Krishnadevaraya, Emperor of Vijaynagar, 16th Century
Chapter - 7 of Chanakya's Treatise on Policies for Kings & Ministers
 

Translation:
Wise person should not disclose about the destruction of his wealth, unhappiness of his heart, character of his wife, what is told by a base person, and insult done by anyone to oneself.

Commentary:
[Disclosing these can make people laugh at you or be happy about your situation or even take advantage.]

Translation:
The person who abandons bashfulness in give and take of money & grains, acquisition of education, in eating food, and in dealing with others will become happy.

Translation:
The happiness and peace which a person filled with the nectar of contentment gets is never obtained by one whose mind is running here and there behind money.

Commentary:
[There is no end to desire for money. If you want happiness and peace, learn to be contented.]

Translation:
Be contented with these three: your wife (whether beautiful or literate or otherwise), the food in your home (whether rich or poor), the wealth you have (whether more or less). Do not be contented with these three: study, prayer, and donating.

Commentary:
[If we are discontented with former three then we become perpetually dissatisfied and unhappy. Being perpetually discontented with the latter three, takes us towards becoming happier and peaceful.]

Translation:
Do not pass in between two priests, between the priest and fire, husband and wife, master and servant, ox and plough.

Commentary:
[These are common courtesies. They prevent intrusion on privacy of others as the intrusions are as inappropriate as passing between an ox and plough which can cause accident.]

Translation:
Do not touch them with your feet: fire, guru, priest, unmarried girl, aged persons, and children.

Commentary:
[Touching them with feet amounts to showing disrespect to respected or dear and is an uncultured behavior].

Translation:
Keep a distance of five arms from bullock cart, 10 arms from horse, 100 arms from elephant, leave the country itself to avoid criminals since keeping a distance from them is not safe enough.

Translation:
Elephant is beaten by the goad alone, horse by hands, horned animals like cows & buffaloes by wooden baton or hand, criminal people by keeping a sword in hand.

Commentary:
[What is required to control or correct elephant, horse, & horned animals is well known. Criminal people require stronger tools than animals. They cannot be corrected by words or hands or baton. One has to be armed to correct them.]

Translation:
Priest is happy after eating food (as they lived on alms given to them out of respect), peacock is happy with thundering of the clouds, virtuous man is happy seeing others prosper, villainous people are on seeing others in big trouble & difficulty.

Commentary:
[Strange but true, some people feel happy when others are unhappy. Their happiness is dependent on other's unhappiness.]

Translation:
Control & tackle the enemy stronger than you by falling in line with him & being on his right side, enemy who is equally strong as you by either treating courteously or strength, but criminal people by going against them.

Commentary:
[Criminal people should always be treated in a tough manner.]

Translation:
Kings with powerful arms are strong, priests possessing supreme knowledge are strong, and a woman’s strength is her looks, youth, and sweetness.

Translation:
Do not be a very simple person who can be easily used by others. See the forest land, the straight trees are cut, crooked are left standing.

Commentary:
[If you are simpleton, there will always be some people trying to use you or cheat you. They will make your life miserable and this is nature's law.]

Translation:
Men should not be like the geese. The geese live in the pond where there is lot of water and when that water dries they go elsewhere. When water comes again they come back to take shelter in the same pond.

Commentary:
[Man should not leave a person from whom he has taken shelter or protection during lean or bad times and then again return during good times. Friendship & relationships should not be broken easily.]

Translation:
For water of a pond to remain clean it is necessary for it to flow. Similarly, giving away the money earned is its protection.

Commentary:
[If money earned is not given away then it breeds undesirable characteristics & situations.]

Translation:
The human body in which the following four qualities exist is a soul from heaven which has descended to the earth: likes donating, has sweet speech, prays to gods, and keeps the priests gratified.

Translation:
The human body in which the following qualities exist are souls resident of hell: excessive anger, harsh speech, poverty, enmity with own relatives, company of base people, service of a person with low family background.

Translation:
One who goes into the lion's cave will get the pearl found in skull of elephants. One who goes into jackal's cave will get tail of calf & donkey's skin.

Commentary:
[The people we relate with have important impact on us. If we relate with & meet great men we get good knowledge. If we keep company of base & mean people, we can not hope to get anything valuable.]

Translation:
Life is a waste in absence of education just as the tail of a dog is useless since it is neither capable of hiding its private parts nor stopping the insects from biting.

Commentary:
[Explanation: Person lacking education can neither remove poverty of his family nor prevent attack from enemies.]

Translation:
Keeping speech & mind pure is cleanliness. Keeping control of sense organs is cleanliness. Kindness towards all living beings is cleanliness, doing things for the good of others is the highest cleanliness.

Translation:
Like smell in flower, oil in sesame seed, fire in wood, ghee (clarified butter) in milk, raw sugar in sugarcane, see soul in body using your discriminative ability.

Jaisalmer 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