"Kantakazodhana" (Removal of Thorns), the fourth book of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, is an ancient manual on neutralizing threats to the state. Composed around the 3rd–4th century BCE and attributed to Chanakya (Kautilya), it treats conspiracies, rebels, thieves and corrupt officials as the “thorns” that must be extracted for a polity to thrive. Its chapters prescribe intelligence networks, policing, legal punishments, preventive measures and reconciliatory tactics—blending firmness with shrewd diplomacy. Themes of vigilance, pragmatic justice and institutional repair run through the text. Today its counsel resonates in modern concerns: counterinsurgency, intelligence-gathering, anti-corruption and crisis management, offering a sobering, realist perspective on preserving public order and state resilience.