PREFACE. THE Nitisara of Kamandaka is an epitome of Kautilya's celebrated treatise on civil polity, otherwise known as Artha- sastra. The essence of the science of politics elaborately dealt with in the great work of Kautilya, consisting of 180 chapters is briefly set forth in this work in 36 chapters. The commentary of this work called Jayamangala and written by Sankarârya explains with precision and clearness the meaning, and may be regarded more as a "Bhashya' on the text. There is also another later- day commentary of this work named उपाध्यायनिरपेक्षानुसारिणी published in Calcutta (Samvat. 1941). But Jayamangala sur- passes the other commentary both in respect of usefulness in understanding the text and of its admirable literary merits and has every claim to be brought before the public. A good number of palm leaf manuscript copies of the text and commentary, about a century old and almost correct was available for preparing the present edition of the work. The text was based on three manuscripts which are denoted in the foot-notes by the letters . . and, and the com- mentary is based on six manuscripts marked, क. ख. ग. घ. ङ. and All these manuscripts were obtained from the Palace Library excepting the last one, which was procured from the library of Govinda Pisharodi of Kailasapuram, near Kaduthurutti. च. When and where the author, Kamandaka or Kamandaki lived, it is not possible to determine. It is certain, however, that he is anterior to Bhavabhûti who flourished in the seventh century A. D. For, it is legitimate to surmise that Bhavabhûti was conversant with the Nitisara of Kâmandaka as he thought it fit to give the name, Kamandaka--the traditional sense of which is restricted to the author of the Nitisara -to a female ascetic in his Malatimadhava who is described
