Arthashastra

Chanakya's political ideas and maxims,as specified in the Arthashastra are completely practical,unsentimental,controversial and, sometimes,even downright ruthless.This book takes a rather impersonal stance on conducting assassinations,killing family members, managing spies and secret agents,chalking out treaties and then violating them and so on and so forth. Due to this, he is often compared to Machiavelli.That said;his attitude is not so merciless throughout the treatise.He also talks about the moral duties of a king and how he should always place the happiness of his subjects above his own.