।। चाणक्य नीति शास्त्र ।।
The scholar who has acquired knowledge by studying innumerable books without the blessings of a bonafide spiritual master does not shine in an assembly of truly learned men just as an illegitimate child is not honoured in society. 1.
कृते प्रतिकृतिं कुर्याद्धिंसने प्रतिहिंसनम् ।
तत्र दोषो न पतति दुष्टे दुष्टं समाचरेत् ।।
We should repay the favours of others by acts of kindness; so also should we return evil for evil in which there is no sin, for it is necessary to pay a wicked man in his own coin. 2.
यद्दूरं यद्दूराराध्यं यच्च दूरे व्यवस्थितम् ।
तत्सर्वं तपसा साध्यं तपो हि दुरतिक्रमम् ।।
That thing which is distant, that thing which appears impossible, and that which is far beyond our reach, can be easily attained through tapasya (religious austerity), for nothing can surpass austerity. 3.
लोभश्र्चेदगुणेन किं पिशुनता यद्यस्ति किं पातकैः
सत्यं चेत्तपसा च किं शुचि मनो यद्यस्ति तीर्थेन किम् ।
सौजन्यं यदि किं गुणैः सुमहिमा यद्यस्ति किं मण्डनैः
सद्विद्या यदि किं धनैरपशयो यद्यस्ति किं मृत्युना ।।
What vice could be worse than covetousness? What is more sinful than slander? For one who is truthful, what need is there for austerity? For one who has a clean heart, what is the need for pilgrimage? If one has a good disposition, what other virtue is needed? If a man has fame, what is the value of other ornamentation? What need is there for wealth for the man of practical knowledge? And if a man is dishonoured, what could there be worse in death? 4.
पिता रत्नाकरो यस्य लक्ष्मीर्यस्य सहोदरा ।
शङ्खो भक्षाटनं कुर्यान्न दत्तमुपतिष्ठते ।।
Though the sea, which is the reservoir of all jewels, is the father of the conch shell, and the Goddess of fortune Lakshmi is conch's sister, still the conch must go from door to door for alms (in the hands of a beggar). It is true, therefore, that one gains nothing without having given in the past. 5.
अशक्तस्तु भवेत्साधुर्ब्रह्मचारी वा निर्धनः ।
व्याधितो देवभक्तश्र्च वृद्धा नारी पतिव्रता ।।
When a man has no strength left in him he becomes a sadhu, one without wealth acts like a brahmacari, a sick man behaves like a devotee of the Lord, and when a woman grows old she becomes devoted to her husband. 6.
Text 7 not available
तक्षकस्य विषं दन्ते मक्षिकायास्तु मस्तके ।
वृश्र्चिकस्य विषं पृच्छे सर्वाङ्गे दुर्जने विषम् ।।
There is poison in the fang of the serpent. There is a poison in the mouth of the fly. There is a poison in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with the poison. 8.
पत्युराज्ञां विना नारी ह्युपोष्य व्रतचारिणी ।
आयुष्यं हरते भर्तुः सा नारी नरकं व्रजेत् ।।
The woman who fasts and observes religious vows without the permission of her husband shortens his life, and goes to hell. 9.
न दानैः शुध्यते नारी नोपवासशतैरपि ।
न तीर्थसेवया तद्वद्भर्तुः पदोदकैर्यथा ।।
A woman does not become holy by offering charity or by observing hundreds of fasts, or by sipping sacred water, but she can become pure by sipping the water used to wash her husbands feet. 10.
Text 11 not available
दानेन पाणिर्न तु कङ्कणेन
स्नानेन शुद्धिर्न तु चन्दनेन ।
मानेन तृप्तिर्न तु चन्दनेन
ज्ञानेन मुक्तिर्न तु मुण्डनेन ।।
The hand is not so well adorned by ornaments but by charitable offerings. One does not become clean by smearing sandalwood paste upon the body but by taking a bath. One does not become so much satisfied by dinner but by having respect shown to him. The salvation is not attained by self-adornment but by cultivation of spiritual knowledge. 12.
Text 13 not available
सद्यः प्रज्ञाहरा तुण्डी सद्यः प्रज्ञाकरी वचा ।
सद्यः शक्तिहरा नारी सद्यः शक्तिकरं पयः ।।
The eating of tundi fruit deprives a man of his sense, while the vacha root administered revives his reasoning immediately. A woman at once robs a man of his vigour while milk at once restores it. 14.
परोपकरणं येषां जागर्ति ह्रदये सताम् ।
नश्यन्ति विपदस्तेषां सम्पदः स्युः पदे पदे ।।
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. 15.
यदि रामा यदि च रमा यदि तनयो विनयगुणोपेतः ।
तनये तनयोत्पत्तिः सुरवरनगरे किमाधिक्यम् ।।
What is there to be enjoyed in the world of Lord Indra (higher planets inhabited by demigods) if one whose wife is loving and virtuous, who possesses wealth, who has a well-behaved son endowed with good qualities, and who has a grandchildren born of his children? 16.
आहारनिद्राभयमैथुनानि
समानि चैतानि नृणां पशुनाम् ।
ज्ञानं नराणामधिको विशेषो
ज्ञानेन हीनाः पशुभिः समानाः ।।
Men have eating, sleeping, fearing and mating in common with the lower animals. That in which men excel the beasts is discretionary knowledge; hence, indiscreet men who are without knowledge should be regarded as beasts. 17.
दानार्थिनो मधुकरा यदि कर्णतालैर्दूरीकृताः
दूरीकृताः करिवरेण मदान्धबुद्ध्या ।
तस्यैव गण्डयुग्ममण्डनहानिरेषा
भृंगाः पुनर्विकचपद्मवने वसन्ति ।।
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. 18.
राजा वेश्या यमश्र्चाग्निस्तस्करो बालयाचकौ ।
परदुःखं न जानन्ति अष्टमो ग्रामकण्टकः ।।
A king, a prostitute, Lord Yamaraja (Lord of death), fire, a thief, a young boy, and a beggar cannot understand the suffering of others. The eighth of this category is the tax collector. 19.
अधः पश्यसि किं बाले पतितं तव किं भुवि ।
रे रे मूर्ख न जानासि गतं तारुण्यमौक्तिकम् ।।
O lady, why are you gazing downward? Has something of yours fallen on the ground? (She replies) O fool, can you not understand the pearl of my youth has slipped away? 20.
व्यालाश्रयापि विकलापि सकण्टकापि
वक्रापि पङ्किलभवापि दुरासदापि ।
गन्धेन बन्धुरसि केतकि सर्वजन्ता
रेको गुणः खलु निहन्ति समस्तदोषान् ।।
O ketki flower! Serpents live in your midst, you bear no edible fruits, your leaves are covered with thorns, you are crooked in growth, you thrive in mud, and you are not easily accessible. Still for your exceptional fragrance you are as dear as a kinsmen to others. Hence, a single excellence overcomes a multitude of blemishes. 21.
