101 Best Chanakya Quotes On Politics, Leadership, Nation & More

Chanakya Quotes are the famous utterances of the great Indian polymath, Chanakya who is also referred to as Kautilya or Vishnugupta.

We find a heck of variations regarding the narrative of this Indian Statesman, Royal Advisor, and the author of the book: Arthashastra.

Chanakya Story/Chanakya Chandragupta Story

Chanakya Story/Chanakya Chandragupta Story

Yet the thing that is undeniably true is that his Wisdom shaped an ordinary village guy, Chandragupta Maurya, into one of the finest rulers of India who founded the Mauryan Empire.

Chanakya was a philosopher, author, strategist, economist, jurist, and counselor of the Mauryan Empire’s first and second King.

He is said to be instrumental in defeating the Nanda Dynasty by being the power behind the upcoming Mauryan King.

With this much about the personality, let’s get straight to Chanakya Quotes which are still heavily searched and admired.

Enjoy!

Chanakya Quotes

Quotes From Chanakya

Quotes Of Chanakya

Chanakya Niti Quotes

Chanakya Quotes In English

1- “A man is great by deeds, not by birth.”

2- “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.”

3- “Whoever helps you at the time of illness, misfortune, famines, and invasion is your true brother in the real sense.”

4- “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.”

5- “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.”

6- “No one can defeat a powerful mind.”

7- “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.”

8- “Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.”

9- “Once you start working on something don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it . People who work sincerely are the happiest.”

10- “Do not inhabit a country where you are not respected, cannot earn your livelihood, have no friends, or cannot acquire knowledge.”

11- “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’.”

12- “The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.”

13- “Never reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.”

14- “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.”

15- “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 Quotes On Education

16- “Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.”

17- “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.”

18- “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.”

19- “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.”

20- “There is no present and future of the lazy.”

21- “Learn from the mistakes of others….. you can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves”

22- “There are only two ways of dealing with the evil persons or thorns. Crush them under your boot or stay far away from them.”

23- ”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.”

24- “The teacher could never be ordinary. Both, construction and destruction, belongs to him.”

Chanakya Quotes On Politics

25- “No one should ever be disrespected.”

26- “A permanent relationship is dependent on particular purpose (or wealth).”

27- “Good behavior wins even an enemy.”

28- “One who is to be pardoned should not be harassed.”

29- “Even a captured enemy is not to be trusted.”

30- “A friend, even if he be the enemy’s son , should be protected.”

31- “Wrongful doings of One’s people should be stopped.”

32- “An enemy should be struck at his weak point.” 

33- “The disgrace of one’s people brings sorrow to the Nobel minded.”

34- “The forest fire burns even tree like sandalwood.” 

35- “Knower of the means makes impossible tasks also possible.”

Chanakya Quotes On Leadership

36- “A leader should be as friendly as a father, as stern as a teacher, and as compassionate as a mother.”

37- “A leader who does not hesitate to take difficult decisions is destined to achieve great success.”

38- “A leader who lacks vision is destined to lead his people down the wrong path.”

39- “A learned man is honored by the people. A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honored everywhere.”

40- “The best leader is the one who inspires others to achieve greatness.”

41- “Leadership is about taking responsibility for not only the results, but also the people who achieved them.”

42- “A leader must have the courage to face challenges head-on.”

43- “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.”

44- “A leader must be able to accept criticism and learn from it.”

45- “As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.”

46- “Till the enemy’s weakness is known , he should be kept on friendly terms.”

47- “A true leader does not follow the crowd but charts his own course.”

Chanakya Quotes On Wife

48- “When one is consumed by the sorrows of life, three things give him relief: offspring, a wife, and the company of the Lord’s devotees.”

49- “Learning is a friend on the journey; a wife in the house; medicine in sickness; and religious merit is the only friend after death.”

50- “She is a true wife who is clean (suci), expert, chaste, pleasing to the husband, and truthful.”

51- “Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, comes of Her own accord where fools are not respected, grain is well stored up, and the husband and wife do not quarrel.”

52- “Even a pandit comes to grief by giving instruction to a foolish disciple, by maintaining a wicked wife, and by excessive familiarity with the miserable.”

53- “Union in privacy (with one’s wife); boldness; storing away useful items; watchfulness; and not easily trusting others; these five things are to be learned from a crow.”

54- “He who loses his money is forsaken by his friends, his wife, his servants and his relations; yet when he regains his riches those who have forsaken him come back to him. Hence wealth is certainly the best of relations.”

55- “A father who is a chronic debtor, an adulterous mother, a beautiful wife, and an unlearned son are enemies in one’s own home.”

56- “That man who is without religion and mercy should be rejected. A guru without spiritual knowledge should be rejected. The wife with an offensive face should be given up, and so should relatives who are without affection.” 

57- “He who look at a woman who is not his wife as a mother; wealth that is not his as dust and all the men as himself… is a happy man. He, who sees all these things under a different light, is a blind.”

Chanakya Quotes In English For Students

58- “One who can’t determine his goals; cannot win.”

59- “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.”

60- “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.”

61- “He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious whose vision impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.”

62- “Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained, but this body when lost may never be acquired again.”

63- “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.”

64- “Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto ant hills.”

Quotes From Chanakya Arthashastra

65- “mentioned only in the two lists and his duties are not spelt out anywhere. It is possible that this designation is a retention from earlier texts and, in the Arthashastra, is used only to represent a higher grade for salary and.”

66- “Dharma is law in its widest sense—spiritual, moral, ethical and temporal. Every individual, whether the ruler or the ruled, is governed by his or her own dharma. To the extent that society respected dharma, society protected itself; to the extent society offended it, society undermined.”

67- “Every neighbouring state is an enemy and the enemy’s enemy is a friend.”

68- “Not be treated as the main one at a given time; only one of the neighbours is the main enemy. The other difference is that, in {7.6.1}, the enemy is to be outmanoeuvred but in {7.7.1} a neighbour’s help is to be accepted.”

69- “Just as it is impossible to know when a swimming fish is drinking water, so it is impossible to find out when a government servant is stealing money.”

70- “Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.”

71- “The wealth earned by unjust means will perish for sure.”

72- “Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status . Such friendships will never give you any happiness.”

Chanakya Wisdom Quotes

73- “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.”

74- “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.”

75- “There are three gems upon this earth, food, water, and pleasing words — fools consider pieces of rocks as gems.”

76- “The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability”

77- “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.”

78- “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.”

79- “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.”

80- “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 Quotes On Nation

81- “As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.”

82- “People’s Fury is above all the furies.”

Good Morning Chanakya Quotes In English

83- “It is the mind of man alone that is the cause of his bondage or freedom.”

84- “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.”

85- “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?”

86- “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.”

87- “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.”

88- “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the directions of the wind. But, the goodness of a person spreads in all direction.”

Chanakya Niti Quotes For Students

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

90- “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.”

91- “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.”

92- “Drop the idea that attachment and love are one thing. They are enemies. It is attachment that destroys all love.”

93- “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 Quotes On Relationship

94- “A true son is obedient, a true father is loving, and a true friend is honest.”

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

96- “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.”

97- “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.”

98- “There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.”

99- “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.”

Self Respect Chanakya Quotes

100- “Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. It’s not pride, it’s self respect.”

101- “Humbleness is at the root of self control.”

Conclusion

We sincerely hope that you must have benefitted from our article on Chanakya Quotes.

Chanakya Niti Quotes are one of the most famous Quotes From Chanakya.

The individual has given us a great deal of knowledge across varying fields to uplift our spiritual and moral selves.

With these words, we conclude our piece.

Mention your favorite Quotes Of Chanakya in the comment box and share them among your family and friends.

Be a catalyst in the success of your loved ones because they count, and so do you.

Spread the word and help the world.

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