Samudragupta, Emperor of Magadh, 4th Century
Chapter - 3 of Chanakya's Treatise on Policies for Kings & Ministers
 

Translation:
In whose family there is no fault? Who is not troubled by disease? Who does not get into bad habits? Whose happiness is continuous?

Commentary:
[Everyone has problems. So do not be discouraged or distracted by your problems and move ahead to live a full life even in their presence.]

Translation:
From the behavior one recognize the family, from speech one can recognize the country, from hospitality one can know the affection, from body one can know the food a person eats.

Commentary:
[The above easily observed behaviors help to understand a person's background. No one can hide his internal feelings for long and these can be known by observation.]

Translation:
Marry your daughter in a good family, engage sons in acquiring education & knowledge, engage friend on path of virtue & duty, and engage the enemy in bad habits & actions.

Commentary:
[This is practical advice. By following it, daughter will be happy, son will be able to earn a living, friends will be grateful, and enemy will trouble you less.]

Translation:
Between a bad person and snake, choose the snake, not the bad person. The snakes bites only once but bad person bites at every step.

Commentary:
[Snake bites when stepped on. A bad man gives pain without any reason and can not be trusted. He will bite any time.]

Translation:
Kings collect persons belonging to good family because such persons do not abandon and leave the king from beginning to the end.

Commentary:
[They remain with the king in good times as well as bad times and he continues to get the right advice from time to time.]

Translation:
Sea forms a different boundary in times of dissolution of the world, i.e. in disaster land is invaded by water. The pious human being is different from the sea. He does not change his morality even in at the time of dissolution of the world.

Commentary:
[Sea is an example of stability because even with so many rivers flowing in, it maintains its boundary. Even the sea breaks these in times of disaster A virtuous human being does not break his morality even in such times.]

Translation:
Foolish person should be avoided and left considering him to be a two-legged animal. He pierces by his words just like an unseen thorn.

Translation:
Uneducated person, even though having good looks, youth, & born in high family, is like kinshuka flower which has no fragrance and does not look gracious.

Translation:
Cuckoo's beauty is its voice, woman's beauty is her faithfulness to her husband, ugly person's beauty is his education, and holy man's beauty is his forgiveness.

Translation:
Abandon one family member for the good of the whole family, abandon the family for good of the village, abandon the village for good of the country, and abandon the earth for benefit of your soul.

Translation:
Industriousness prevents poverty, prayer prevents sin, silence prevents fight, being awake prevents fear because awake man take action prior to danger.

Translation:
Being excessively beautiful Sita was kidnapped, being excessively proud Ravana was killed, being excessively generous Bali was cheated, so excess is prohibited everywhere.

Commentary:
[The above characters & stories from Indian mythology teach us that excess of a good quality or a bad quality is harmful.]

Translation:
For the capable nothing is a burden, for the businessman nothing is distant or far away, for the learned person nothing is a foreign land, for the person who speaks sweetly no one is a stranger.

Commentary:
[Bring sweetness in your voice then everyone is your own.]

Translation:
The whole forest becomes fragrant due to a single tree bearing flowers of good variety. Similarly a good son [brings high reputation] for the whole family.

Translation:
The whole forest is burned down by a single dry tree catching fire. Similarly a bad son spoils the complete reputation of the whole family.

Translation:
A single good son who has education and is also a virtuous human being will bring great glory to the whole family, just like one moon lights up to the whole night sky.

Translation:
Why bear many sons who cause unhappiness and pain. A single outstanding son is enough to support the family under whose shadow the family can take rest.

Translation:
For first five years bring up the child with love, for next ten years bring up with scolding, when sixteenth year is reached treat the son as a friend.

Translation:
During riots, wars, grave famines, and dangerous events, and on coming in contact with criminal people - the person who runs away only remains alive.

Commentary:
[Wisdom, safety, & survival lies in running away from criminal people & such circumstances.]

Translation:
The person who is unable to follow the path of virtue & duty, beget wealth, enjoy sensual pleasures, or achieve liberation of soul during life, he was born to life only for falling into death.

Commentary:
[There are four aims in life as per Hindu morality - dharma, artha, kama, moksha. If a person is not able to move towards any of these in life then his life has been purposeless. One should lead a balanced life and make efforts to progress in all four aspects of life. The four aims of life are important principle of Hindu philosophy. It is also the foundation of successful Stress Management as well as Life Management.]

Translation:
Where fools are not given respect, where food grain is well stocked & stored, where there is no marital disharmony between husband & wife, there wealth & prosperity comes on its own.

Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan

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