The Arthashastra (Sanskrit: अर्थशास्त्र, ) is an ancient Hindu treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Likely to be the work of several authors over centuries, Kautilya of 1st millennium BCE is traditionally credited as the author of the text, and he is also known as Vishnugupta and Chanakya. Kautilya was a scholar at Takshashila, the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan Empire.