Chanakya
Chanakya
Chanakya; flourished c. 4th century BCE) was an Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya or Vishnu Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra. As such, he is considered the pioneer of the field of political science and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire and not rediscovered until 1915...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionPolitician
CountryIndia
We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modestyandmorality for the world is full of the rarest gems.
Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities.
A learned man is honoured by the people.A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honoured everywhere.
There are three gems upon this earth; food, water, and pleasing words - fools (mudhas) consider pieces of rocks as gems.
Beauty is spoiled by an immoral nature; noble birth by bad conduct; learning, without being perfected; and wealth by not being properly utilised.
Our bodies are perishable, wealth is not at all permanent and death is always nearby. Therefore we must immediately engage in acts of merit.
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.
The poor wish for wealth; animals for the faculty of speech; men wish for heaven; and godly persons for liberation.
Who realises all the happiness he desires? Everything is in the hands of God. Therefore one should learn contentment.
Swans live wherever there is water, and leave the place where water dries up; let not a man act so - and comes and goes as he pleases.
Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.
What good can the scriptures do to a man who has no sense of his own? Of what use is as mirror to a blind man?
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.
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.