The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.
CHANAKYAThe serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.
CHANAKYAIt is better to live under a tree in a jungle inhabited by tigers and elephants, to maintain oneself in such a place with ripe fruits and spring water, to lie down on grass and to wear the ragged barks of trees than to live amongst one’s relations when reduced to poverty.
CHANAKYAEnemies strike at weak points.
CHANAKYAAccumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.
CHANAKYAEven a captured enemy is not to be trusted.
CHANAKYAAvoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher of poison with milk on top.
CHANAKYAEven if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.
CHANAKYAA person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.
CHANAKYAWe should always speak what would please the man of whom we expect a favor, like the hunter who sings sweetly when he desires to shoot a deer.
CHANAKYATreat 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.
CHANAKYAThe 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.
CHANAKYAOffspring, friends and relatives flee from a devotee of the Lord: yet those who follow him bring merit to their families through their devotion.
CHANAKYAHow well you treat the wicked people, they don’t give up their wickedness. They derive pleasure in hurting others. A serpent made to drink milk, it ejects poison only.
CHANAKYAIf one limb of the body is defected or inflicted with, disease, the whole feels that pain. Some way if any department, minister or official of the state is faulty, the whole country is effected. An administrator should try hard to curb it.
CHANAKYAWealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained; but this body when lost may never be acquired again.
CHANAKYAHe who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.
CHANAKYA