Chanakya Neeti
1: Charity puts an end to poverty; righteous conduct to misery; discretion to ignorance; and scrutiny to fear.
2: There is no disease (so destructive) as lust; no enemy like infatuation; no fire like wrath; and no happiness like spiritual knowledge.
3: 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.
4: Heaven is but a straw to him who knows spiritual life (Krsna consciousness); so is life to a valiant man; a woman to him who has subdued his senses; and the universe to him who is without attachment for the world.
5: Learning is a friend on the journey; a wife in the house; medicine in sickness; and religious merit is the only friend after death.
6: Rain which falls upon the sea is useless; so is food for one who is satiated; in vain is a gift for one who is wealthy; and a burning lamp during the daytime is useless.
7: There is no water like rainwater; no strength like one’s own; no light like that of the eyes; and no wealth more dear than food grain.
8: The poor wish for wealth; animals for the faculty of speech; men wish for heaven; and godly persons for liberation.
9: 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.
10: The Goddess of wealth is unsteady (chanchala), and so is the life breath. The duration of life is uncertain, and the place of habitation is uncertain; but in all this inconsistent world religious merit alone is immovable.
11: Among men the barber is cunning; among birds the crow; among beasts the jackal; and among women, the malin (flower girl).
12: These five are your fathers; he who gave you birth, girdled you with sacred thread, teaches you, provides you with food, and protects you from fearful situations.
13: By means of hearing one understands dharma, malignity vanishes, knowledge is acquired, and liberation from material bondage is gained.
14: Among birds the crow is vile; among beasts the dog; the ascetic whose sins is abominable, but he who blasphemes others is the worst chandala.
15: Brass is polished by ashes; copper is cleaned by tamarind; a woman, by her menses; and a river by its flow.
16: The king, the brahmana, and the ascetic yogi who go abroad are respected; but the woman who wanders is utterly ruined.
17: He who has wealth has friends. He who is wealthy has relatives. The rich one alone is called a man, and the affluent alone are respected as pandits.
18: As is the desire of Providence, so functions one’s intellect; one’s activities are also controlled by Providence; and by the will of Providence one is surrounded by helpers.
19: Time perfects all living beings as well as kills them; it alone is awake when all others are asleep. Time is insurmountable.
20: Those born blind cannot see; similarly blind are those in the grip of lust. Proud men have no perception of evil; and those bent on acquiring riches see no sin in their actions.