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Wikipedia Summary for Chanakya
Chanakya (IAST: Cāṇakya, pronunciation ) was an ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra, a text dated to roughly between the 4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE. As such, he is considered 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. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE and not rediscovered until the early 20th century.
Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both emperors Chandragupta and his son Bindusara.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourselves!
The biggest Guru mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.
Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.
A man is born alone and dies alone and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.
When one is consumed by the sorrows of life, three things give him relief: offspring, a wife, and the company of the Lord's devotees.
Truth upholds the earth; by truth the Sun shines; the winds blow by truth; and everything else subsists by truth.
The man who is praised by others is regarded as worthy though he may be really void of all merit. But the man who sings his own praises becomes disgraced though he should be Indra, the possessor of all excellencies.
Men have hunger, sleep, fear and carnal intercourse in common with the lower animals. It is only knowledge that a man has more than they. Those men who have not it may be regarded as beasts.
He whose son is obedient to him, whose wife's conduct is in accordance with his wishes, and who is content with his riches has his heaven here on earth.
The man who is foolish at the termination of his life shall always remain a fool.
Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others, destroy themselves like the serpents in ant-hills.
As a single dried tree, if fired, sets a whole forest on fire, so does a bad son destroy a whole family.
We return evil for evil, in which there is no sin, for it is necessary to pay a wicked man in his own coin.
It is better to die than preserve life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life only pains a moment, but disgrace every day of one's life.
It is better to have only one son endowed with good qualities than a hundred devoid of them. For the moon though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, do not.
A still-born son os superior to a foolish son endowed with a long life. The first causes grief for but a moment while the latter like a blazing fire consumes his parents in grief for life.
Trees on a riverbank, a woman in another man's house, and kings without counselors go without doubt to swift destruction.
By means of hearing one understands dharma, malignity vanishes, knowledge is acquired, and liberation from material bondage is gained.
There are three gems upon this earth; food, water, and pleasing words -- fools (mudhas) consider pieces of rocks as gems.
Poverty, disease, sorrow, imprisonment and other evils are the fruits borne by the tree of one's own sins.
He who shall practice these twenty virtues shall become invincible in all his undertakings.
He who nurtures benevolence for all creatures within his heart overcomes all difficulties and will be the recipient of all types of riches at every step.
Sinfully acquired wealth may remain for ten years; in the eleventh year it disappears with even the original stock.
He whose son is obedient to him, whose wife's conduct is in accordance with his wishes, and who is content with his riches, has his heaven here on earth.
Punishment when awarded with due consideration, makes the people devoted to righteousness and to works productive of wealth and enjoyment.
If a king is energetic, his subjects will be equally energetic. If he is reckless, they will not only be reckless likewise, but also eat into his works.
Do not put your trust in rivers, men who carry weapons, beasts with claws or horns, women, and members of a royal family.
Women have hunger two-fold, shyness four-fold, daring six-fold, and lust eight-fold as compared to men.
He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious, whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.
The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers it's rear end, nor protects it from the bites of insects.
Sometimes coincidentally an unintelligent person can accomplish a task but that does not mean that he is a knower of means and device or is experienced. A ruler should be careful enough to designate other tasks to such persons.
At the time of the pralaya (universal destruction) the oceans are to exceed their limits and seek to change, but a saintly man never changes.
Svanaja includes in itself the whole subject, officials and ministers. If there is something wrong in the conduct of these people, it would be damaging the state. An administrator should strictly deal with it.
Eschew wicked company and associate with saintly persons. Acquire virtue day and night, and always meditate on that which is eternal forgetting that which is temporary.
One destitute of wealth is not destitute, he is indeed rich, but the man devoid of learning is destitute in every way.
The king shall singly deliberate over secret matters; for ministers have their own ministers, and these latter some of their own; this kind of successive line of ministers tends to the disclosure of counsels.
A father who is a chronic debtor, an adulterous mother, a beautiful wife, and an unlearned son are enemies in one's own home.
What good can the scriptures do to a man who has no sense of his own? Of what use is as mirror to a blind man?
A person becomes great not be sitting on some high seat, but through higher qualities. Can a crow become an eagle by simply sitting on the top of a palatial building?
If one limb of the body is defected or inflicted with, disease, the whole feels tha pai. Some way if any department, minister or official of the state is faulty, the whole country is effected. An administrator should try hard to curb it.
Save your wealth against future calamity. Do not say, what fear has a rich man of calamity? Wealth sometimes vanishes away and large accumulations perish.
He who is prepared for the future and he who deals cleverly with any situation that may arise are both happy; but the fatalistic man who wholly depends on luck is ruined.
Wicked ones are like fire. Even if pu on hea, they burn only. They do not leave unhurt even their well -- wishers and benefactors.
As a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him.
Those parents who do not educate their sons are their enemies; for as is a crane among swans, so are ignorant so are ignorant sons in a public assembly.
The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly person in his scholarship, and that of an ascetic in his forgiveness.
The cuckoos remain silent for a long time (for several seasons) until they are able to sing sweetly (in the Spring) so as to give joy to all.
What good is a cow that neither gives milk nor conceives? Similarly, what is the value of the birth of a son if he becomes neither learned nor a pure devotee of the Lord?
A wise man should not divulge the formula of a medicine which he has well prepared; an act of charity which he has performed; domestic conflicts; private affairs with his wife; poorly prepared food he may have been offered; or slang he may have heard.
Who realises all the happiness he desires? Everything is in the hands of God. Therefore one should learn contentment.
Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities.
Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons.
Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, comes of Her own accord where fools are not respected, grain is well stored up, and the husband and wife do not quarrel.
He who wears unclean garments, has dirty teeth, is a glutton, speaks unkindly and sleeps after sunrise -- although he may be the greatest personality -- will lose the favour of Lakshmi.
If the bees which seek the liquid oozing from the head of a lust-intoxicated elephant are driven away by the flapping of his ears, then the elephant has lost only the ornament of his head. The bees are quite happy in the lotus filled lake.
This world is a bitter tree, it has only two sweet nectar like fruits -- one is soft voice and the other is company of gentlemen.
Low minded people are fraudulent, wicked and chaeat. They shouldnot be trusted. To h ave faith in low minded ones is mistake in policy and useless because they are not trustworthy. An administrator should not invited calamity by trusting the low minded ones.
Even a pandit comes to grief by giving instruction to a foolish disciple, by maintaining a wicked wife, and by excessive familiarity with the miserable.
Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.
Don't judge the future of a person based on his present conditions, becausetime has the power to change black coal to shiny diamond.
The low minded are fond of deception the nature of low-minded people never changes.
The rain water enlivens all living beings of the earth both movable (insects, animals, humans, etc.) and immovable (plants, trees, etc.), and then returns to the ocean it value multiplied a million fold.
Do not keep company with a fool for as we can see he is a two-legged beast. Like an unseen thorn he pierces the heart with his sharp words.
That man who is without religion and mercy should be rejected. A guru without spiritual knowledge should be rejected. The wife with an offensive face should be given up, and so should relatives who are without affection.
Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.
The foolish wish to speak out what was spoken in secret by the master.
The power of a king lies in his mighty arms; that of a brahmana in his spiritual knowledge; and that of a woman in her beauty youth and sweet words.
All the creatures are pleased by loving words; and therefore we should address words that are pleasing to all, for there is no lack of sweet words.
A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat. Can we call a crow an eagle (garuda) simply because he sits on the top of a tall building.
Constant travel brings old age upon a man; a horse becomes old by being constantly tied up; lack of sexual contact with her husband brings old age upon a woman; and garments become old through being left in the sun.
When one is consumed by the sorrows of life, three things give him relief: offspring, a wife, and the company of the Lord's devotees.
Low class men desire wealth;middle class men both wealth and respect; but the noble, honour only; hence honour is the noble man's true wealth.
Union in privacy (with one's wife); boldness; storing away useful items; watchfulness; and not easily trusting others; these five things are to be learned from a crow.
A wise man should marry a virgin of a respectable family even if she is deformed. He should not marry one of a low-class family, through beauty. Marriage in a family of equal status is preferable.
Fate being unfavorable( or without god's grace, even an easy task becomes difficult to accomplish).
He who runs away from a fearful calamity, a foreign invasion, a terrible famine, and the companionship of wicked men is safe.
Many a bad habit is developed through overindulgence, and many a good one by chastisement; therefore, beat your son as well as your pupil; never indulge them.
He who look at a woman who is not his wife as a mother; wealth that is not his as dust and all the men as himself... is a happy man. He, who sees all these things under a different light, is a blind.
The demerits of our own people bringh infamiy. Their disgrace is our own disgrace. That is why infamy os such people relly hurts . It is desifrable that the ruler or the administrator may work in a way that such disgraceful conduct may not occur.
Religion is preserved by wealth; knowledge by diligent practice; a king by conciliatory words; and a home by a dutiful housewife.
We should always speak what would please the man of whom we expect a favour,like the hunter who sings sweetly when he desires to shoot a deer.
Offspring, friends and relatives flee from a devotee of the Lord: yet those who follow him bring merit to their families through their devotion.
If people of one''s own side have good conduct, it adds power to oneself. The misconduct on the contrary render one powerless. The enemy taks advantage of it. A skilled statesman never allows enemy to win over.
Those born blind cannot see; similarly blind are those in the grip of lust. Proud men have no perception of evil; and those bent on acquiring riches see no sin in their actions.
Chankaya is referring there to the probibition of entry of the untrustworthy in the counsel-room. Disloyal persons foolishly speak out the secrets of the counsel not knowing the harmful effects of the same. Disclosing the secrets of the counsel mars the welfare of the country.
The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability.
How well u treat the wicked people, they do nto give up their wickedness. They derive pleasure in hurting others. A serpent made to drink milk, it ejects poison only.
A wicked wife, a false friend, a saucy servant and living in a house with a serpent in it are nothing but death.
Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto anthills.