Adhyaksa-pracara (The Duties of Government Superintendents), a chapter of Kautilya’s Arthashastra (c. 4th–2nd century BCE), codifies the office of the adhyakṣa—overseers of revenue, public works, justice, policing and intelligence. Emerging from Mauryan statecraft, it prescribes inspections, meticulous record‑keeping, audits, impartial adjudication, anti‑corruption checks, and delegation with strict accountability. Key themes are efficient bureaucracy, preventive discipline, public welfare, and covert oversight to protect the treasury and social order. Its pragmatic fusion of moral duty and administrative rigor reveals an advanced ancient governance model. Today the chapter remains strikingly relevant: its principles of transparency, performance evaluation, and institutional checks continue to inform modern public administration and good governance.