Chhatrasal, King of Bundelkhand (MP), 17th Century
Chapter - 11 of Chanakya's Treatise on Policies for Kings & Ministers
 

Translation:
Habit of giving donations, speaking sweetly, patience, knowledge of what is proper & improper; are four inborn qualities and cannot be acquired by practice.

Translation:
The person who takes shelter of another category - i.e. caste, society, country etc. - abandoning his own, is destroyed on his own just as by taking support of means contrary to religion, a kingdom is destroyed.

Translation:
Big elephant is controlled by the small goad, so is the goad equal to the elephant? Deep darkness is removed by the small lamp, so is the lamp equal to the darkness? Big mountain is felled by strike of a small thunderbolt, so is the thunderbolt equal to the mountain? Wherever tej (energy, irradiating strength, effectiveness) resides that is strong, what can size do?

Translation:
On completion of 10000 years Hari, God Vishnu leaves the earth and goes to his world, in half of that (5000 years) River Ganga dries up, in half of that (2500 years) grama-devata, God worshipped in a village, leave this earth.

Commentary:
[The meaning of this verse is not clear.]

Translation:
Person strongly attached with his home cannot have education, meat-eater cannot have compassions, person greedy for things cannot be honest; womanizer, the person who is always after women, cannot be pure.

Translation:
Criminal people cannot be converted into good people even by teaching in many different ways. Neem, a tree known for bitter leaves & fruit, cannot become sweet even if the root is saturated with milk & clarified butter.

Translation:
The internal dirt in the depraved or wicked person is not cleansed even if he has a hundred baths in holy places just as the liquor container does not become pure by firing it.

Commentary:
[The dirty heart is not cleansed by bathing in holy places. A sinner remains a sinner.]

Translation:
There is nothing surprising when a person who does not know value of a thing or person always speaks deprecating words about it or him.Kirati, woman of an Indian tribe, obtains the pearl from the dead elephant's head but abandons it and wears in her necklace gunja, the berry of shrub Abrus Precatorius, which is used by jewelers as a measure of weight.

Commentary:
[There is nothing strange in ignorant or foolish people not recognizing the qualities of learned people.]

Translation:
One who remains silent for one year, does not open his mouth except for eating food, he gets the happiness of heaven for ten million ages.

Commentary:
[The vow to remain silent is called Mauna vrata and is a known religious practice. In modern times, Gandhi as well as Vinoba Bhave have practiced it. Spiritual orders like vipasana also practice it.]

Translation:
These eight are prohibited for a student seeking education: sexual pleasure, anger, greed, seeking pleasures of tongue (taste), make-up, entertainment, sleeping too much, serving anyone too much.

Translation:
The priest who has left his home and always stays in the forest, eats fruits & roots growing in uncultivated land, and daily performs shradha (a religious ritual to honor one's ancestors); he is called a rishi (a great saint).

Translation:
The priest who is satisfied with one meal in a day, regularly performs the six duties enjoined on a priest (called shad-karmas, these are study, penance etc.), and has sexual intercourse with wife only after menstrual period is called dwij (twice born).

Translation:
The priest who is engaged in worldly works, animal husbandry, trade or business, agriculture, is called a vaishya.

Translation:
The priest who spoils the work of others, is proud, works to attain his selfish interest, is trickster or cheat, has hatred, is sweet spoken but cruel in heart; is called a marjar (a male cat).

Translation:
The priest who destroys ponds, wells, lakes, temples without fear is called a malechha (barbarian, non-Aryan).

Translation:
The priest who steals things belonging to gods, steals things belonging to guru, steals wife of another persons, who can live among all types of people, is called chandal.

Translation:
Great people should donate wealth and food grains, stocking them is not proper. Glory of Karna and Bali lasts till today (both are well renowned heroes in Hindu mythology as great donors). The honey-bees collect honey for long which they neither enjoy (consume) nor donate. Their collection is suddenly destroyed when some one takes the honey from honey-comb and being sad & unhappy about it, the honey-bees drag their legs on the ground.

Commentary:
[Karna and Bali were renowned & known as great donors even in the days of Chanakya. Today, though 2200 years have passed, their fame lives on. Both Karna and Bali, had a practice that they would donate anything which was asked from them when they got up from their daily prayer. Some persons, who knew them, also knew this secret. These known well-wishers tricked Karna and Bali into donating something they otherwise would not have given away. However, we need to look at it from a different angle. Even though Karna & Bali were tricked, their name and fame shall live as long as the Hindu religion. Moral: One must donate.]

Chhatrasal, King of Bundelkhand

References


[1] Chanakya Neeti, Ashwini Parashar, New Delhi, 1998.
[2] Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, R.S. McGregor (Edited), New Delhi, 1999.
[3] Bhargava's Concise Dictionary of the English Language (Anglo-Hindi Edition), R. C. Pathak (Edited), Varanasi, 1995