The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies (AYOS) organised a two-day National Conference on Kautilya’s Arthasastra here on Saturday and Sunday.
AYOS director Dr Indulata Das, in her introductory speech, said, “We are a nation without an identity because we are not acquainted with our own tradition and culture. Therefore, it has been the goal of the AYOS to delve deep into our own treasure.”
Atul Kumar Nanda, the guest of inaugural function, who is an erudite scholar of Arthasastra, gave a detailed description of the Arthasastra, starting from its meaning, history, subject matter, various views and subsequent scholars of Arthasastra. He discussed every aspect of Arthasastra from various dimensions.
AYOS president Sudarsan Nayak said the great lawmakers of the world have followed Kautilya which we do not know. Eminent Sanskrit scholar Pramod Chandra Mishra thanked the audience and the guests through an instantly-composed Sanskrit poem.
Scholars from Bhubaneswar, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Tirupati, Pondicherry, etc, participated in the paper reading sessions and contributed valuable papers on Arthasastra.
Papers like “The role of king in administration”, “Espionage system in ancient India”, “Various types of corruption and punishments thereof according to Arthasastra”, “Role of Ministers in administration and their selection by the king”, “Taxation system in ancient India”, “Maintenance of secrecy in administration”, “Dealing with enemies”, “Influence of Arthasastra on the subsequent Sanskrit texts” were some of the marvelous papers which were discussed.
The guests were Prof SN Tripathy, former Professor of Geography, Utkal University, Prof Pyari Mohan Pattanaik, HoD, Department of Dharmasastra, Sri Jagannatha Sanskrit University, Puri, and Prof Gopal Krishna Dash and former HoD, Department of Sanskrit, Utkal University. Prof SN Tripathy said, “The knowledge that we have should come to limelight. Pyari Mohan Pattnaik said Kautilya is an authority on politics. The knowledge should be made available to students. Prof GK Dash discussed the details of Arthasastra with a comparison to the miserable situation of the present day.”