​प्रजासुखे सुखं राज्ञः प्रजानां च हिते हितम् ।
नात्मप्रियं हितं राज्ञः प्रजानां तु प्रियं हितम् ॥
As this verse specifies, the welfare of the citizens was the primary concern for the King and not his personal pleasures.

In the recently conducted endowment lecture by 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐆𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐧 on 𝐊𝐚𝐮ṭ𝐢𝐥𝐲𝐚’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, the speaker commenced by stating that the Arthaśāstra is a complete treatise on statecraft and not merely economics. He emphasised that the text clearly picturises Kauṭilya’s concept of an ideal welfare state.

Being the subject of his doctoral thesis, the Major General defined National Security Strategy as a science of skilful use of a combination of diplomacy, economic and information powers, along with the armed forces, to secure national objectives during peace and war. He discussed the Saptāṅga doctrine, Shadgunya theory and the Catur Upayas with respect to the present context.

According to Kautilya, Yogakshema (which implies acquisition, rakshana and palana) is the fundamental pillar of governance. The judicial system and the laws of governance prevalent during Kautilya’s time were also discussed.

The lecture concluded with a reference to the following verse from the Chanakya Sutra:

सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः । धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः । अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यं । राज्यस्य मूलं इन्द्रिय जयः । इन्द्रियाजयस्य मूलं विनयः । विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवा॥

The root of happiness is Dharma (ethics, righteousness); the root of Dharma is Artha (economy, polity); the root of Artha is right governance; the root of right governance is victorious inner-restraint; the root of victorious inner-restraint is humility; the root of humility is serving the aged.

The lecture was hosted by KSRI in association with The Samskrita Academy under the auspices of 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐚𝐤𝐤𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐈 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐡𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫, 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐍. 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐫 & 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐒. 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐈𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

📅 Tuesday, 24 February 2026
🕞 3:30 PM
📍 Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Hall, Sanskrit College Campus, Mylapore, Chennai

The live relayed video of this event is available for viewers on the KSRI YouTube channel.

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