Chanakya, a pioneer in political science and classic economics in India was also a great teacher and played an important role in the rise of Maurya empire. Let us look at powerful Chanakya quotes which describe the reality of life.
Who was Chanakya
Chanakya was born into a Brahman family and received his education at Taxila Also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta. He was prime minister under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (r. c. 321-c.297 BCE), founder of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE).
He was a great thinker, economist, jurist and royal adviser and philosopher and his teachings have been put together in two books- Arthashastra (“The Science of Material Gain”) and Chanakya Niti. The Arthashastra is considered Chanakya’s training manual by which he transformed Chandragupta from a citizen to a monarch. Being said that, no one can question his intelligence. He was no warrior, but he fought battles using his brain.
Chanakya Quotes
- “He who is overly attached to his family members, experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.” ~ Chanakya
- “The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.” ~ Chanakya
- “One who can’t determine his goals; cannot win.” ~ Chanakya
- “Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife is misfortune.” ~ Chanakya
- “Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher full of poison with milk on top.” ~ Chanakya
- “Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.” ~ Chanakya
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“A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first” ~ Chanakya
- “Before you start some work always ask yourselves three questions why I am doing it, what the results might be and will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.” ~ Chanakya
- “Just as a mirror reflects as a mans face his personality is reflected in his choice of friends. One must always be careful in forming friendships and acquaintances, for one’s friends, are in a way, an extension of one’s inner inclinations and tendencies.” ~ Chanakya
- “A man is great by deeds, not by birth.” ~ Chanakya
Chanakya Quotes
“God dwells not in the wooden, or stone or earthen idols. His abode is in our feeling, our thoughts. It is only through the feeling that we deem God existing in these idols” ~ Chanakya
- “Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.” ~ Chanakya
- “Knowledge is lost without putting it into practice; a man is lost due to ignorance; an army is lost without a commander; and a woman is lost without a husband.” ~ Chanakya quotes on ignorance
- “Once you start working on something don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it . People who work sincerely are the happiest.” ~ Chanakya
- “As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.” ~ Chanakya
- “God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your God. The soul is your temple.” ~ Chanakya
- “Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained, but this body when lost may never be acquired again.” ~ Chanakya
- “Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status . Such friendships will never give you any happiness” ~ Chanakya
- “Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends.” ~ Chanakya
- “Humbleness is at the root of self control.” ~ Chanakya
Chanakya Niti Quotes
- “The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearten and strenuous effort.” ~ Chanakya
- “As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.” ~ Chanakya
- “There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.” ~ Chanakya
- “Purity of speech, of the mind, of the senses, and of a compassionate heart are needed by one who desires to rise to the divine platform.” ~ Chanakya
- “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the directions of the wind. But, the goodness of a person spreads in all direction” ~ Chanakya
- “Drop the idea that attachment and love are one thing. They are enemies. It is attachment that destroys all love.” ~ https://interupload.com/
- “We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future; men of discernment deal only with the present moment.” ~ Chanakya
- “The earth is supported by the power of truth, it is the power of truth that makes the sun shine and the winds blow, indeed all things rest upon truth.” ~ Chanakya
- “Never reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.” ~ Chanakya
- “One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others can use neither knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.” ~ Chanakya
Chanakya Quotes which describe the reality of life
- “The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.” ~ Chanakya
- “Learn from the mistakes of others….. you can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves” ~ Chanakya
- “There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.” ~ Chanakya
- “The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end nor protects it from the bites of insects.” ~ Chanakya
- “There is no austerity equal to a balanced mind, and there is no happiness equal to contentment; there is no disease like covetousness, and no virtue like mercy.” ~ Chanakya
- “Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.” ~ Chanakya
- “Till the enemy’s weakness is known , he should be kept on friendly terms.” ~ Chanakya
- “Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto ant hills.” ~ Chanakya
- “The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquility is not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving here and there.” ~ Chanakya
- “Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. It’s not pride, it’s self respect.” ~ Chanakya
Quotes by Chanakya
- “It is better to die than preserve life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life only pains a moment, but disgrace every day of one’s life.” ~ Chanakya
- “We have to make people soft who are hard, to attract those who are far, if they do bad for us then even considering our aim we should always love them.” ~ Chanakya
- “There are three gems upon this earth, food, water, and pleasing words — fools consider pieces of rocks as gems.” ~ Chanakya
- “He who is prepared for the future and he who deals cleverly with any situation that may arise are both happy, but the fatalistic man who wholly depends on luck is ruined.” ~ Chanakya
- “A learned man is honored by the people. A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honored everywhere.” ~ Chanakya
Chanakya Quotes Video
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- “If you were to choose between an evil person and a snake to keep company with, opt for the snake. Because the snake will bite you only in self defense but the evil person will put a bite for any reason and any time or always.” ~ Chanakya
- “There are only two ways of dealing with the evil persons or thorns. Crush them under your boot or stay far away from them.” ~ Chanakya
- “Too much beauty got Sita kidnapped, too much ego got Ravana killed and too much charity got Raja Bali in deep trouble. So too much of anything is bad. One should refrain from ‘too much’.” ~ Chanakya
- “There is no present and future of the lazy.” ~ Chanakya
- ”You can win over a greedy by offering money, a proud person by covering before him. You can win a foolish by agreeing with him and you can win a scholar by truth only.” ~ Chanakya
Best Chanakya Quotes / Thoughts
- “A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.” ~ Chanakya
- “It is the mind of man alone that is the cause of his bondage or freedom.” ~ Chanakya
- “It is better to have only one son endowed with good qualities than a hundred devoid of them. For the moon though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, do not.” ~ Chanakya
- “As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, try to save your soul; when death is immanent what can you do?” ~ Chanakya
- “The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability” ~ Chanakya
- “Do not inhabit a country where you are not respected, cannot earn your livelihood, have no friends, or cannot acquire knowledge.” ~ Chanakya
- “He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.” ~ Chanakya
Chanakya Niti Quotes
- “A person who cannot decide his goal, simply cannot win.”~ Chanakya
- “The wealth earned by unjust means will perish for sure.” ~ Chanakya
- “A true son is obedient, a true father is loving, and a true friend is honest” ~ Chanakya
- “There are two ways to deal with thorns and wicked people. One is to crush them, and the other is to stay away from them.” ~https://interupload.com/
- “A guru who shows his disciple the path of righteousness leaves a huge debt. It cannot be paid back as none of the physical objects is so precious.” ~ Chanakya
- “No one can defeat a powerful mind.” ~ Chanakya
- “A man who has mercy and compassion for all creatures is religious for sure. He does not require any religious symbol or sign to prove his religiousness.” ~ Chanakya
- “Whoever helps you at the time of illness, misfortune, famines, and invasion is your true brother in the real sense.” ~ Chanakya
- “Money comes and goes, so is the youth. Life goes and goes the soul, nothing lasts forever. The only thing that stays firm is your faith.” ~ Chanakya
Acharya Chanakya Quotes
- “Many a bad habit is developed through over indulgence, and many a good one by chastisement.” ~ Chanakya Neeti Quotes
- “Sinfully acquired wealth may remain for ten years; in the eleventh year it disappears with even the original stock.” ~ Chanakya
- “Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.” ~ Chanakya
- “For the moon, though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, can not.” ~ Chanakya
- “Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.” ~ Chanakya
- “A person who is aware of future troubles, and fight against them with his intelligence will be always happy. And a person you remains inactive (with out working ) waiting for good days to come will destroy his own life.” ~ Chanakya
- “The enemy’s enemy is a friend.” ~ Chanakya
- “Once a man’ ambition is kindled, nothing can stop him. For a businessman, no country can be too far. For a wise man, there is no such thing as a foreign land. He is at home wherever he goes.” ~ Chanakya
- “Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet.” ~ Chankya Niti Quotes
Chanakya Quotes and Sayings
- “Don’t judge the future of a person based on his present conditions, because time has the power to change black coal to shiny diamond.” ~ Chanakya
- “Skills are called hidden treasure as they save like a mother in a foreign country.” ~ Chanakya
- “There is no disease so destructive as lust.” ~ Chanakya
- “We should always speak what would please the man of whom we expect a favour, like the hunter who sings sweetly when he desires to shoot a deer.” ~ Chanakya
- “A good wife is one who serves her husband in the morning like a mother does, loves him in the day like a sister does and pleases him like a prostitute in the night.”~ Chanakya
- “It is better to die than to preserve this life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life causes but a moment’s grief, but disgrace brings grief every day of one’s life.” ~ Chanakya
- “Do not be very upright in your dealings for you would see by going to the forest that straight trees are cut down while crooked ones are left standing.” ~ Chanakya
- “He who lives in our mind is near though he may actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart is far though he may really be nearby.” ~ Chanakya
- “The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquility is not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving here and there.” ~ Chanakya
- “It is imprudent to advise a fool, care for a woman with bad character and to be in the company of a lethargic and unhappy person.”~ Chanakya
Chanakya Neeti Quotes
- “A man shouldn’t live in a place where people are not afraid of the law, are shameless, and there is no clever man, where people lack in kindness, and where exists no creativity or art.”~ Chanakya
- “A wise person grooms his child carefully because only an educated person with high morale is given true respect in society.”~ Chanakya
- “You can guess the origin of a person through his behavior, his native place via his tone, and his food intake by looking at the size of his belly.”~ Chanakya
- “Just like a tree laden with scented flowers spreads fragrance in the whole forest. Similarly, a worthy son brings glory to the whole family, community, and the country.”~ Chanakya
- “Knowledge is like holy kamdhenu and is like a tree that bears fruit in every season. In unknown territories, it provides protection and brings you rewards.”~ Chanakya
- “Even if a gem be placed on the foot and a mirror on the head, Still, the gem will not lose its value.” ~ Chanakya
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Over to you now; I hope these inspiring quotes of wisest political strategist of all time helped you in learning some life lessons. Please share your favorite Chanakya Quotes in the comment section.If you liked this article on Chanakya quotes, please share on your favorite social media portals with your friends and relatives.
