Chapter 1: Adhyaya 1 — Foundational Aphorisms on Prudence, Social Relations, and Security

Verse 1

प्रणम्य शिरसा विष्णुं त्रैलोक्याधिपतिं प्रभुम् । नानाशास्त्रोद्धृतं वक्ष्ये राजनीतिसमुच्चयम् ॥

Having bowed my head to Viṣṇu, lord and sovereign of the three worlds, I shall set forth a compendium of rāja-nīti (statecraft), drawn from various śāstras.

Verse 2

अधीत्येदं यथाशास्त्रं नरो जानाति सत्तमः । धर्मोपदेशविख्यातं कार्याकार्यं शुभाशुभम् ॥

Whoever studies this work in accordance with śāstra comes to know, through dharma-based instruction, what should and should not be done, and what is auspicious and inauspicious.

Verse 3

तदहं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि लोकानां हितकाम्यया । येन विज्ञातमात्रेण सर्वज्ञात्वं प्रपद्यते ॥

For the welfare of people I shall expound this; by merely understanding it, one is said to attain comprehension of all relevant knowledge.

Verse 4

मूर्खशिष्योपदेशेन दुष्टस्त्रीभरणेन च । दुःखितैः सम्प्रयोगेण पण्डितोऽप्यवसीदति ॥

Even a learned person may be brought low by teaching a foolish student, supporting a wicked wife, and associating with the distressed.

Verse 5

दुष्टा भार्या शठं मित्रं भृत्यश्चोत्तरदायकः । ससर्पे च गृहे वासो मृत्युरेव न संशयः ॥

A wicked wife, a deceitful friend, a back-talking servant, and living in a house with a snake—this is death itself, without doubt.

Verse 6

आपदर्थे धनं रक्षेद्दारान् रक्षेद्धनैरपि । आत्मानं सततं रक्षेद्दारैरपि धनैरपि ॥

In calamity, guard wealth for emergencies; to protect one’s family, spend wealth if needed; but always protect one’s own life, even at the cost of family and wealth.

Verse 7

आपदर्थे धनं रक्षेच्छ्रीमतां कुत आपदः । कदाचिच्चलते लक्ष्मीः सञ्चितोऽपि विनश्यति ॥

Guard wealth for times of calamity; even the prosperous are not free from misfortune. Fortune (Lakṣmī) sometimes wavers, and even what is amassed can perish.

Verse 8

यस्मिन्देशे न सम्मानो न वृत्तिर्न च बान्धवाः । न च विद्यागमोऽप्यस्ति वासं तत्र न कारयेत् ॥

In a land with no honor, no livelihood, no relatives, and no access to learning, one should not make one’s home.

Verse 9

धनिकः श्रोत्रियो राजा नदी वैद्यस्तु पञ्चमः । पञ्च यत्र न विद्यन्ते न तत्र दिवसं वसेत् ॥

A place is fit to live in when five are present: a wealthy patron, a learned scholar, a king (ruler), a river, and a physician. Where these five are absent, do not stay even a day.

Verse 10

लोकयात्रा भयं लज्जा दाक्षिण्यं त्यागशीलता । पञ्च यत्र न विद्यन्ते न कुर्यात्तत्र संस्थितिम् ॥

Social order, fear as restraint, modesty, kindness, and a spirit of giving and renunciation—where these five are absent, do not settle there.

Verse 11

जानीयात्प्रेषणे भृत्यान्बान्धवान् व्यसनागमे । मित्रं चापत्तिकालेषु भार्यां च विभवक्षये ॥

A servant is known when sent on an errand, kinsmen when calamity arrives, a friend in distress, and a wife when prosperity declines.

Verse 12

आतुरे व्यसने प्राप्ते दुर्भिक्षे शत्रुसङ्कटे । राजद्वारे श्मशाने च यस्तिष्ठति स बान्धवः ॥

He who stays by you in illness, when calamity strikes, in famine, amid enemy danger, at the king’s gate (court), and at the cremation ground—he is a true kinsman.

Verse 13

यो ध्रुवाणि परित्यज्य अध्रुवं परिषेवते । ध्रुवाणि तस्य नश्यन्ति चाध्रुवं नष्टमेव हि ॥

Whoever abandons the stable and pursues the unstable loses the stable; and the unstable is, in truth, already lost.

Verse 14

वरयेत्कुलजां प्राज्ञो विरूपामपि कन्यकाम् । रूपशीलां न नीचस्य विवाहः सदृशे कुले ॥

A wise man should choose a maiden of good family even if she is not beautiful; even a beautiful, well-conducted woman is not a fit match for a low man—marriage suits comparable families.

Verse 15

नदीनां शस्त्रपाणीनांनखीनां श‍ृङ्गिणां तथा । विश्वासो नैव कर्तव्यः स्त्रीषु राजकुलेषु च ॥

Do not place trust in rivers, in those who bear weapons, in creatures with claws, in those with horns; likewise, do not trust women or royal households.

Verse 16

विषादप्यमृतं ग्राह्यममेध्यादपि काञ्चनम् । अमित्रादपि सद्वृत्तं बालादपि सुभाषितम् ॥

The verse describes a traditional maxim that what is beneficial may be accepted even from undesirable sources: nectar even from poison, gold even from impurity, good conduct even from an enemy, and well-spoken words even from a child.

Verse 17

स्त्रीणां द्विगुण आहारो लज्जा चापि चतुर्गुणा । साहसं षड्गुणं चैव कामश्चाष्टगुणः स्मृतः ॥

The text describes women as having food intake considered ‘twofold’, modesty ‘fourfold’, daring ‘sixfold’, and desire ‘eightfold’, according to the remembered tradition.