Friday, June 22, 2012

Niti Shastra : Chapter Eight


1. Low class men desire wealth; middle class men both wealth and respect; but
the noble, honour only; hence honour is the noble man's true wealth.
2. The lamp eats up the darkness and therefore it produces blackened lamp;
in the same way according to the nature of our diet (sattva, rajas, or tamas)
we produce offspring in similar quality.

 

3. O wise man! Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The
water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet. The rainwater
enlivens all living beings of the earth both movable (insects, animals, humans,
etc.) and immovable (plants, trees, etc.), and then returns to the ocean where
its value is multiplied a million fold.
4. The wise who discern the essence of things have declared that the yavana
(meat eater) is equal in baseness to a thousand candalas (the lowest class),
and hence a yavana is the basest of men; indeed there is no one more base.
5. After having rubbed oil on the body, after encountering the smoke from a
funeral pyre, after sexual intercourse, and after being shaved, one remains a
chandala until he bathes.
6. Water is the medicine for indigestion; it is invigorating when the food that is
eaten is well digested; it is like nectar when drunk in the middle of a dinner;
and it is like poison when taken at the end of a meal.
7. 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.
8. A man who encounters the following three is unfortunate; the death of his
wife in his old age, the entrusting of money into the hands of relatives, and
depending upon others for food.
9. Chanting of the Vedas without making ritualistic sacrifices to the Supreme
Lord through the medium of Agni, and sacrifices not followed by bountiful gifts
are futile. Perfection can be achieved only through devotion (to the Supreme
Lord) for devotion is the basis of all success.
10. 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.
11. Anger is a personification of Yama (the demigod of death); thirst is like the
hellish river Vaitarani; knowledge is like a kamadhenu (the cow of plenty); and
contentment is like Nandanavana (the garden of Indra).
12. Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct,
for high birth; success for learning; and proper spending for wealth.
13. Beauty is spoiled by an immoral nature; noble birth by bad conduct;
learning, without being perfected; and wealth by not being properly utilised.
14. Water seeping into the earth is pure; and a devoted wife is pure; the king
who is the benefactor of his people is pure; and pure is the brahmana who is
contented.
15. Discontented brahmanas, contented kings, shy prostitutes, and immodest
housewives are ruined.
16. Of what avail is a high birth if a person is destitute of scholarship? A man
who is of low extraction is honoured even by the demigods if he is learned.
17. A learned man is honoured by the people. A learned man commands
respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honoured everywhere.
18. Those who are endowed with beauty and youth and who are born of noble
families are worthless if they have no learning. They are just like the kimshuka
blossoms ( flowers of the palasa tree) which, though beautiful, have no
fragrance.
19. The earth is encumbered with the weight of the flesh-eaters, winebibblers,
dolts (dull and stupid) and blockheads, who are beasts in the form of
men.
20. There is no enemy like a yajna (sacrifice) which consumes the kingdom
when not attended by feeding on a large scale; consumes the priest when the
chanting is not done properly; and consumes the yajaman (the responsible
person) when the gifts are not made.

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