Kautilya (also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta) was an Indian philosopher, statesman, and royal advisor. He was one of the greatest, perhaps the most cunning, political masterminds to have ever existed. Facts on his life are a mesh of various legends attributed to him in Buddhism, Jainism, and other spiritual paths. The Mauryan Empire owes its prosperity and existence, in no small amount, to this ruthless and driven man. Arthashastra and Neeti-shastra are Kautilya's notable works. They were written hundreds of years ago, but the teachings encapsulated in these works are practical and can be applied to situations in the modern-day world, as is evidenced by their popularity and wide readership. Translated as ‘the science of gaining wealth’, Arthashastra is a treatise on state governance, centred around the idea that an able government will lead to a generation of wealth for the people of the nation.