Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikh Emperor, 19th Century
Chapter - 17 of Chanakya's Treatise on Policies for Kings & Ministers
 

Translation:
The person who gets knowledge by reading books and not in proximity of a guru, is not respected in an assembly just as a woman who has become pregnant from illegal liaison is not respected.

Commentary:
[This verse underlines the great importance of teacher in ancient times. Living in company of the Guru ensured that the disciple developed proper value system and lifestyle in addition to obtaining the knowledge component of education. These were important since knowledge was retained and passed on orally as there were no written textbooks or libraries. The disciple had to be fit for passing on the knowledge to the next generation. Guru's proximity was also required for proper understanding of knowledge component itself.]

Translation:
Be good to the person who does good, return violence to a violent person; deal with wickedness with wicked person. There is nothing wrong in this.

Commentary:
[A good deed should be returned with like. Violent persons must be dealt with violence or else it is construed that you are weak and lack courage. The wicked person must be dealt with wickedness since anything else would be foolishness. There is nothing wrong in this.]

Translation:
That which is far, which is difficult to get, which is located at a great distance; all these can be obtained or achieved by tapa, i.e. disciplined effort. Disciplined effort is the strongest force, it cannot be stopped.

Commentary:
[This verse applies to achieving our objectives as well as to obtaining material things. An objective may be far because it will take a very long time or a Herculean effort to achieve it. A thing may be very difficult to obtain since it is located physically at a great distance or inaccessible place. All these can be obtained by disciplined effort or focused hard work.]

Translation:
What has the greedy person to do with bad qualities in others? What has the treacherous informer to do with sin? What has person with truth to do with religious austerities? What has person with pure heart to do with holy places? What has a person with generosity to do with good qualities? What has a person with glory to do with cosmetics & make-up? What has person having good education got to do with money? What has person who has got ill fame got to do with death?

Commentary:
[A greedy person wants money & will collaborate even a thief for it. An informer will disclose secrets told i good faith even to enemies not considering it a sin. Truth is the highest religious observance so a person following it does not need any other. People visit holy places to purify their heart but for the person with pure heart such places are of no use. Generosity is highest of all qualities & person having it need not be concerned with other qualities. We apply makeup to look good & be recognized , but for a person who has earned renown it does not matter. Knowledge & education are the biggest wealth so a person having these has no use for great wealth? Ill fame is worse than death. What has the person who lost his reputation, to do with death?]

Translation:
The conch goes begging though its father, the sea is a mine of gems; its sister, Lakshmi is the Goddess of Wealth. Can there be a bigger irony?

Commentary:
[There can be great ironies in this world and one need not be surprised. Fate can play any game on anyone. Conch was used while begging by priests in ancient times. He goes from door to door and blows the conch to announce that he is at the door so that the housewife can come and give something. Conch is made inside the sea, thus sea is called its father. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth is the daughter of sea in Hindu mythology, thus she is called its sister.]

Translation:
The weak becomes a holy man and the poor becomes a celibate. The sick becomes a devotee of god, and old lady becomes faithful to husband.

Commentary:
[In real life helplessness, having no other options, can be the reason for going into a good profession or adopting a good quality. This was true in ancient times also. The weak person cannot do any hard labor so he becomes an ascetic. The poor man cannot afford to get or feed a wife, so he becomes celibate. The sick person is afraid of death, so he becomes a devotee of god. The old woman does not get any suitors, so she remains faithful to her husband.]

Translation:
There is no donation equal to giving food grains & water, there is no date like the twelfth day of the lunar fortnight, there is no mantra (sacred verse) above the Gayatri mantra (a sacred verse dedicated to Goddess Gayatri), and there is no God higher than the mother.

Commentary:
[Donate food grains & water to those who need these. In chanting, recite the Gayatri Mantra. Mother is higher than even God, so take care of her. ]

Translation:
Snake's teeth have poison, fly's head has poison, scorpion's tail has poison, and all organs of a criminal person have poison.

Commentary:
[One should always stay away from criminal people.]

Translation:
The woman who takes vows or fasts without permission of her husband, reduces the life of her husband and she goes to hell.

Commentary:
[In ancient days, there was too great an emphasis on the wife following her husband. In modern times, say last hundred years, more and more women are educated. They often venture out to work and are equal partners in earning. Otherwise also they play an important role as home makers by bringing up children and adding economic value thru cooking etc. Domestic work is also value added work like office work, factory work, or business work though economists are unable to quantify it. Women have more education today and this ancient dictum is not acceptable today.]

Translation:
A woman is not purified by her giving donations, or by doing even hundreds of fasts, or by worshipping at holy places; as by drinking the water obtained by washing the feet of her husband.

Commentary:
[Women were generally not educated in ancient days. The husband was the only guru, in other words, her teacher. Hence the emphasis on total subordination. In modern times, say last hundred years, more and more women are educated and this ancient dictum is not acceptable today.]

Translation:
Hands are beautified by giving donations, not by wearing bracelet; body is cleansed by bathing, not by applying chandan, the fragrant paste made from sandal wood; satiation comes from respect received in society, not from food; freedom from cycle of re-birth is gained by true knowledge, not by cosmetics decoration.

Commentary:
[Freedom from cycle of re-birth is not gained by cosmetic make-up which is put by holy men - i.e. growing long hair, rubbing ash on body etc. It is gained thru true knowledge]

Translation:
Even Indra's (King of Gods) grace would be reduced by going to the home of barber to get hair-cut & shave; applying fragrant smell to a stone, seeing own looks in water.

Commentary:
[Persons in high position like a king, his ministers, wealthy person should live & act according to what is expected from people in their position; otherwise respect for him will come down in the minds of other people. For example, the barber visits the house of people in high position for cutting hair and one should not go to barber's house for the purpose. Fragrant smell is applied to statue of God which is consecrated as prescribed in scriptures and one should not apply it to any other statue. One should see own face in a mirror rather than go to the pond and see the reflection in water.]

Translation:
(Repeat of 17-12)

Translation:
Having tundi quickly destroys brain power, eating sweet-flag quickly restores brain power. Sexual intercourse with woman quickly destroys energy, drinking milk quickly gives energy.

Commentary:
[Positive foods: Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) is a plant with scented leaves and its rhizome has medicinal & psychotropic properties. Milk was considered as having high nutritional value. Negative foods: Tundi is not clearly identifiable.]

Translation:
In a home if there is a beautiful and charming wife, if there is wealth, if there is son having courtesy & good qualities, if grandson is also there; then the happiness of heaven can not exceed this.

Translation:
Food, sleep, fear, and sexual intercourse are found alike in human beings as well as animals. Knowledge and learning are unique to human beings. So a human being without knowledge and learning is like an animal.

Commentary:
[Knowledge & learning differentiate human beings from animals. The Sanskrit word used in this verse is gyan, which can also mean wisdom, knowledge of right from wrong, true knowledge leading to liberation of soul.]

Translation:
The elephant, whose mind is blinded by pride, shakes its ears and drives away the big black bees which come near it attracted by sweet oil in elephant's ear. By driving away, the beauty of elephant's neck is reduced, the big black bees go away to stay in forest of lotuses.

Commentary:
[If Kings, blinded by their pride, do not respect the people of knowledge & learning, then the latter will find other wealthy people to support them. In this the king loses glory, not the knowledgeable & learned people.]

Translation:
These eight do not understand the pain of others: king, prostitute, Yamaraj (god who orders death of people when their time has come), fire, thief, child, beggar, and the person known as troublemaker in the village.

Commentary:
[King has never experienced pain & business of state makes him insensitive. Prostitute's aim is to take all money a man has - she encourages him & is not concerned that a home is destroyed, or he will die from excess drinking, or his wife may commit suicide. Yamaraj, the God of Death, does his work without concern that the near and dear of the dead person will cry. Fires burns anyone who comes in contact even if the person dies. Thief's profession is to cause loss to others and he is not concerned with trauma the victim undergoes. Child cries for fulfillment of its desires irrespective of parent's capacity or situation. Beggar asks for alms irrespective of the person's means. The troublemaker derives amusement from troubling others.]

Translation:
Oh Girl, why are you looking down, has something of yours fallen on the earth? Oh Oh Fool, don't you know that the pearl of my youth has fallen?

Translation:
(Repeat of 17-10)

Translation:
Oh Tree of Ketaki, you are the home of serpents, and without fruits, and with thorns, and curved, and grow in swamp, and difficult to reach; still due to your fragrance you are dear to all. Certainly one single quality covers up all faults.

Commentary:
[Ketaki is a tree which yields fragrant flowers from which scent is extracted. It is the screw pine in English, kevra in Hindi, Pandanus odoratissimus in Botany.]

Translation:
Youth, wealth, authority, lack of prudence; any one of these four is sufficient to destroy a person. What will happen where all four are together?

Commentary:
[If a person is young, has money and authority, but lacks wisdom then he will be quickly destroyed. So it is essential that people possessing money and authority to have prudence.]

Translation:
Person in whose heart resides the feeling of doing good for others, his problems & difficulties are destroyed and he gets wealth at each and every step.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikh Emperor, 19th 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