Shloka 3
Dharma and Wealth — Chanakya Niti
दाक्षिण्यं स्वजने दया परजने शाठ्यं सदा दुर्जने
प्रीतिः साधुजने स्मयः खलजने विद्वज्जने चार्जवम् ।
शौर्यं शत्रुजने क्षमा गुरुजने नारीजने धूर्तता
इत्थं ये पुरुषा कलासु कुशलास्तेष्वेव लोकस्थितिः ॥
dākṣiṇyaṃ svajane dayā parajane śāṭhyaṃ sadā durjane
prītiḥ sādhujane smayaḥ khalajane vidvajjane cārjavam |
śauryaṃ śatrujane kṣamā gurujane nārījane dhūrtatā
itthaṃ ye puruṣā kalāsu kuśalās teṣv eva lokasthitiḥ ||
Be gracious to your own, compassionate to others, and ever crafty with the wicked; be affectionate to the virtuous, contemptuous to the base, and straightforward with the learned; show valor to enemies, forbearance to teachers, and shrewdness in dealing with women. On men skilled in these arts of conduct rests the order of the world.
FAQs
Within the Chanakya Niti/Nītiśāstra milieu, such verses function as compact, mnemonic statements about social interaction and political prudence. The categories (kin, outsiders, virtuous, wicked, learned, enemies, teachers) reflect a premodern social and courtly environment where reputation, alliance, and risk management were treated as central to maintaining order.
The verse frames conduct as contingent on the social identity of the counterpart: benevolence is associated with kin and virtuous persons, while guardedness or strategic behavior is associated with those labeled wicked or hostile. The formulation presents these as “arts” (kalāḥ) whose mastery is portrayed as supporting social stability (lokasthiti).
The verse is structured as a catalog of paired terms in a rhythmic sequence, using repeated locative compounds (e.g., svajane, durjane, vidvajjane) to mark social targets. The culminating clause “teṣv eva lokasthitiḥ” functions as an evaluative summary, linking individual skill (kuśalatā in kalāḥ) to the maintenance of “loka,” a term that can denote society, the world, or public order in Sanskrit political-ethical diction.