Wisdom Quotes by Chanakya

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

— Chanakya

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

— Chanakya

She is a true wife who is clean (suci), expert, chaste, pleasing to the husband, and truthful.

— Chanakya

Poverty, disease, sorrow, imprisonment and other evils are the fruits borne by the tree of one's own sins.

— Chanakya

He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious, whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.

— Chanakya

Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into…

— Chanakya

Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto anthills.

— Chanakya

He who gives up shyness in monetary dealings, in acquiring knowledge, in eating and in business, becomes happy.

— Chanakya

Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.

— Chanakya

Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher of…

— Chanakya

The power of a king lies in his mighty arms; that of a brahmana in his spiritual knowledge; and that of a…

— Chanakya

A learned man is honoured by the people.A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honoured everywhere.

— Chanakya

Swans live wherever there is water, and leave the place where water dries up; let not a man act so - and…

— Chanakya

Do not keep company with a fool for as we can see he is a two-legged beast. Like an unseen thorn he…

— Chanakya

When one is consumed by the sorrows of life, three things give him relief: offspring, a wife, and the company of the…

— Chanakya

The man who remains a fool even in advanced age is really a fool, just as the Indra-Varuna fruit does not become…

— Chanakya

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

— Chanakya

He who forsakes his own community and joins another perishes as the king who embraces an unrighteous path.

— Chanakya

As a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him.

— Chanakya

Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained; but this body when lost may never be acquired again.

— Chanakya

Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.

— Chanakya

Time perfects all living beings as well as kills them; it alone is awake when all others are asleep. Time is insurmountable.

— Chanakya

What good can the scriptures do to a man who has no sense of his own? Of what use is as mirror…

— Chanakya

He who runs away from a fearful calamity, a foreign invasion, a terrible famine, and the companionship of wicked men is safe.

— Chanakya

Who realises all the happiness he desires? Everything is in the hands of God. Therefore one should learn contentment.

— Chanakya

There are three gems upon this earth; food, water, and pleasing words - fools (mudhas) consider pieces of rocks as gems.

— Chanakya

O wise man! Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the…

— Chanakya

“A wise man shall make use of even a child's sensible utterance.”

— Chanakya

We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modestyandmorality for the world is full of the rarest gems.

— Chanakya

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

— Chanakya

By means of hearing one understands dharma, malignity vanishes, knowledge is acquired, and liberation from material bondage is gained.

— Chanakya

Beauty is spoiled by an immoral nature; noble birth by bad conduct; learning, without being perfected; and wealth by not being properly…

— Chanakya

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

— Chanakya

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

— Chanakya

A wise man should not divulge the formula of a medicine which he has well prepared; an act of charity which he…

— Chanakya

Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons. Like a mother, it feeds you on your…

— Chanakya

A wise man should marry a virgin of a respectable family even if she is deformed. He should not marry one of…

— Chanakya

Learning is a friend on the journey; a wife in the house; medicine in sickness; and religious merit is the only friend…

— Chanakya

At the time of the pralaya (universal destruction) the oceans are to exceed their limits and seek to change, but a saintly…

— Chanakya

The cuckoos remain silent for a long time (for several seasons) until they are able to sing sweetly (in the Spring) so…

— Chanakya