diplomacy. TheNītīsāra is also cited at the end of the first chapter of theDasakumāracarita ofDaṇḍin who lived in the latter half of the 6th century CE.^[4] Therefore, the text may have been composed anytime between the 3rd century BCE and the 7th century CE.

Nitisara contains 20 sargas (chapters) and 36 prakarans. It is based on theArthasastra ofKautilya and deals with various social elements such as theories of social order, structure of the state, obligations of the ruler, governmental organization, principles and policies of the government, interstate relationships, ethics of envoys and spies, application of different political expedients, varieties of battle arrays, attitude towards morality, and so forth.^[5]

Nitisara shares several common aspects withArthasastra including mastering of control over the senses including practicing ofahimsa; maintaining balance amongdharma,artha andkama; emphasizing the importance of knowledge and intelligence; the seven prakrits and twelve vijigisus in a circle of kings ormandala theory; six measures of foreign policy; the upayas in which there is no war mongering and use of force as the last resort; issues of disasters (vysanas) that may afflict the constituent elements (prakrits) and how to overcome them prior to the execution of a policy; duties of diplomats and intelligence gathering; and aspects of war and use of power by sticking to the priorities ofmantra-shakti (counsel or diplomacy), prabhav-shakti (economic and military power), and utsah-shakti (leadership).^[6]

Nitisara differs fromArthasastra in that the former focuses on valour and the military qualities of the ruler, whereas the latter was dependent on deliverance of kingly duties.^[6]

Nitisara of Kamandaka has been translated into Telugu language by Jakkaraju Venkatakavi, which is preserved inTanjore Sarasvati Mahal Library. It was critically edited byVeturi Prabhakara Sastri and published by S. Gopalan in 1950.^[7] It was published byTirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in 2013.^[8]

• Artha andpuruṣārtha, Indian philosophical concepts in the text
• Hindu philosophy

• Kāmandaki (2021). Knutson, Jesse (ed.).The Essence of Politics. Translated by Knutson, Jesse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.ISBN 9780674975767.
• Manmatha Nath Dutt, ed. (1896).Kamandakiya Nitisara or The Elements of Polity. Calcutta: Elysium Press.
• Raja Rajendra Lala Mitra, ed. (2008).The Nitisara by Kamandaki. Translated by Sisir Kumar Mitra. The Asiatic Society.

• Hindu texts
• Ancient Indian literature
• Sanskrit texts
• Political books
• Military strategy books
• Sanskrit books
• Sanskrit literature
• Dharmaśāstra
• Chanakya
• Panchatantra

• CS1 Telugu-language sources (te)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata