Question 60

Kautilya's Arthashastra provides a comprehensive treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy, including detailed sections on social norms and institutions like slavery. Kautilya's views on slavery were relatively more humane and nuanced than those prevalent in many contemporary societies.

• 1. A person could be a slave as a result of a judicial punishment: This statement is correct. Arthashastra mentions that individuals could be enslaved as a form of punishment for certain crimes or as a means to repay debts.
• 2. If a female slave bore her master a son, she was legally free: This statement is correct. Kautilya's Arthashastra clearly states that if a female slave (dasi) bore a son to her master (swamin), both she and her son would immediately obtain their freedom.
• 3. If a son born to a female slave was fathered by her master, the son was entitled to the legal status of the master's son: This statement is correct. As a corollary to the previous point, once freed, such a son would be considered legitimate and would be entitled to the legal status and inheritance rights similar to that of the master's other sons.

All three statements reflect provisions found in Kautilya's Arthashastra regarding the institution of slavery.