RAS question
The Arthashastra of Kautilya was rediscovered in 1905 by:
Correct answer: (B) R. Shamasastry.
Dr R. Shamasastry of the Mysore Government Oriental Library rediscovered Kautilya's Arthashastra in 1905 from a palm-leaf manuscript.
Explanation
R. Shamasastry is the answer. He was the curator at the Mysore Government Oriental Library, which received the manuscript underlying the 1905 rediscovery of Kautilya's Arthashastra. A monograph by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses states that the full text was discovered in 1905 and identifies Dr R. Shamasastry as the scholar connected with it. It also states that an unnamed pandit from Tanjore district handed over a manuscript containing Bhattasvamin's commentary to the library, and that Shamasastry translated the work from this manuscript. He published the text in 1909 and its English translation in 1915. This chronology makes his role in this landmark rediscovery for ancient Indian history clear.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Max Mueller is associated here with editing the Vedas; he did not rediscover Kautilya's Arthashastra from the manuscript in 1905.
- (C) A.L. Basham was a historian, but the rediscovery described in the question is specifically attributed to R. Shamasastry.
- (D) John Marshall served as Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India; the rediscovery of the Arthashastra manuscript at Mysore in 1905 is attributed to R. Shamasastry, not to him.
Concept
This question tests the historiography of ancient Indian sources: how the Arthashastra was discovered and edited, how it entered modern scholarship, and how it helps reconstruct Mauryan statecraft, administration, and diplomacy. RAS frequently asks about the discovery, authorship, and publication history of such source texts.