Chanakya Quotes

The poor wish for wealth; animals for the faculty of speech; men wish for heaven; and godly persons for liberation.

The low minded are fond of deception the nature of low-minded people never changes.

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.

Trees on a riverbank, a woman in another man's house, and kings without counselors go without doubt to swift destruction.

A man or a ruler should always take up a task after thoroughly considering its consequences. Otherwise fate also cannot protect his wealth.

Task performed by an unintelligent person should not be rated high.

Every relationship has one or the other motive behind it. Friendship or enemity are not purposeless.Oneness of motive is turned into friendship. While diversity of motive cause enemity. Royal relationships also depend uypon one or theother purpose. But such relatins ar mainly for the welfare of the state.

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.

If one has a good disposition, what other virtue is needed? If a man has fame, what is the value of other ornamentation?

The foolish wish to speak out what was spoken in secret by the master.

One's weakness should not ever be revealed.

For good days one should save money, women should be protected even if it takes the money saved. But for self preservation the money and the women should be sacrificed!!

Time perfects men as well as destroys them.

Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

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.

Skills are called hidden treasure as they save like a mother in a foreign country.

He who forsakes his own community and joins another perishes as the king who embraces an unrighteous path.

Even a captured enemy is not to be trusted.

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?

Women have hunger two-fold, shyness four-fold, daring six-fold, and lust eight-fold as compared to men.

God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.

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.

He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious, whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.

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.

There is no austerity equal to a balanced mind, and there is no happiness equal to contentment; there is no disease like covetousness, and no virtue like mercy.

The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.

This sutura gives example about the purpose of relationship. A son of enemy who wants to uproot his own father, should be treated as friend and shold be protected. This may be called opportunism but is and should be necessary part of polity and statesmanship. Moreover, if a father is not aan upright man to have friendship with his sone can be a meritorious peson. So it is better to protecdt him.

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.

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.

The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.

The fire of the forest burns trees to ashes. Even expensive sandalwood tree which is endowed with qualities of cooling and fragrance, cannot escape from burning. In the same way wicked cause harm to their benefactors also.

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.

Religion is preserved by wealth; knowledge by diligent practice; a king by conciliatory words; and a home by a dutiful housewife.

A tolerant person should not be harrased. The subject or the ruled ones generally is loyal to the ruler. The people tak to revolt when they are helpless. The duty of the ruler is that his humble people mey not tak to revolt being suppressed by his bad polity. Considering the forbearance of the subject, do not ill behave with them so that they may feel oppressed.

Poverty, disease, sorrow, imprisonment and other evils are the fruits borne by the tree of one's own sins.

One who is to be pardoned should not be harassed.

One who is in search of knowledge should give up the search of pleasure and the one who is in search of pleasure should give up the search of knowledge.

All types of riches should be amassed by all means.

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.

The man who remains a fool even in advanced age is really a fool, just as the Indra-Varuna fruit does not become sweet no matter how ripe it might become.

There are three gems upon this earth; food, water, and pleasing words - fools (mudhas) consider pieces of rocks as gems.

Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness.

Whoever imposes severe punishment becomes repulsive to the people; while he who awards mild punishment becomes contemptible. But whoever imposes punishment as deserved becomes respectable.

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.

Even as the unborn babe is in the womb of his mother, these five are fixed as his life destiny: his life span, his activities, his acquisition of wealth and knowledge, and his time of death.

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.

For the protection of state and welfare of the people, a ruler shold collect all types of wealth. By suing devices of sama, dama , danda, bheda , he shold increase income of the state, strong administration helps in collecting different type of taxes fro exchequer.