Chanakya (IAST: Cāṇakya; About this sound pronunciation ; 350 – 275 BCE) was an Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra (Economics). As such, he is considered as the pioneer of the field of political science and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics.