Cāṇakya Niti, or Cāṇakya Neeti-sāstra, is an anthology of aphorisms compiled from various Hindu sāstras (treatises) attributed to the first millennium BCE Indian kingmaker, statesman, tactician, and philosopher Cāṇakya.
According to legend, Cāṇakya, also called Viṣṇugupta and Kauṭilya, was born a Brahmin dāsi-putra (“son of a maidservant”) in Takhkhasilā, near Peshawar in present-day Pakistan. He journeyed to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna, in present-day India,) capital of the Nanda Empire, in pursuit of learning. Insulted by the Nanda rulers, he avowed in vengeance to destroy the Nanda lineage.
Cāṇakya discovered a young, spirited, astute companion in Chandragupta Maurya and groomed him for many years. Through him, Cāṇakya masterminded the overthrow of the powerful Nanda sovereigns and installed Chandragupta as the monarch. With Cāṇakya as his counselor, Chandragupta Maurya established the mighty Mauryan Empire and reigned c.321–c.297 BCE. The Mauryan empire hit its zenith during the régime of Chandragupta’s grandson, Emperor Aśoka.
Cāṇakya has been compared to Niccolò Machiavelli in the breadth of his statecraft. And Cāṇakya has been criticized for his ruthlessness and trickery and praised for his profound political wisdom.
Cāṇakya is celebrated for his magnum opus Arthaśāstra (Sanskrit: “The Science of Material Gain,”) a treatise on Indian statecraft, military strategy, and economic policy. Cāṇakya’s nationalist attitudes continue to influence modern India’s sociopolitical philosophy even today.
Cāṇakya’s Neeti-sāstra, a discourse on the ideal way of life, shows his in-depth study of the Indian way of life and the role of every individual in society.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Chanakya Neeti
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.
—Chanakya Neeti
The biggest guru-mantra is:
Never share your secrets with anybody.
It will destroy you.
—Chanakya Neeti
We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity,
valor, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality
for the world is full of the rarest gems.
—Chanakya Neeti
Do not put your trust in a bad companion nor even trust an ordinary friend, for if he should get angry with you, he may bring all your secrets to light.
—Chanakya Neeti
Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.
—Chanakya Neeti
Topics: Difficulty
The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction.
—Chanakya Neeti
If a person is not of good conduct, his/her beauty is a waste. For a person with bad character, being born in noble family is a waste. If you do not achieve any feat, being educated is a waste. If you do not spend money, having wealth is a waste.
—Chanakya Neeti
Those who are destitute of learning, penance,
knowledge, good disposition, virtue and
benevolence are brutes wandering the earth in
the form of men. They are burdensome to the earth.
—Chanakya Neeti
Truthfulness is my mother. Knowledge is my father. Righteousness is my brother. Mercy is my friend. Calmness is my wife. Forgiveness is my son. These are all my kith and kin.
—Chanakya Neeti
Topics: Virtues
Teaching one who has no understanding is of no use.
Just as a bamboo does not become fragrant
even though it lives with the sandal wood trees.
—Chanakya Neeti
He who neither rouses fear by his anger, nor confers a favor when he is pleased can neither control nor protect.
—Chanakya Neeti
Pampering leads to many bad habits, whereas chastisement results in many good habits. Therefore, one should discipline his child or pupil without showing excessive indulgence.
—Chanakya Neeti
Charity puts and end to poverty; righteous conduct to misery; discretion to ignorance; and scrutiny to fear.
—Chanakya Neeti
Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.
—Chanakya Neeti
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.
—Chanakya Neeti
What good can the scriptures do to a man who has
no sense of his own? Of what use is a mirror to a blind man?
—Chanakya Neeti
The serpent may, without being poisonous,
raise high its hood, but the show of terror is
enough to frighten people—whether he be venomous or not.
—Chanakya Neeti
The elephant has a huge body but is controlled by the ankusha (goad):
yet, is the goad as large as the elephant?
A lighted candle banishes darkness:
is the candle as vast as the darkness.
A mountain is broken even by a thunderbolt:
is the thunderbolt therefore as big as the mountain?
No, he whose power prevails is really mighty; what is there in bulk?
—Chanakya Neeti
A student who wishes for luxuries has to sacrifice education. A student who wishes for good education has to sacrifice luxuries. A student cannot have both.
—Chanakya Neeti
Just see the plight of the honeybees beating their legs in despair upon the earth. They are Saying to themselves, “Alas! We neither enjoyed our stored-up honey nor gave it in charity, and now someone has taken it from us in an instant”.
—Chanakya Neeti
One should feel satisfied with the following three things;
his own wife, food given by Providence and
wealth acquired by honest effort;
but one should never feel satisfied with the following three;
study, chanting the holy names of the Lord and charity.
—Chanakya Neeti
Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise counsel keep it secret, being determined to carry it into execution.
—Chanakya Neeti
Even the one whose qualities are comparable to those of the all-knowing, suffers without patronage. A gem, though precious, requires a gold setting.
—Chanakya Neeti
God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.
—Chanakya Neeti
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.
—Chanakya Neeti
Although tired, he continues to carry his burden; he is unmindful of cold and heat; and he is always contented; these three things should be learned from the donkey.
—Chanakya Neeti
A wicked man may develop saintly qualities in the company of a devotee, but a devotee does not become impious in the company of a wicked person. The earth is scented by a flower that falls upon it, but the flower does not contact the odor of the earth.
—Chanakya Neeti
The snake has poison in its fangs,
the mosquito in its forehead,
the scorpion’s poison is in its tail, but the
evil person has poison spread all through his being.
—Chanakya Neeti
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 Neeti
One destitute of wealth is not destitute, he is indeed rich (if he is learned); but the man devoid of learning is destitute in every way.
—Chanakya Neeti
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