Chhatrapati Shivaji, Founder of Maratha Empire, 17th Century
Chapter - 12 of Chanakya's Treatise on Policies for Kings & Ministers
 

Translation:
The house-holder in whose home following happen is blessed: there are always celebrations going on like recitation of scriptures, festivals; children are well educated, wife is sweet-spoken in nature, wealth is sufficient to meet desires, there is passion & love between the house-holder and his wife, obedient servants, hospitality for guests, worship of God Shiva daily, get-togethers for friends, company & discourses of saints.

Commentary:
[The prosperous house-holder who supports the above eight events using his wealth will make his family life happy and balanced.]

Translation:
The person belonging to upper caste who gives even a small donation to the wretched & distressed or to the priestly class, gets back many folds of what he has given.

Commentary:
[If we give Rs. 100 to someone, we are unlikely to immediately get back even twice in reality - leave alone manyfold. The return comes in psychological, social, spiritual and religious terms. The act of donating conveys to our sub-conscious mind that "we have enough for ourselves," since we were able to share & spare something for fellow human beings. This understanding that we have enough for ourselves is the feeling of prosperity. Simply being rich does not give the feeling of being prosperous, all it gives us is a feeling of possessiveness. Spiritually, donating is a good deed and we earn plus points in God's book which are carried to the next birth. Hindu religion places lot of emphasis on donating.]

Translation:
The functioning of this world is dependent upon people who have: tendency to donate to their own people, compassion for others, are always tough on criminals, have affection for good people, avoid associating with villainous people, respect the learned & knowledgeable, are courageous against enemy, have forgiveness towards elders, are shrewd with women. These men are said to be skilled in all the arts.

Commentary:
[The Sanskrit text "narijane dhoort-taha” literally translates as "cunning or sly or artful towards women." However, author appears to mean men who are shrewd with women, do not get entangled by them, do not run after them.]

Translation:
The person whose hands are debarred from donating, ears have revolted against hearing knowledge, eyes have not seen saints, feet have not gone to holy places; who earns money from injustice for sustenance, whose head is held erect due to pride; is like a jackal. Such a person should leave the body soon, that is, we hope for his death.

Commentary:
[Just being rich and prosperous is of no use. More important is how one earned that wealth and how one spends it.]

Translation:
The Mridanga (a musical instrument) playing in groups gathered to sing hymns continuously tells shame, shame, shame to those who do not have devotion to the lotus feet of the Son of Yashoda (God Krishna), whose tongue is not engrossed in telling the story of endearing qualities of Abheer-girls (Radha & others in love with God Krishna), whose ears are not always eager to listen the beautiful story of God Krishna.

Commentary:
[Mridanga is a musical instrument often played in groups gathered to sing hymns. It‘s sound like "dhiktan, dhiktan, dhiktan," which is very similar to "dhikkar, dhikkar, dhikkar," which in Sanskrit means "shame, shame, shame."]

Translation:
Is it the mistake of the spring season that no leaves appear on the caper bush (a thorny leafless shrub)? Is it the mistake of the sun that the owl cannot see in the day? Is it the mistake of the clouds that rain does not fall in mouth of pied crested cuckoo (a bird that is supposed to live on rain drops and dies in their absence)"? Who can change what the destiny has beforehand written on the forehead?

Commentary:
[Some misfortunes and lack of abilities has to be blamed on destiny.]

Translation:
Villains acquire saintly qualities due to company of saints, but saints do not acquire qualities of villains in same company. Soil acquires the fragrance of flowers but flowers do not acquire smell of soil.

Commentary:
[Company of good people and saints builds all those who come in contact. The character of such people is strong and they remain unaffected by negative qualities of those who come in contact. Elsewhere it is said that sandal-wood retains its fragrance and does not acquire poison even though snakes are entwined around the tree all the time. Good company is one of the most important things for moral & spiritual growth in Hindu religion.]

Translation:
By having audience with saints, one gets a punya (good deeds which bear good fruits in current & subsequent lifetimes). Saints are like holy places. Visiting holy places gives results only after a time, but audience with saints gives immediate results.

Translation:
Oh priest, tell who are great in this city? Palm trees are the greatest in height. Who is the biggest giver (or donor)? Washer man, who gives clothes back in the night after taking in the morning. Who are the people with special expertise? All people are expert in acquiring money and wife of other persons. Oh friend, how are you living here? I am living here like a poisonous insect in dirt.

Commentary:
[The city in which there are no persons who are learned, who donate, who have special expertise in their respective fields is not worth living in. For a city to become great, it should value and have such people. ]

Translation:
The house which is not sullied by the sand from feet of priests; where the sound of recitation of scriptures is not thundering; where swaha, swadha, and similar sounds (sounds chanted during yagya) are absent; that house is like the cremation ground.

Translation:
These six are my family members: Truth is my mother, Knowledge is my father, Virtue & duty are my brothers, compassion is my friend, peace is my wife, and forgiveness is my son.

Commentary:
[These 6 good qualities are as important as our family members. We must protect them in us as much as our family members. They help us in navigating thru life and are our permanent well wishers just like our family members.]

Translation:
A villain remains a villain even in the fourth stage of his life, that is age 76 to 100 years. The fruit of indravarun (a bitter tasting fruit) does not become sweet even when ripened well.

Commentary:
[Do not trust a known villain even if he is very old.]

Translation:
Invitation from a person to conduct a religious ceremony is a festival for the priest, finding fresh green grass is festival for the cows, husband's high morale is festival for the wife, and my festival is fierce war.

Commentary:
[This is one of the few personal statements by Chanakya in this compilation of more than 300 quotations. Chanakya lived and became successful during a very turbulent period in Indian history. In that time, old empires fell and new empires arose. He had key roles in both. Obviously wars interested and engrossed him since his expertise was in wars. ]

Translation:
The person who sees wives of others like mother, wealth of others like soil (without value), all living beings like self; he is a learned & wise man.

Translation:
Oh Rama, these qualities exist simultaneously in you only: immediate action on what is ordained by duty, sweet speech from mouth, enthusiasm in giving donations, openness with friends, humility towards guru, seriousness of mind, purity in behavior, love for good qualities, special knowledge of scriptures and sciences, good looks, and devotion for God Shiva.

Commentary:
[This stanza summarizes the qualities of God Rama, who is the model human being in Hindu religion. He is the hero of Indian epic poem Ramayana. It also suggests that no single human being can have all these qualities in oneself. All human beings have imperfections.]

Translation:
God Rama, none is comparable to you, I am unable to cite any equal. Kalpa Vriksha (tree which gives whatever asked) is wood, Sumeru (a mountain of gold) is a mountain, Chintamani (stone which turns iron into gold) is a stone, Sun (which has energy) has scorching rays, Moon (which is pleasing) increases & decreases in size, Sea (which is solemn) is salty, Kamadeva (God of Love) does not have a body, Bali (famous for donating) was a demon, Kamadhenu (a cow which gives whatever asked) is an animal.

Commentary:
[God Rama has the qualities of each of the above examples. But none of the examples has all the qualities which God Rama has. God Rama gives us whatever we wish like Kalpa Vrisksha & Kamadhenu, his wealth has no end like Sumeru, he changes every person who goes to him into a good person like Chintamani, he has energy like the sun but all are happy to see him, he gives happiness like the moon but it does not reduce, he is solemn & serious like the sea but has no negative qualities, he is handsome like the Kamadeva, he is a great donor like Bali. ]

Translation:
Learn being courteous from the sons of kings, how to speak good things from the learned, how to tell untruth from the gamblers, how to be deceitful & cunning from women.

Commentary:
[We can learn something from every person. However, once again we see that this quote has a negative attitude towards women. I wonder why.]

Translation:
[12.17 is repeated as 12.18]

Translation:
Person who spends money without thinking critically, who has no protector (including children without parents), who loves quarreling, who is distressed for & longing for women of all localities & regions; is quickly destroyed.

Translation:
By adding water drop by drop continuously, the water-pot becomes full. In the same way collect all education, virtuous actions, and wealth.

Commentary:
[Continuously collecting in small quantities, we can create a big corpus of these three in our life time.]

Chhatrapati Shivaji, Founder of Maratha Empire, 17th Century

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