Top 213 Quotes & Sayings by Chanakya - Page 3

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.

It is better to live under a tree in a jungle inhabited by tigers and elephants, to maintain oneself in such a place with ripe fruits and spring water, to lie down on grass and to wear the ragged barks of trees than to live amongst one's relations when reduced to poverty.

Let not a single day pass without your learning a verse, half a verse, or a fourth of it, or even one letter of it; nor without attending to charity, study and other pious activity.

Love or affection towards an individual or nation, is indicated by good action snot merely be words. The adoration towards nation is expressed by works of welfare equally done by the ruler and theruled. The ruler himself must be engatged, in welfare of th country and also should select officials examining their involvement with the public god. Self-centered people greedy of the power should be kept away

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.

Good behavior wins even an enemy.

Evil person causes harm even if treated will.

A single son endowed with good qualities is far better than a hundred devoid of them.

She is a true wife who is clean (suci), expert, chaste, pleasing to the husband, and truthful.

Even a captured enemy is not to be trusted.

A friend, even if he be the enemy's son , should be protected.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Who realises all the happiness he desires? Everything is in the hands of God. Therefore one should learn contentment.

Beauty is spoiled by an immoral nature; noble birth by bad conduct; learning, without being perfected; and wealth by not being properly utilised.

Offspring, friends and relatives flee from a devotee of the Lord: yet those who follow him bring merit to their families through their devotion.

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.

People's Fury is above all the furies.

All types of riches should be amassed by all means.

Wicked ones are like fire. Even if pu on hea, they burn only. They do not leave unhurt even their well - wishers and benefactors.

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

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.

Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.

The Goddess of wealth is unsteady, and so is the life breath. The duration of life is uncertain, and the place of habitation is uncertain; but in all this inconsistent world religious merit alone is immovable.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Considersing the forebearance of a person, Do not harass him.

Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities.

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!!

He who has wealth has friends.

As a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him.

Foolishness is indeed painful, and verily so is youth, but more painful by far than either is being obliged in another person's house.

No deliberation made by a single person will be successful; the nature of the work which a sovereign has to do is to be inferred from the consideration of both the visible and invisible causes. The clearance of doubts as to whatever is susceptible of two opinions, and the inference of the whole when only a part is seen is possible of decision only by ministers. Hence the king shall sit at deliberation with persons of wide intellect.

A father who is a chronic debtor, an adulterous mother, a beautiful wife, and an unlearned son are enemies in one's own home.

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

Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons. Like a mother, it feeds you on your journey. Therefore learning is a hidden treasure.

For the moon though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, do not.

We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modestyandmorality for the world is full of the rarest gems.

The disgrace of one's people brings sorrow to the Nobel minded.

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.

One destitute of wealth is not destitute, he is indeed rich, but the man devoid of learning is destitute in every way.

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.

Do not pass between two brahmanas, between a brahmana and his sacrificial fire, between a wife and her husband, a master and his servant, and a plough and an ox.

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.

As a whole forest becomes fragrant by the existence of a single tree with sweet-smelling blossoms in it, so a family becomes famous by the birth of a virtuous son.

The house of a childless person is a void, all directions are void to one who has no relatives, the heart of a fool is also void, but to a poverty stricken man all is void.

In trans-border relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies or even permanent borders. There are only permanent interests and everything should be done to secure these interests.

He is a pandit (man of knowledge) who speaks what is suitable to the occasion, who renders loving service according to his ability, and who knows the limits of his anger.

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.

Education beats the beauty and the youth.

He who loses his money is forsaken by his friends, his wife, his servants and his relations; yet when he regains his riches those who have forsaken him come back to him. Hence wealth is certainly the best of relations.

No amount of advice change his attitude. He does not listed to good advice. Rather he gets angry.

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

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