94 Powerful Chanakya Quotes from Chanakya Niti

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, also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, was an ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He was born into a Brahman family and received his education at Taxila. He was prime minister under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (r. c. 321-c.297 BCE), founder of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE).

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’s quotes are celebrated for their profound wisdom, offering guidance on various aspects of life, governance, and human behavior. In this article, we will delve into some of the most insightful Chanakya quotes that continue to inspire and enlighten.

Chanakya Quotes

1. “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

2. “The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.” ~ Chanakya

3. “One who can’t determine his goals; cannot win.” ~ Chanakya

4. “Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife is misfortune.” ~ Chanakya

5. “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

6. “Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.” ~ Chanakya

7. “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

8. “A man is great by deeds, not by birth.” ~ Chanakya

9. “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.” ~ Chanakya
10. “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

11. “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
12. “Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.” ~ Chanakya
13. “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
14. “Once you start a working on something don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it . People who work sincerely are the happiest.” ~ Chanakya
15. “As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.” ~ Chanakya
16. “God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your God. The soul is your temple.” ~ Chanakya
17. “Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained, but this body when lost may never be acquired again.” ~ Chanakya
18. “Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status . Such friendships will never give you any happiness.” ~ Chanakya
19. “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
20. “Humbleness is at the root of self control.” ~ Chanakya

Chanakya Wisdom Words

21. “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
22. “As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.” ~ Chanakya
23. “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
24.  “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
25. “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the directions of the wind. But, the goodness of a person spreads in all direction.” ~ Chanakya

26. “Drop the idea that attachment and love are one thing. They are enemies. It is attachment that destroys all love.” ~ Chanakya
27. “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
28. “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
29. “Never reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.” ~ Chanakya
30. “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
31. “The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.” ~ Chanakya
32. “Learn from the mistakes of others… you can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves” ~ Chanakya
33. “There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.”  ~ Chanakya
34. “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
35. “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
36. “Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.” ~ Chanakya
37. “Till the enemy’s weakness is known , he should be kept on friendly terms.” ~ Chanakya
38. “Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto ant hills.” ~ Chanakya
39. “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
40. “Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. It’s not pride, it’s self respect.” ~ Chanakya

Chanakya Niti Quotes

41. “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
42. “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
43. “There are three gems upon this earth, food, water, and pleasing words — fools consider pieces of rocks as gems.” ~ Chanakya
44. “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
45. “A learned man is honored by the people. A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honored everywhere.” ~ Chanakya
46. “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
47. “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
48. “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
49. “There is no present and future of the lazy.” ~ Chanakya
50. “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
51. “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
52. “It is the mind of man alone that is the cause of his bondage or freedom.” ~ Chanakya
53. “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
54. “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
55. “The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability.” ~ Chanakya
56. “Do not inhabit a country where you are not respected, cannot earn your livelihood, have no friends, or cannot acquire knowledge.” ~ Chanakya
57. “He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.” ~ Chanakya
58. “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
59. “Whoever helps you at the time of illness, misfortune, famines, and invasion is your true brother in the real sense.” ~ Chanakya
60. “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
61. “The wealth earned by unjust means will perish for sure.” ~ Chanakya
62. “A true son is obedient, a true father is loving, and a true friend is honest” ~ Chanakya
63. “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.” ~ Chanakya
64. “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
65. “No one can defeat a powerful mind.” ~ Chanakya
66. “Many a bad habit is developed through over indulgence, and many a good one by chastisement.” ~ Chanakya Neeti Quotes
67. “Sinfully acquired wealth may remain for ten years; in the eleventh year it disappears with even the original stock.” ~ Chanakya
68. “Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.” ~ Chanakya
69. “For the moon, though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, can not.” ~ Chanakya
70. “If one has a good disposition, what other virtue is needed? If a man has fame, what is the value of other ornamentation?” ~ Chanakya

Acharya Chanakya Quotes

71. “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
72. “Skills are called hidden treasure as they save like a mother in a foreign country.” ~ Chanakya
73. “There is no disease so destructive as lust.” ~ Chanakya
74. “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
75. “Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.” ~ Chanakya

76. “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
77. “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
78. “The enemy’s enemy is a friend.” ~ Chanakya
79. “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
80. “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
81. “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
82. “A moment of patience in a moment of anger can help us avoid a thousand moments of sorrow.” ~ Chanakya
83. “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
84. “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
85. “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
86. “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
87. “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
88. “He shall despise none, but hear the opinions of all. A wise man shall make use of even a child’s sensible utterance.” ~ Chanakya
89. “The king shall lose no time when the opportunity waited for arrives.” ~ Chanakya
90. “Time perfects men as well as destroys them.” ~ Chanakya
91. “We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valour, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality for the world is full of the rarest gems.” ~ Chanakya
92. “Just as a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him.” ~ Chanakya
93. “He who has wealth has friends and relations; he alone survives and is respected as a man.” ~ Chanakya
94. “The arrow shot by the archer may or may not kill a single person. But stratagems devised by wise men can kill even babes in the womb.” ~ Kautilya

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.

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