Chanakya Neeti - Chapter 13

Chanakya Neeti (The Book) - Chapter 13

The points stated below contain ideas illustrated in the 13th chapter of Chanakya Neeti . Have a look …

It is better to live a small life (three quarters of an hour) doing good deeds than living a sinful life for thousands of years. It is your acts that count, not your life span.

One must not be afraid of future, nor shall regret upon past. Wise men concentrate on utilizing the present to frame a brighter future.

Good people, deity, and your father will not be demanding anything. You can satisfy your kith and kins by offering them good food, and for satisfying a learned men you will just require a few polite words of wisdom.

The nature of noble people is quite strange i.e. instead of acting arrogant upon attaining wealth they bow down in humility and act more modestly and respectfully.

One must give up infatuations in order to remain happy and to gain control of his life. Infatuation is the root cause of many troubles and worries.

One who plans and prepares himself to face challenges and difficulties is most likely to succeed against problems in life. On the other hand, if a man leaves everything on luck then he will perish for sure.

If a king is religious then his subjects will also be religious, if a king is sinful then his subjects will also be sinful. Also, the subjects of a careless king will also be careless. The conclusion is that “As as king will be, so will be his subjects”

A man without religion is living dead, while a religious man lives even after his death. [Also, to be noted that Chanakya said that "The greatest religion is of humanity"]

Like the udders on neck of a goat, the life of a person is totally useless if he has no wealth, no love, is devoid of religion with no hope of salvation.

It is characteristic of lowly people that they enjoy belittling successful people and feel jealous.

The attitude of a person plays very significant role in his life. At instances he finds himself bound by the wordily desires and with a slight change in state of mind he can also set himself free.

It is not possible to fulfill each and every desire. Your fate will not be able to serve them all. The solution is that the man must feel satisfaction in whatever possessions he had. [Must not confuse it with sate of inaction and feeling contented]

Even in the heard of thousands of cow the calf finds its mother. In save way the acts of a person follow him i.e. you can’t run from your deeds.

A disorganized person finds no peace no matter where he goes. In civilized society he faces the criticism of others and if in forest he will feel lonely.

Like you get water on digging, in same way on serving/comforting your guru you will gain knowledge. [There is a difference between preacher, teacher and Guru]

Each individual gets rewarded as per his deeds. This is why wise men think about the outcome before indulging themselves into any task.

One who don’t show respect to God, takes hundred births in yoni of a dog and then is born as a charlatan.

In the end the mighty sumeru mountain will be uprooted from its base and the land will be wiped away by sea. Even then the superior persons will be standing firm on their resolve to fulfill the promises done.

Chanakya Neeti - Chapter 12

Chanakya Neeti (The Book) - Chapter 12

The lines stated below contains the ideas stated in 12th chapter of Chanakya Neeti. Have a look …

Such home is endowed with divine favor of God where sons & daughter obey orders , the housewife is sweet tongued, family members are hardworking, the money is earned with honesty and is sufficient to fulfill their needs, food is in surplus, servants are faithful, guests are welcomed, and is often visited by learned spiritual teachers.

O king, a person who donate a little of his earning to deserving Brahmins (full time involvement in spreading enlightenment in the society with charity as the only way of their livelihood) attracts multiple amount of his donation in different ways by the grace of almighty God.

The world is maintained by good people who are polite and helpful to their near ones, people who are compassionate to deserving fellows, who show no mercy to wicked, face powerful opponent with bravery, who show respect to learned scholars, show reverence to parent and guru, and who are good at tackling women in a wise manner instead of putting complete trust in them.

Chanakya compares such man to Jackal and calls him the lowliest; whose hands do not come forward for charity, ears do not listen the sermons in holy scriptures, eyes never focus on saints, legs do not move the path of pilgrimage, who earn money by unjust means, and who do not take care of their parent or guru.

Fate is a very strong component in life. Chanakya expresses this opinion by giving following examples:
You cannot blame spring for taking away the leaves from a Karel tree. (A rare leafless tree)
An owl cannot see in daylight and none can be blamed for this.
In same manner you cannot blame the cloud if the raindrop does not fall in the open beak of Chatak bird. (As per mythology Chatak bird only drinks the rain drops that fall at time of Swati Nakshatra. For this it opens its beak and waits for drop to fall in it.)

[Take note that those lines did not said that destiny is everything. ]

A good person can inculcate goodness in a bad person, but the badness of a bad is unlikely to be transferred in nature of a good person. The fragrance of a flower might leave its effect on soil beneath. but the flower never attains the murky smell from soil.

[In an other verse of Chanakya Neeti it has been said that you cannot turn a real wicked to some nice person. The thing to be noted is that both are correct in their own contexts]

Beholding a sadhu is like an instant pilgrimage for which you don’t even require visiting a holy place.


A traveler goes to a new city (a bad town) where he asks following questions to a wise man and receives following replies.
Who is greatest in your village? The man replied that the ‘Toody’ trees is greatest as all men fall on the ground after consuming its milky intoxicant.
Who performs greatest charity? … The Washerman takes clothes of men in morning and returns those in evening. [no charity]
Who is most clever? … all men consider themselves as clever and are engaged in cheating one other for money and women.

… And how do you survive at such place? The wise man says … I am just like an insect who is born in filth, lives in it and dies in filth.

* The passage above is a satire stating the condition of a state without law & order. Where people drink, cheat, do no charity, and have adapted themselves to such situation.

Once a divine saint was asked about his family. He replied that his mother is truth, knowledge is his master, religion is as brother, kindness as sister, peace as wife, and tolerance to be his son.

Festivals (very happy moments) for a:
cow is to find a green pasture.
Brahmin is to receive an invitation for meal.
a women is to see her husband recovering.
but… for me the festival is to have faith in God.

A person who considers women of others as mother, wealth of others as dirt, and one who sees his own soul in all living creatures; is the person who has really found the truth.

One who always abides by religion, is a polite speaker, is always interested in acts of charity, is/has a faithful friend, show respect to any good advice, respects guru, full of knowledge, and have faith in almighty is a noble soul for sure.

O lord Rama, there is no point in comparing you with anyone. [a simple explanation for a longer verse ]

One must learn decency from princes, speech from scholars, art of bluffing from gamblers, and cunningness from a woman.

One who overspends money without planning, who provokes the stronger opponent, and one who desires relationship with all kinds of women will definitely go for a quick destruction.

One must not worry about meals and must perform his duties. It is God who will arrange food for you. [Something closely related to Karma Theory of Bhagvad Gita. Action is supreme and person devoted to his duty is unlikely to face such trouble. The line has nothing to do with inaction]

A pitcher can be filled drop-by-drop and so is the case with your wealth.

A person with evil nature is unlikely to change even after gaining maturity. So is the case with a bitter pumpkin that does not taste sweet even upon ripening. [A class of such persons do exists.]

Chanakya Neeti - Chapter 11

Chanakya Neeti (The Book) - Chapter 11

This article contains the ideas illustrated in the 11th chapter of Chanakya Neeti. Have a look …

The natural tendencies for charity, basic logic, politeness, and ability to bear pain cannot be taught to anyone. Either you have them or don’t.

A person who leaves his community to join another community is likely to face quick destruction. Same will be the case with king who don’t cares for his subjects.

A small goad controls a giant elephant, a small lamp destroys a great deal of darkness, a small hammer can break huge mountain. Their size is insignificant to the purpose they solve.

A student who continuously thinks about comforts of home (homesick) will not be able to gain knowledge. One with greed cannot be truthful. One who debauch cannot acquire piety.

The taste of Neem will remain bitter even on irrigating it with milk and butter. Same is the case with a wicked soul i.e. no advice can change his mind.

If the mind of a person is filled with evil thoughts then any number of pilgrimages won’t cut his/her sins.

It is no surprise that a person with incomplete knowledge will try to debate and argue the men with true knowledge. This can be understood from example of a tribal woman who rejects precious gems and selects cheap beads for decoration.

The person who does not speaks for a whole year and who only opens his mouth to eat will enjoy heavenly pleasure of about 10 million years. (The simple explanation is that , “silence is gold”. Men who speak too much reveal their secrets to other and face problem.)

A real student refrains himself from love, flattery, anger, infatuations, preening, entertainment, and oversleeping.

A person who consumes single meal in a day, has control over his mind, performs his religious duties, and who involves with his wife for offspring (not mere pleasure) is a true ‘Brahmin’. A Brahmin who involves himself in trade, raises cattle, does agriculture, is a mercenary Brahmin.. One who deals in lac, indigo, flower, meat , wine, and honey belong to lowest class. [Discretion Advised]

One who spoils the work of others, is egoistic, treacherous, selfish, and jealous, but tries to present himself as honest and polite cannot be a ‘Brahmin’ but a cat.

A wise men will never desecrate any kind of water. Be it in a well, pond, river, garden, or temple.

One who steals from his guru or from temples, engages with wives of others is nothing but a Charlatan.

Even the bees have to repent for storing too much honey which they collect after putting so much courage and hardwork. In same manner the people who don’t do charity face heavy losses. The kings gain glory on helping the needy and their names survive till date.

Chanakya Neeti - Chapter 10

Chanakya Neeti (The Book) - Chapter 10

A man without money is not poor in comparison to a man without knowledge.

A person must walk with his eyes open, must drink clean water, speak words with wisdom, and must perform an action only after thinking about pros & cons.

A crow can eat anything, a poet is capable of imagining anything, a woman can do anything, and a drunkard can say anything.

If you are looking for knowledge then give-up the hope for finding comfort. (Maybe, after getting Wisdom … lol )

Fate plays a significant role in life of a person. It can turn a king to beggar and vice-versa.

A greedy person consider beggars to be his enemy, a woman with loose character considers her husband as enemy and a thief considers moon to be his enemy. In same manner a fool treats the person who advice him.

Chanakya says … who don’t have knowledge, who don’t perform good deeds, don’t do charity, are not kind, lack in politeness, and are not merciful; are not humans, but beasts.

As per Chanakya Niti, it is a waste to advice some foolish person. Your words won’t change the person’s nature. Like the fragrant wind passing through forest of sandal wood does not make any impact on odor of a bamboo tree.

A foolish person cannot gain benefits from a books like a blind man with mirror.

Chanakya says that it better to live in forest with wild beasts, it is better to consume wild berries, it is better to sleep on bed of thorns than living in poverty with your kith and kins.

… One must protect the roots, If the root is destroyed then the tree will fall.

Different kinds of birds come together on a tree to spend night and then fly away in all directions when morning arrives. One most not regret about his or someone’s separation from family.

The power of brain is supreme and strength comes afterwards. You must be aware about the story of a lion who was killed by a rabbit.

The whole world is like a family and Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi are like parents to all of us.