Chanakya Quotes (164 Quotes)


    They alone are sons who are devoted to their father. He is a father who supports his sons. He is a friend in whom we can confide, and she only is a wife in whose company the husband feels contented and peaceful.

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

    O see what a wonder it is The doings of the great are strange they treat wealth as light as a straw, yet, when they obtain it, they bend under its weight.

    Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness.

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


    Oil on water, a secret communicated to a base man, a gift given to a worthy receiver, and scriptural instruction given to an intelligent man spread out by virtue of their nature.

    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. Your grown up children are your best friends.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Scriptural lessons not put into practice are poison a meal is poison to him who suffers from indigestion a social gathering is poison to a poverty stricken person and a young wife is poison to an aged man.

    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.

    Excessive attachment to sense pleasures leads to bondage, and detachment from sense pleasures leads to liberation therefore it is the mind alone that is responsible for bondage or liberation.

    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.

    The prostitute has to forsake a man who has no money, the subject a king that cannot defend him, the birds a tree that bears no fruit, and the guests a house after they have finished their meals.

    The woman who fasts and observes religious vows without the permission of her husband shortens his life, and goes to hell.

    What is the use of having many sons if they cause grief and vexation

    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.

    A wise man should not divulge the formula of a medicine which he has well prepared an act of charity which he has performed domestic conflicts private affairs with his wife poorly prepared food he may have been offered or slang he may have heard.

    There are many ways of binding by which one can be dominated and controlled in this world, but the bond of affection is the strongest. For example, take the case of the humble bee which, although expert at piercing hardened wood, becomes caught in the embrace of its beloved flowers (as the petals close at dusk).

    As gold is tested in four ways by rubbing, cutting, heating and beating -- so a man should be tested by these four things his renunciation, his conduct, his qualities and his actions.

    Who is there who has not been overcome by the ravages of time What beggar has attained glory Who has become happy by contracting the vices of the wicked

    Wise men should never go into a country where there are no means of earning one's livelihood, where the people have no dread of anybody, have no sense of shame, no intelligence, or a charitable disposition.

    The learned are envied by the foolish rich men by the poor chaste women by adulteresses and beautiful ladies by ugly ones.

    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.

    How can people be made happy in a petty kingdom What peace can we expect from a rascal friend What happiness can we have at home in the company of a bad wife How can renown be gained by instructing an unworthy disciple

    One should save his 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.

    Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.

    The duration of life is uncertain, and the place of habitation is uncertain but in all this inconsistent world religious merit alone is immovable.

    The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.

    Fish, tortoises, and birds bring up their young by means of sight, attention and touch so do saintly men afford protection to their associates by the same means.

    Water is the medicine for indigestion it is invigorating when the food that is eaten is well digested it is like nectar when drunk in the middle of a dinner and it is like poison when taken at the end of a meal.

    For one whose heart melts with compassion for all creatures what is the necessity of knowledge, liberation, matted hair on the head, and smearing the body with ashes.

    No messenger can travel about in the sky and no tidings come from there. The voice of its inhabitants as never heard, nor can any contact be established with them.

    There is no water like rainwater no strength like one's own no light like that of the eyes and no wealth more dear than food grain.

    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 may really be nearby.

    To have ability for eating when dishes are ready at hand, to be robust and virile in the company of one's religiously wedded wife, and to have a mind for making charity when one is prosperous are the fruits of no ordinary austerities.

    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.

    The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction.

    How can he who seeks sense gratification acquire knowledge, and he who possesses knowledge enjoy mundane sense pleasure

    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.

    Learn one thing from a lion one from a crane four a cock five from a crow six from a dog and three from an ass.

    The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly person in his scholarship, and that of an ascetic in his forgiveness.

    A woman does not become holy by offering by charity, by observing hundreds of fasts, or by sipping sacred water, as by sipping the water used to wash her husbands feet.

    (Through the night) a great many kinds of birds perch on a tree but in the morning they fly in all the ten directions. Why should we lament for that

    The poor wish for wealth animals for the faculty of speech men wish for heaven and godly persons for liberation.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    It is ruinous to be familiar with the king, fire, the religious preceptor, and a woman. To be altogether indifferent of them is to be deprived of the opportunity to benefit ourselves, hence our association with them must be from a safe distance.


    More Chanakya Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Man - Money & Wealth - Friendship - Wisdom & Knowledge - Woman - Charity - Nature - Fool - Family - Kings & Queens - Education - Sons - Mind - Water - Time - Body - Vice & Virtue - Life - Learning - View All Chanakya Quotations

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