Chanakya’s Wisdom: Timeless Teachings for Today

Chanakya

 Chanakya also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, was an ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as the author of the “Arthashastra”, a treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy. Here a quotes attributed to him:

1. • “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.” – Chanakya

• • “Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere.” – Chanakya

• • “The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.” – Chanakya

• • “Once you start working on something, don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.” – Chanakya

• • “Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend.” – Chanakya

• • “He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.” – Chanakya

• • “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.” – Chanakya

• • “We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future; men of discernment deal only with the present moment.” – Chanakya

• • “Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “A man is great by deeds, not by birth.” – Chanakya

• • “The earth is supported by the power of truth; it is the power of truth that makes the sun shine and the winds blow; indeed all things rest upon truth.” – Chanakya

• • “As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.” – Chanakya

• • “The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. If you cannot keep a secret with you, do not expect that others will keep it? It will destroy you.” – Chanakya

• • “He who lives in our mind is near though he may actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart is far though he might really be nearby.” – Chanakya

• • “Do not be very upright in your dealings for you would see by going to the forest that straight trees are cut down while crooked ones are left standing.” – Chanakya

• • “The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end, nor protects it from the bites of insects.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.” – Chanakya

• • “He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.” – Chanakya

• • “Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.” – Chanakya

• • “In the joy of others lies our own.” – Chanakya

• • “Time perfects men as well as destroys them.” – Chanakya

• • “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “If you get to learn something even from the worst of creatures, don’t hesitate.” – Chanakya

• • “There is neither a short weapon nor a weak weapon; strength and power are the results of one’s energy.” – Chanakya

• • “The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.” – Chanakya

• • “The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.” – Chanakya

• • “One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “O wise man! Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “Of a rascal and a serpent, the serpent is the better of the two, for he strikes only at the time he is destined to kill, while the former at every step.” – Chanakya

• • “He who gives up shyness in monetary dealings, in acquiring knowledge, in eating and in business, becomes happy.” – Chanakya

• • “The life of a person who is ungrateful to those who have done him favors, and who does not recognize their kindness, is as short as the young of a snake.” – Chanakya

• • “We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality for the world is full of the rarest gems.” – Chanakya

• • “The earth is supported by the power of truth; it is the power of truth that makes the sun shine and the winds blow; indeed all things rest upon truth.” – Chanakya

• • “Time perfects men as well as destroys them.” – Chanakya

• • “One should save money against hard times, save his wife at the sacrifice of his riches, but invariably one should save his soul even at the sacrifice of his wife and riches.” – Chanakya

• • “Purity of speech, of the mind, of the senses, and of a compassionate heart are needed by one who desires to rise to the divine platform.” – Chanakya

• • “Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.” – Chanakya

• • “The ruin of a state in due course is inevitable if it has a ruler that gambles, a chief minister that drinks, and a queen that is of questionable character.” – Chanakya

• • “The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquillity is not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving here and there.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “A person who is not inquisitive, who does not respect the teacher, and who does not have the capacity to learn, will not achieve knowledge even if he is taught for a millennium.” – Chanakya

• • “The learned are envied by the foolish; rich men by the poor; chaste women by adulteresses; and beautiful ladies by ugly ones.” – Chanakya

• • “Whores don’t live in company of poor men, citizens never support a weak company and birds don’t build nests on a tree that doesn’t bear fruits.” – Chanakya

• • “There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.” – Chanakya

• • “A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat. Can we call a crow an eagle simply because he sits on the top of a tall building?” – Chanakya

• • “The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability.” – Chanakya

• • “A good wife is one who serves her husband in the morning like a mother does, loves him in the day like a sister does, and pleases him like a prostitute in the night.” – Chanakya

• • “The four greatest enemies of a man are – the father who has taken a loan, the characterless mother, the beautiful but promiscuous wife, and the stupid child.” – Chanakya

• • “God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “Separation from the wife, disgrace from one’s own people, an enemy saved in battle, service to a wicked king, poverty, and a mismanaged assembly: these six kinds of evils, if afflicting a person, burn him even without fire.” – Chanakya

• • “Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.” – Chanakya

• • “An egoist can be won over by being respected, a crazy person can be won over by allowing him to behave in an insane manner and a wise person can be won over by truth.” – Chanakya

• • “A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat.” – Chanakya

• • “Foolishness is indeed painful, and verily so is youth, but more painful by far than either is being obliged in another person’s house.” – Chanakya

• • “The wise should work without attachment, for the welfare of the society.” – Chanakya

• • “It is better to die than to preserve this life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life causes but a moment’s grief, but disgrace brings grief every day of one’s life.” – Chanakya

• • “The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody.” – Chanakya

• • “Religion is preserved by wealth; knowledge by diligent practice; a king by conciliatory words; and a home by a dutiful housewife.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.” – Chanakya

• • “He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.” – Chanakya

• • “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.” – Chanakya

• • “Save your wealth against future calamity. Do not say, ‘What what fear has a rich man of calamity?’ When riches begin to forsake one even the accumulated stock dwindles away.” – Chanakya

• • “The life of a person is of no greater value than a cowrie shell (a type of small shell), and earthly existence is evanescent as a drop of water on a lotus leaf.” – Chanakya

• • “Drop the idea that attachment and love are one thing. They are enemies. It is attachment that destroys all love.” – Chanakya

• • “As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.” – Chanakya

• • “The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.” – Chanakya

• • “There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “The wealth of a person who is stingy and does not use it, neither for himself in this world nor for the next in the form of gifts to the deserving, perishes like the hoarded wealth of the miserly.” – Chanakya

• • “Of what avail is a high birth if a person is destitute of scholarship? A man of low birth who is well-versed in the Scriptures is honored by the learned.” – Chanakya

• • “The earth is supported by the power of truth; it is the power of truth that makes the sun shine and the winds blow; indeed all things rest upon truth.” – Chanakya

• • “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.” – Chanakya

• • “The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. If you cannot keep a secret with you, do not expect that others will keep it? It will destroy you.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “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.” – Chanakya

• • “The wise should work without attachment, for the welfare of the society.” – Chanakya

• • “It is better to die than to preserve this life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life causes but a moment’s grief, but disgrace brings grief every day of one’s life.” – Chanakya

• • “Drop the idea that attachment and love are one thing. They are enemies. It is attachment that destroys all love.” – Chanakya

• • “The learned are envied by the foolish; rich men by the poor; chaste women by adulteresses; and beautiful ladies by ugly ones.” – Chanakya

• • “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.” – Chanakya

• • “Low-class men desire wealth; middle-class men both wealth and respect; but the noble, honor only; hence honor is the noble man’s true wealth.” – Chanakya