Shloka 3
Human Nature — Chanakya Niti
स्वभावेन हि तुष्यन्ति देवाः सत्पुरुषाः पिता ।
ज्ञातयः स्नानपानाभ्यां वाक्यदानेन पण्डिताः ॥
svabhāvena hi tuṣyanti devāḥ satpuruṣāḥ pitā |
ñātayaḥ snānapānābhyāṁ vākyadānena paṇḍitāḥ ||
Deities, the virtuous, and one’s father are pleased by one’s natural disposition; kinsmen by bathing and drink; the learned by the gift of words—speech and discourse.
FAQs
In the broader Nītiśāstra milieu, such verses function as compact social observations that map relationships (divine, familial, kinship, and scholarly) to culturally recognized forms of respect and reciprocity. The categories reflect an early/classical Indian social world in which ritual purity (snāna), hospitality/refreshment (pāna), and learned exchange (vākya) were salient markers of social bonding and status.
The verse presents “satisfaction” (tuṣṭi/tuṣyanti) as differentiated by social role: some figures are associated with an intrinsic or habitual disposition (svabhāva), while others are associated with external acts—ritual/hygienic refreshment for relatives and verbal offering for scholars. The framing is descriptive of a conventional typology rather than an explicit ethical argument.
The construction sets up parallel groups linked by instrumental case expressions (svabhāvena, snāna-pānābhyām, vākyadānena), creating an aphoristic taxonomy. “Vākyadāna” (gift of words) can be read philologically as encompassing praise, respectful address, or learned conversation—speech as a social ‘offering’ analogous to material hospitality—while “svabhāva” emphasizes a notion of innate or customary temperament as a basis for contentment.