According to Shukracharya: a person can live without grammar, logic, and Vedanta, but cannot do in absence of Niti, and describes it as an essential aspect required for maintaining social order in the society.
Some historians, based on the reference made to various classifications of punishment meted out to the offenders and on other regulations mentioned in the Shukranīti, conclude that the work was modern in approach, hence a nineteenth-century composition.
[8][9][10] On the issue of antiquity, R. G Pradhan observes, given that the more recent work , the Kamandaka Nitisara, draws from the Shukranīti, the age of the ShukraNiti must precede it.
[11] The Shukranīti as a comprehensive codebook lays out guidelines in both political and non-political aspects required to maintain social order in the state.
The political part of the book addresses guidelines for a king, the council of ministers, the justice system, and international laws.
Shukracharya lays out the virtues and qualities required in the king and crown prince, which would make a liberal and democratic leader.
Shukracharya states that one becomes Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra based on fundamental concepts like ones character (Guna) and deeds (Karma).