EDITED BY PT. ISHVARA CHANDRA SHASTRI VIDYASAGAR
                                                    FOREWORD BY
                                               JOHAN  VAN MANEN
The work deals with royal ‘polity’ and was composed by the famous premier of Chandragupta Maurya. The treatment of topics of polity primarily (chapters 4 & 5) detailing the qualities meant to guide the king of standards by which to judge the fitness of public officials and members of his household  staff for their respective post. The officials mentioned, to wit are military commander, chamberlain, scribe, ambassador, elephant-keeper, physician, preceptor, priest, astrologer, councilor and superintendent of the harem. 
It is a Nitishastra Royal – or ‘gems of polity’ for everybody; very little of it having to do with ‘Instructions for Princes (as in Machiavelli).