Who was Kautilya, this mastermind, who could write a definitive treatise on economics and government, at a time when large parts of the world were steeped in intellectual darkness? All sources of Indian tradition— Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jain—agree that Kautilya (also referred to as Vishnugupta in a stanza traditionally included at the end of the work) destroyed the Nanda dynasty and installed Chandragupta Maurya on the throne of Magadha. 4
