The Arthashastra (IAST: Arthaśāstra) is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names 'Kautilya' and 'Viṣhṇugupta', both names that are traditionally identified with Chāṇakya (c. 350–283 BC), who was a scholar at Takshashila and the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Mauryan Empire.

The author of the Arthaśāstra refers to himself as 'Kautilya', while the last verse mentions the name 'Viṣṇugupta'. Many scholars believe that the former was the gotra of the author, while the latter was his personal name. Most scholars, though not all, also believe that these names refer to the 4th century BC scholar Chāṇakya. Thus, the original identification of Kautilya or Vishnugupta with the Mauryan minister Chānakya would date the Arthaśāstra to the 4th century BCE.

Thomas R. Trautmann and I.W. Mabbett have hypothesized that the 'Arthaśāstra' is a composition from no earlier than the 2nd century AD, but is clearly based on earlier material. Their explanation is that while the doctrines of the 'Arthaśāstra' may have been written by Chānakya in the 4th century BC, the treatise we know today may have been edited or condensed by another author in the 2nd century AD. This would explain, some affinities with smrtis and references in the Arthaśāstra which would be anachronistic for the 4th century BC.