This work lists allies as the last of its seven essential components of government and essentially argues "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" in a passage which uses the metaphor of a religious circle to describe the relations of states to their neighbors.
Roger Boesche's 2012 commentary on this work highlights its recommendation of killing one's own family members if need be, which may have influenced an incident in which a king killed 99 of his brothers. This work lists allies as the last of its seven essential components of government and essentially argues "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" in a passage which uses the metaphor of a religious circle to describe the relations of states to their neighbors. This work, which contains 6000 poetic hymns or (*) slokas, was written by a nobleman from the Nanda dynasty whose protégé sent elephants to Seleucus Nicator as part of a peace treaty and united the states of Northern India for the first time. For 10 points, name this ancient Indian treatise on statecraft written by Chanakya, adviser to Chandragupta Maurya.
Roger Boesche's 2012 commentary on this work highlights its recommendation of killing one's own family members if need be, which may have influenced an incident in which a king killed 99 of his brothers.
Arthashastra [prompt on rough translations like "the science of state" and say that the native language title of the work is required]