Disaster Management in Kautilya Arthasastra

The term management is in vogue in our modern period. This concept of management came into industrial life at the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20 th century. The main objective of 'management' was to acquaint the new comers to the then establishing industrial life. The term management is as old as human civilization. The stone-age man managed many things like kindling of fire from flint stone, obtaining his prey with collective efforts etc. Thus, we can say that, the systematic approach for the study of the subject 'management' came very late but the concept was there since the history of life. In Bharata (India) the concept of management persists since Vedic period. Systematic management practices are found in the Vedic literature. This literature elaborates the concept of disaster management in Kautilya Arthasastra. This text is designed to run the biggest industry called 'nation'. Kautilya's book deals with the disasters faced by a nation. Hence, we shall understand the idea of disaster management from the great guru of the science of polity, known as Kautilya.