An exploration of a formal feature in the Arthaśāstra called "citation" (apadeśa), in which various authorities on statecraft are cited. These citations are usually presented in the form of dialogic exchanges, and the triumphant position as attributed to Kauṭilya, the individual to whom the text is ascribed in two (late) verses. This chapter shows that, like the chapters and verses, the citations are also a later addition dating to the same redaction of the text. Finally, this chapter argues that "Kauṭilya" must be the name not of the original composer of the text, but of the redactor who brought it to its present form.

An overview of the historiography of the Arthaśāstra, beginning with a presentation of the text's formal and informal features. This chapter then goes on to explore the traditional history of the text, which assigns it to a figure called Cāṇakya who probably lived in the late fourth/early third century BCE. A critique of this account is offered based on a preliminary examination of the text's features. Rules out the possibility that the extant text could have been produced at one time by a single author.