NitiShastra - Translated

Wisdom from Kautilaya or Chanakya's book. This is just for my personal reading . Source is unknown but I had collected it long back and is worth reading.

Conciliate a covetous man by means of a gift, an obstinate
man with folded hands in salutation, a fool by humouring
him, and a learned man by truthful words.

Conciliate a strong man by submission, a wicked man by
opposition, and the one whose power is equal to yours
by politeness or force.

The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane
and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place,
time and ability

To wake at the proper time; to take a bold stand and fight;
to make a fair division (of property) among relations;
and to earn one's own bread by personal exertion are the
four excellent things to be learned from a cock.

A wise man should not reveal his loss of wealth, the
vexation of his mind, the misconduct of his own wife,
base words spoken by others, and disgrace that has
befallen him.

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 (japa)
and charity.

He who has wealth has friends and relations; he
alone survives and is respected as a man.

Low class men desire wealth; middle class men both
wealth and respect; but the noble, honour only; hence
honour is the noble man's true wealth.

My dear child, if you desire to be free from the cycle
of birth and death, then abandon the objects of sense
gratification as poison.

Drink instead the nectar of forbearance, upright
conduct, mercy, cleanliness and truth.

He who desires sense gratification must give up all
thoughts of acquiring knowledge; and he who seeks
knowledge must not hope for sense gratification.
How can he who seeks sense gratification acquire
knowledge, and he who possesses knowledge enjoy
mundane sense pleasure?

He who possesses intelligence is strong; how can
the man that is unintelligent be powerful? The elephant
of the forest having lost his senses by intoxication
was tricked into a lake by a small rabbit.
(this verse refers to a famous story from the niti-
sastra called pancatantra compiled by the pandit
Vishnusharma 2500 years ago).

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

He who is engrossed in family life will never acquire
knowledge; there can be no mercy in the eater of flesh;
the greedy man will not be truthful; and purity will
not be found in a woman hunter.

The student (brahmacari) should completely renounce
the following eight things --his lust, anger, greed,
desire for sweets, sense of decorating the body,
excessive curiosity, excessive sleep, and excessive
endeavour for bodily maintenance.

O Raghava, the love of virtue, pleasing speech, and
an ardent desire for performing acts of charity,
guileless dealings with friends, humility in the
guru's presence , deep tranquillity of mind, pure
conduct, discernment of virtues, realised knowledge
of the sastras, beauty of form and devotion to God
are all found in you." (The great sage Vasistha Muni,
the spiritual preceptor of the dynasty of the sun,
said this to Lord Ramachandra at the time of
His proposed coronation).


It certainly is nature of the demigods, men of good
character, and parents to be easily pleased. Near and
distant relatives are pleased when they are hospitably
received with bathing, food, and drink; and pandits are
pleased with an opportunity for giving spiritual
discourse.

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.


We should always speak what would please the man of
whom we expect a favour, like the hunter who sings
sweetly when he desires to shoot a deer.

We should always deal cautiously with fire, water,
women, foolish people, serpents, and members of a
royal family; for they may, when the occasion presents
itself, at once bring about our death.

If you wish to gain control of the world by the
performance of a single deed, then keep the following
fifteen, which are prone to wander here and there,
from getting the upper hand of you: the five sense
objects (objects of sight, sound, smell,taste, and
touch); the five sense organs (ears, eyes, nose,tongue
and skin) and organs of activity (hands, legs, mouth,
genitals and anus).

One single object (a woman) appears in three different
ways: to the man who practices austerity it appears as
a corpse, to the sensual it appears as a woman, and to
the dogs as a lump of flesh.

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 two ways to get rid of thorns and wicked
persons;using footwear in the first case and in the
second shaming them so that they cannot raise their
faces again thus keeping them at a distance.

A bad action committed by a great man is not censured
(as there is none that can reproach him), and a
good action performed by a low-class man comes to be
condemned (because none respects him).

Just see: the drinking of nectar is excellent, but
it became the cause of Rahu's demise; and the drinking
of poison is harmful, but when Lord Shiva
(who is exalted) drank it, it became an ornament to his
neck (nila-kanta).

A true meal is that which consists of the remnants left
after a brahmana's meal. Love which is shown to others
is true love, not that which is cherished for one's own
self. to abstain from sin is true wisdom. That is an act
of charity which is performed without ostentation.

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).

The heart of a woman is not united; it is divided.
While she is talking with one man, she looks lustfully
at another and thinks fondly of a third in her heart.

The fool (mudha) who fancies that a charming young lady
loves him, becomes her slave and he dances like a shakuntal
bird tied to a string.

Who is there who, having become rich, has not become
proud?
What licentious man has put an end to his calamities?
What man in this world has not been overcome by a woman?
Who is always loved by the king? 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?

The good habits of charity, learning and austerity
practised during many past lives continue to be
cultivated in this birth by virtue of the link (yoga)
of this present life to the previous ones.

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.

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.