Wisdom of Chanakya Pandit - Part Two

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CHAPTER NINE

1. 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.

2. Those base men who speak of the secret faults of

others destroy themselves like serpents who stray onto

anthills.

3. Perhaps nobody has advised Lord Brahma, the

creator, to impart perfume to gold; fruit to the

sugarcane; flowers to the sandalwood tree;

wealth to the learned; and long life to the king.

4. Nectar (amrita) is the best among medicines; eating

good food is the best of all types of material

happiness; the eye is the chief among all

organs; and the head occupies the chief position among

all parts of the body.

5. No messenger can travel about in the sky and no

tidings come from there. The voice of its inhabitants

as never heard, nor can any contact be

established with them. Therefore the brahmana who

predicts the eclipse of the sun and moon which occur

in the sky must be considered as a

vidwan (man of great learning).

6. The student, the servant, the traveller, the hungry

person, the frightened man, the treasury guard, and

the steward: these seven ought to be

awakened if they fall asleep.

7. 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.

8. Of those who have studied the Vedas for material

rewards, and those who accept foodstuffs offered by

shudras, what potency have they?

They are just like serpents without fangs.

9. He who neither rouses fear by his anger, nor

confers a favour when he is pleased can neither

control nor protect. What can he do?

10. The serpent may, without being poisonous, raise

high its hood, but the show of terror is enough to

frighten people -- whether he be

venomous or not.

11. Wise men spend their mornings in discussing

gambling, the afternoon discussing the activities of

women, and the night hearing about the

activities of theft. (The first item above refers to

the gambling of King Yuddhisthira, the great devotee

of Krsna. The second item refers to the

glorious deeds of mother Sita, the consort of Lord

Ramachandra. The third item hints at the adorable

childhood pastimes of Sri Krsna who stole

butter from the elderly cowherd ladies of Gokula.

Hence Chanakya Pandita advises wise persons to spend

the morning absorbed in Mahabharata,

the afternoon studying Ramayana, and the evening

devotedly hearing the Srimad-Bhagvatam.)

12. By preparing a garland for a Deity with one's own

hand; by grinding sandal paste for the Lord with one's

own hand; and by writing sacred

texts with one's own hand -- one becomes blessed with

opulence equal to that of Indra.

13. ...

14. Poverty is set off by fortitude; shabby garments

by keeping them clean; bad food by warming it; and

ugliness by good behaviour.

CHAPTER TEN

1. One destitute of wealth is not destitute, he is

indeed rich (if he is learned); but the man devoid of

learning is destitute in every way.

2. We should carefully scrutinise that place upon

which we step (having it ascertained to be free from

filth and living creatures like insects, etc.);

we should drink water which has been filtered (through

a clean cloth); we should speak only those words which

have the sanction of the satras;

and do that act which we have carefully considered.

3. 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?

4. What is it that escapes the observation of poets?

What is that act women are incapable of doing? What

will drunken people not prate? What will

not a crow eat?

5. Fate makes a beggar a king and a king a beggar. He

makes a rich man poor and a poor man rich.

6. The beggar is a miser's enemy; the wise counsellor

is the fool's enemy; her husband is an adulterous

wife's enemy; and the moon is the enemy

of the thief.

7. Those who are destitute of learning, penance,

knowledge, good disposition, virtue and benevolence

are brutes wandering the earth in the form

of men. They are burdensome to the earth.

8. Those that are empty-minded cannot be benefited by

instruction. Bamboo does not acquire the quality of

sandalwood by being associated with

the Malaya Mountain.

9. What good can the scriptures do to a man who has no

sense of his own? Of what use is as mirror to a blind

man?

10. Nothing can reform a bad man, just as the

posterious cannot become a superior part of the body

though washed one hundred times.

11. By offending a kinsman, life is lost; by offending

others, wealth is lost; by offending the king,

everything is lost; and by offending a brahmana

one's whole family is ruined.

12. 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.

13. The brahmana is like tree; his prayers are the

roots, his chanting of the Vedas are the branches, and

his religious act are the leaves.

Consequently effort should be made to preserve his

roots for if the roots are destroyed there can be no

branches or leaves.

14. My mother is Kamala devi (Lakshmi), my father is

Lord Janardana (Vishnu), my kinsmen are the

Vishnu-bhaktas (Vaisnavas) and, my

homeland is all the three worlds.

15. (Through the night) a great many kinds of birds

perch on a tree but in the morning they fly in all the

ten directions. Why should we lament for

that? (Similarly, we should not grieve when we must

inevitably part company from our dear ones).

16. 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).

17. Why should I be concerned for my maintenance while

absorbed in praising the glories of Lord Vishwambhara

(Vishnu), the supporter of all.

Without the grace of Lord Hari, how could milk flow

from a mother's breast for a child's nourishment?

Repeatedly thinking only in this way, O

Lord of the Yadus, O husband of Lakshmi, all my time

is spent in serving Your lotus feet.

18. ...

19. ...

20. ...

CHAPTER ELEVEN

1. Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety

of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities.

2. He who forsakes his own community and joins another

perishes as the king who embraces an unrighteous path.

3. The elephant has a huge body but is controlled by

the ankusha (goad): yet, is the goad as large as the

elephant? A lighted candle banishes

darkness: is the candle as vast as the darkness. A

mountain is broken even by a thunderbolt: is the

thunderbolt therefore as big as the mountain?

No, he whose power prevails is really mighty; what is

there in bulk?

4. ...

5. 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 a

hunter.

6. The wicked man will not attain sanctity even if he

is instructed in different ways, and the nim tree will

not become sweet even if it is sprinkled

from the top to the roots with milk and ghee.

7. Mental dirt cannot be washed away even by

one-hundred baths in the sacred waters, just as a wine

pot cannot be purified even by evaporating

all the wine by fire.

8. It is not strange if a man reviles a thing of which

he has no knowledge, just as a wild hunter's wife

throws away the pearl that is found in the

head of an elephant, and picks up a gunj(a type of

seed which poor tribals wear as ornaments).

9. He who for one year eats his meals silently

(inwardly meditating upon the Lord's prasadam);

attains to the heavenly planets for a thousand

crore of years. ( Note: one crore equals ten million)

10. 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.

11. ...

12. He alone is a true brahmana (dvija or

"twice-born") who is satisfied with one meal a day,

who has the six samskaras (or acts of purification

such as garbhadhana, etc.) performed for him, and who

cohabits with his wife only once in a month on an

auspicious day after her menses.

13. The brahmana who is engrossed in worldly affairs,

brings up cows and is engaged in trade is really

called a vaishya.

14. The brahmana who deals in lac-die, articles, oil,

indigo, silken cloth, honey, clarified butter, liquor,

and flesh is called a shudra.

15. The brahmana who thwarts the doings of others, who

is hypocritical, selfish, and a deceitful hater, and

while speaking mildly cherishes

cruelty in his heart, is called a cat.

16. The brahmana who destroys a pond, a well, a tank,

a garden and a temple is called a mleccha.

17. The brahmana who steals the property of the

Deities and the spiritual preceptor, who cohabits with

another's wife, and who maintains himself

by eating anything and everything s called a chandala.

18. The meritorious should give away in charity all

that they have in excess of their needs. By charity

only Karna, Bali and King Vikramaditya

survive even today. Just see the plight of the

honeybees beating their legs in despair upon the

earth. They are saying to themselves, "Alas! We

neither enjoyed our stored-up honey nor gave it in

charity, and now someone has taken it from us in an

instant."

CHAPTER TWELVE

1. He is a blessed grhasta (householder) in whose

house there is a blissful atmosphere, whose sons are

talented, whose wife speaks sweetly,

whose wealth is enough to satisfy his desires, who

finds pleasure in the company of his wife, whose

servants are obedient, in whose house

hospitality is shown, the auspicious Supreme Lord is

worshiped daily, delicious food and drink is partaken,

and who finds joy in the company of

devotees.

2. One who devotedly gives a little to a brahmana who

is in distress is recompensed abundantly. Hence, O

Prince, what is given to a good

brahmana is got back not in an equal quantity, but in

an infinitely higher degree.

3. Those men who are happy in this world, who are

generous towards their relatives, kind to strangers,

indifferent to the wicked, loving to the

good, shrewd in their dealings with the base, frank

with the learned, courageous with enemies, humble with

elders and stern with the wife.

4. O jackal, leave aside the body of that man at once,

whose hands have never given in charity, whose ears

have not heard the voice of learning,

whose eyes have not beheld a pure devotee of the Lord,

whose feet have never traversed to holy places, whose

belly is filled with things obtained

by crooked practices, and whose head is held high in

vanity. Do not eat it, O jackal, otherwise you will

become polluted.

5. "Shame upon those who have no devotion to the lotus

feet of Sri Krsna, the son of mother Yasoda; who have

no attachment for the describing

the glories of Srimati Radharani; whose ears are not

eager to listen to the stories of the Lord's lila."

Such is the exclamation of the mrdanga sound

of dhik-tam dhik-tam dhigatam at kirtana.

6. What fault of spring that the bamboo shoot has no

leaves? What fault of the sun if the owl cannot see

during the daytime? Is it the fault of the

clouds if no raindrops fall into the mouth of the

chatak bird? Who can erase what Lord Brahma has

inscribed upon our foreheads at the time of

birth?

7. A wicked man may develop saintly qualities in the

company of a devotee, but a devotee does not become

impious in the company of a wicked

person. The earth is scented by a flower that falls

upon it, but the flower does not contact the odour of

the earth.

8. One indeed becomes blessed by having darshan of a

devotee; for the devotee has the ability to purify

immediately, whereas the sacred tirtha

gives purity only after prolonged contact.

9. A stranger asked a brahmana, "Tell me, who is great

in this city?" The brahmana replied, "The cluster of

palmyra trees is great." Then the

traveller asked, "Who is the most charitable person?"

The brahmana answered, "The washerman who takes the

clothes in the morning and gives

them back in the evening is the most charitable." He

then asked, "Who is the ablest man?" The brahmana

answered, "Everyone is expert in

robbing others of their wives and wealth." The man hen

asked the brahmana, "How do you manage to live in such

a city?" The brahmana replied,

"As a worm survives while even in a filthy place so do

I survive here!"

10. The house in which the lotus feet of brahmanas are

not washed, in which Vedic mantras are not loudly

recited, and in which the holy rites of

svaha (sacrificial offerings to the Supreme Lord) and

swadha (offerings to the ancestors) are not performed,

is like a crematorium.

11. (It is said that a sadhu, when asked about his

family, replied thusly): truth is my mother, and my

father is spiritual knowledge; righteous

conduct is my brother, and mercy is my friend, inner

peace is my wife, and forgiveness is my son: these six

are my kinsmen.

12. Our bodies are perishable, wealth is not at all

permanent and death is always nearby. Therefore we

must immediately engage in acts of merit.

13. Arjuna says to Krsna. "Brahmanas find joy in going

to feasts, cows find joy in eating their tender grass,

wives find joy in the company of their

husbands, and know, O Krsna, that in the same way I

rejoice in battle.

14. He who regards another's wife as his mother, the

wealth that does not belong to him as a lump of mud,

and the pleasure and pain of all other

living beings as his own -- truly sees things in the

right perspective, and he is a true pandit.

15. 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).

16. The desire tree is wood; the golden Mount Meru is

motionless; the wish-fulfilling gem cintamani is just

a stone; the sun is scorching; the

moon is prone to wane; the boundless ocean is saline;

the demigod of lust lost his body (due to Shiva's

wrath); Bali Maharaja, the son of Diti, was

born into a clan of demons; and Kamadhenu (the cow of

heaven) is a mere beast. O Lord of the Raghu dynasty!

I cannot compare you to any one

of these (taking their merits into account).

17. Realised learning (vidya) is our friend while

travelling , the wife is a friend at home, medicine is

the friend of a sick man, and meritorious

deeds are the friends at death.

18. Courtesy should be learned from princes, the art

of conversation from pandits, lying should be learned

from gamblers and deceitful ways

should be learned from women.

19. The unthinking spender, the homeless urchin, the

quarrel monger, the man who neglects his wife and is

heedless in his actions -- all these will

soon come to ruination.

20. The wise man should not be anxious about his food;

he should be anxious to be engaged only in dharma

(Krsna consciousness). the food of

each man is created for him at his birth.

21. He who is not shy in the acquisition of wealth,

grain and knowledge, and in taking his meals, will be

happy

22. As centesimal droppings will fill a pot so also

are knowledge, virtue and wealth gradually obtained.

23. The man who remains a fool even in advanced age is

really a fool, just as the Indra-Varuna fruit does not

become sweet no matter how ripe it

might become.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

1. A man may live but for a moment, but that moment

should be spent in doing auspicious deeds. It is

useless living even for a kalpa (4,320,000

*1000 years) and bringing only distress upon the two

worlds (this world and the next).

2. We should not fret for what is past, nor should we

be anxious about the future; men of discernment deal

only with the present moment.

3. 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.

4 Even as the unborn babe is in the womb of his

mother, these five are fixed as his life destiny: his

life span, his activities, his acquisition of

wealth and knowledge, and his time of death.

5. O see what a wonder it is! The doings of the great

are strange: they treat wealth as light as a straw,

yet, when they obtain it, they bend under

its weight.

6. He 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.

7. He who is prepared for the future and he who deals

cleverly with any situation that may arise are both

happy; but the fatalistic man who wholly

depends on luck is ruined.

8. If the king is virtuous, then the subjects are also

virtuous. If the king is sinful, then the subjects

also become sinful. If he is mediocre, then the

subjects are mediocre. The subjects follow the example

of the king. In short, as is the king so are the

subjects.

9. I consider him who does not act religiously as dead

though living, but he who dies acting religiously

unquestionably lives long though he is

dead.

10. He who has acquired neither virtue, wealth,

satisfaction of desires nor salvation (dharma, artha,

kama, moksa), lives an utterly useless life,

like the "nipples" hanging from the neck of a goat.

11. The hearts of base men burn before the fire of

other's fame, and they slander them being themselves

unable to rise to such a high position.

12. 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.

13. He who sheds bodily identification by means of

knowledge of the indwelling Supreme Self (Paramatma),

will always be absorbed in

meditative trance (samadhi) wherever his mind leads

him.

14. Who realises all the happiness he desires?

Everything is in the hands of God. Therefore one

should learn contentment.

15. As a calf follows its mother among a thousand

cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him.

16. He whose actions are disorganised has no happiness

either in the midst of men or in a jungle -- in the

midst of men his heart burns by social

contacts, and his helplessness burns him in the

forest.

17. As the man who digs obtains underground water by

use of a shovel, so the student attains the knowledge

possessed by his preceptor through

his service.

18. Men reap the fruits of their deeds, and intellects

bear the mark of deeds performed in previous lives;

even so the wise act after due

circumspection.

19. Even the man who has taught the spiritual

significance of just one letter ought to be worshiped.

He who does not give reverence to such a

guru is born as a dog a hundred times, and at last

takes birth as a chandala (dog-eater).

20. At the end of the yuga, Mount Meru may be shaken;

at the end of the kalpa, the waters of the seven

oceans may be disturbed; but a sadhu

will never swerve from the spiritual path.

21. There are three gems upon this earth; food, water,

and pleasing words -- fools (mudhas) consider pieces

of rocks as gems.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

1. Poverty, disease, sorrow, imprisonment and other

evils are the fruits borne by the tree of one's own

sins.

2. Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be

regained; but this body when lost may never be

acquired again.

3. The enemy can be overcome by the union of large

numbers, just as grass through its collectiveness

wards off erosion caused by heavy rainfall.

4. Oil on water, a secret communicated to a base man,

a gift given to a worthy receiver, and scriptural

instruction given to an intelligent man

spread out by virtue of their nature.

5. If men should always retain the state of mind they

experience when hearing religious instruction, when

present at a crematorium ground, and

when in sickness -- then who could not attain

liberation.

6. If a man should feel before, as he feels after,

repentance -- then who would not attain perfection?

7. We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity,

valour, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality for

the world is full of the rarest gems.

8. He who lives in our mind is near though he may

actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart

is far though he may really be nearby.

9. 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.

10. It is ruinous to be familiar with the king, fire,

the religious preceptor, and a woman. To be altogether

indifferent of them is to be deprived of

the opportunity to benefit ourselves, hence our

association with them must be from a safe distance.

11. 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.

12. He should be considered to be living who is

virtuous and pious, but the life of a man who is

destitute of religion and virtues is void of any

blessing.

13. 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).

14. He is a pandit (man of knowledge) who speaks what

is suitable to the occasion, who renders loving

service according to his ability, and who

knows the limits of his anger.

15 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.

16. 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.

17. The cuckoos remain silent for a long time (for

several seasons) until they are able to sing sweetly

(in the Spring ) so as to give joy to all.

18. We should secure and keep the following: the

blessings of meritorious deeds, wealth, grain, the

words of the spiritual master, and rare

medicines. Otherwise life becomes impossible.

19. Eschew wicked company and associate with saintly

persons. Acquire virtue day and night, and always

meditate on that which is eternal

forgetting that which is temporary.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

1. For one whose heart melts with compassion for all

creatures; what is the necessity of knowledge,

liberation, matted hair on the head, and

smearing the body with ashes.

2. There is no treasure on earth the gift of which

will cancel the debt a disciple owes his guru for

having taught him even a single letter ( that

leads to Krsna consciousness).

3. 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.

4. He who wears unclean garments, has dirty teeth, as

a glutton, speaks unkindly and sleeps after sunrise --

although he may be the greatest

personality -- will lose the favour of Lakshmi.

5. He who loses his money is forsaken by his friends,

his wife, his servants and his relations; yet when he

regains his riches those who have

forsaken him come back to him. Hence wealth is

certainly the best of relations.

6. Sinfully acquired wealth may remain for ten years;

in the eleventh year it disappears with even the

original stock.

7. 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).

8. 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.

9. For want of discernment the most precious jewels

lie in the dust at the feet of men while bits of glass

are worn on their heads. But we should

not imagine that the gems have sunk in value, and the

bits of glass have risen in importance. When a person

of critical judgement shall appear,

each will be given its right position.

10. Sastric knowledge is unlimited, and the arts to be

learned are many; the time we have is short, and our

opportunities to learn are beset with

obstacles. Therefore select for learning that which is

most important, just as the swan drinks only the milk

in water.

11. He is a chandala who eats his dinner without

entertaining the stranger who has come to his house

quite accidentally, having travelled from a

long distance and is wearied.

12. One may know the four Vedas and the

Dharma-sastras, yet if he has no realisation of his

own spiritual self, he can be said to be like the

ladle

which stirs all kinds of foods but knows not the taste

of any.

13. Those blessed souls are certainly elevated who,

while crossing the ocean of life, take shelter of a

genuine brahmana, who is likened unto a

boat. They are unlike passengers aboard an ordinary

ship which runs the risk of sinking.

14. The moon, who is the abode of nectar and the

presiding deity of all medicines, although immortal

like amrta and resplendent in form, loses the

brilliance of his rays when he repairs to the abode of

the sun (day time). Therefore will not an ordinary man

be made to feel inferior by going to

live at the house of another.

15. This humble bee, who always resides among the soft

petals of the lotus and drinks abundantly its sweet

nectar, is now feasting on the flower

of the ordinary kutaja. Being in a strange country

where the lotuses do not exist, he is considering the

pollen of the kutaja to be nice.

16. (Lord Visnu asked His spouse Lakshmi why She did

not care to live in the house of a brahmana, when She

replied) " O Lord a rishi named

Agastya drank up My father (the ocean) in anger;

Brighu Muni kicked You; brahmanas pride themselves on

their learning having sought the

favour of My competitor Sarasvati; and lastly they

pluck each day the lotus which is My abode, and

therewith worship Lord Shiva. Therefore, O

Lord, I fear to dwell with a brahmana and that

properly.

17. 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).

18. Although sandalwood be cut, it does not forsake

its natural quality of fragrance; so also the elephant

does not give up sportiveness though he

should grow old. The sugarcane does not cease to be

sweet though squeezed in a mill; so the man of noble

extraction does not lose his lofty

qualities, no matter how pinched he is by poverty.

19. ...

 

 

 

 

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