Chanakya Quotes

All urgent calls he shall hear at once, but never put off; for when postponed, they will prove too hard or impossible to accomplish.

The contented have no fear of death.

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

[Arvind] Sharma speculates that a reason for India's downfall was the eclipse of the category of Chakravarti as mentionned in the Arthashastra. A Chakravarti's domain was from ocean to ocean; he was above all the other kings who were local. He feels that the Arthashastra at some point ceased to be taught for learning realpolitik. There appears to have been an attack on it by liberal passivism. It is ironic, he says, that during British rule the Arthashastra text had disappeared until a copy suddenly surfaced with a farmer in Kerala in the early twentieth century... Sharma recommends introducing the study of Arthashastra in all schools in all languages.

Till the enemy's weakness is known , he should be kept on friendly terms.

There is no disease so destructive as lust.

Our bodies are perishable, wealth is not at all permanent and death is always nearby. Therefore we must immediately engage in acts of merit.

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.

A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.

Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, comes of Her own accord where fools are not respected, grain is well stored up, and the husband and wife do not quarrel.

Don't judge the future of a person based on his present conditions, because time has the power to change black coal to shiny diamond.

It 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.

नास्ति खलस्य मित्रम्

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.

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.