Shloka 17
Human Nature — Chanakya Niti
यथा खात्वा खनित्रेण भूतले वारि विन्दति ।
तथा गुरुगतां विद्यां शुश्रूषुरधिगच्छति ॥
yathā khātvā khanitreṇa bhūtale vāri vindati |
tathā gurugatāṃ vidyāṃ śuśrūṣur adhigacchati ||
As water is found in the earth by digging with a spade, so the diligent disciple, by service and attentive listening, attains the knowledge that rests with the teacher.
FAQs
In the broader Sanskrit nīti and didactic tradition, learning is frequently framed as something accessed through proximity to a teacher and disciplined practice. The verse reflects a social world in which instruction often occurred through oral transmission, apprenticeship-like attendance, and sustained listening within a guru-centered setting.
The verse characterizes knowledge (vidyā) as something 'located with the teacher' (gurugatā) and portrays acquisition as the result of sustained effort and attentive service/listening (śuśrūṣā), rather than as an instantaneous transfer.
The simile pairs physical excavation (khātvā…khanitreṇa) with intellectual attainment (adhigacchati). Terms like gurugatā emphasize the locus of knowledge in an authoritative human repository, while śuśrūṣuḥ foregrounds attentive hearing and service as culturally valorized modes of learning in classical Sanskrit discourse.