It is possible to know the path of birds flying in the sky, but not the ways of officers moving with their intentions concealed, says Kautilya. “We cannot know when a fish swimming in water is drinking water; just so, we cannot know when officers appointed for carrying out works are appropriating money,” reads a snatch of his wisdom, as captured in Arthashastra: The science of wealth by Thomas R. Trautmann (Penguin).

The book, which is the first in the multi-volume series on ‘The story of Indian business,' begins by outlining the three legitimate goals for individuals, viz. kama (love), artha (wealth), and dharma (religion and morality). He elaborates that, according to ancient doctrine, the pursuit of dharma is of the first importance, the pursuit of artha is secondary to it, and secondary to both artha and dharma is the pursuit of kama. In Trautmann's view, what the Arthashastra teaches us is that the economy and the polity are intimately related. An important task of the state, he says, is to make the economy work for the good of all by finding a balance among different interests.

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