சாணக்ய நீதி - ஏகாதஶோऽத்யாயஃ

Generosity, pleasant speech, courage, and the ability to discern the right time and place are four inherent qualities that cannot be acquired through mere practice; they are born with the individual.

One who abandons his own kin to seek refuge in outsiders will eventually meet his own ruin, just as a king who abandons his own duties brings about his own downfall.

An elephant is massive, yet it is controlled by a small goad; is the goad as large as the elephant? When a lamp is lit, darkness vanishes; is the light as vast as the darkness? Mountains are shattered by the thunderbolt; are they the size of the bolt? Power resides in brilliance, not in physical size; therefore, do not judge strength by outward appearance.

In the Kali Yuga, after ten thousand years, Lord Hari will depart from the earth. Half that time later, the holy waters of the Ganges will vanish, and after another half, the local deities will also disappear.

One who is overly attached to home life lacks true knowledge; one who consumes meat lacks compassion; one who is greedy for wealth lacks truthfulness; and one who is obsessed with women lacks purity.

A wicked person does not attain the state of the virtuous, no matter how much instruction is given. Just as a neem tree, even if watered with milk and ghee, never loses its bitterness, a base person does not change their nature.

A person whose heart is filled with impurities cannot be purified by bathing in sacred waters hundreds of times, just as a vessel used for storing liquor cannot be cleaned, even if it is washed.

It is no surprise that one who cannot perceive the excellence of another's virtues will always criticize them; just as a tribal woman, failing to recognize the value of a pearl taken from an elephant’s forehead, discards it to wear a common berry.

Those who observe silence while eating every day for a full year will be honored in the celestial realms for a thousand million ages.

A student must renounce these eight things: lust, anger, greed, the obsession with delicacies, intense desire for adornment, excessive sleep, excessive indulgence, and aimless curiosity.

He who lives in the forest, sustaining himself solely on fruits and roots obtained without tilling the land, and performs his daily rituals with dedication, is known as a true Rishi (Sage) and Brahmana.

He who is content with one meal a day, remains devoted to his six prescribed duties, and approaches his wife only during the appropriate seasons, is known as a true Vipra and Dvija.

The Brahmana who is preoccupied with worldly affairs, engages in the rearing of cattle, and practices trade or agriculture, is known as a Vaishya.

The Brahmana who deals in the sale of lac, oil, indigo, saffron, honey, ghee, liquor, or meat is known as a Shudra.

The Brahmana who obstructs the work of others, is hypocritical, self-serving, deceitful, malicious, and masks his cruelty with a false softness, is known as a "Cat" (a predator in disguise).

The Brahmana who feels no remorse in destroying water reservoirs like wells and tanks, or in damaging public gardens and temples, is known as a Mlechha (outcaste).

The Brahmana who misappropriates the wealth of the temple or the Guru, covets the wives of others, and remains indifferent to the suffering of all living beings, is known as a Chandala.

The virtuous know that wealth should be given away and enjoyed, not merely hoarded. Even today, the fame of generous souls like Karna, Bali, and Vikramaditya endures. But as for the miser who hoards wealth, refusing to give or enjoy it, he leaves it behind to vanish, and even flies settle upon his feet as he lies lifeless, mocking his futile accumulation.