Chanakya Niti — Education and Conduct, Shloka 14
वरयेत्कुलजां प्राज्ञो विरूपामपि कन्यकाम् ।
रूपशीलां न नीचस्य विवाहः सदृशे कुले ॥
varayet kulajāṃ prājño virūpām api kanyakām |
rūpaśīlāṃ na nīcasya vivāhaḥ sadṛśe kule ||
Der Weise wählt ein Mädchen aus gutem Geschlecht, auch wenn es nicht schön ist; eine schöne und tugendhafte Frau passt nicht zu einem Niedrigen—Ehe ziemt sich zwischen vergleichbaren Familien.
FAQs
The verse reflects pre-modern South Asian norms in which marriage was often conceptualized as an alliance between lineages (kula) and social strata. Such aphorisms in Nīti literature commonly prioritize family standing and perceived social compatibility, mirroring hierarchical assumptions present in many classical sources.
Compatibility is framed primarily through kula (lineage/family standing) and an implied notion of equal rank (sadṛśa). The verse presents beauty and personal conduct (rūpa-śīla) as secondary to lineage when evaluating a socially “fitting” marriage match.
The contrast between kulajā (lineage-based valuation) and rūpaśīlā (appearance and conduct) structures the aphorism as a hierarchy of criteria. The term nīca functions as a status marker rather than a psychological description, indicating how Sanskrit ethical-maxim literature often encodes social rank as a key analytic category.