Shloka 4
Practical Maxims — Chanakya Niti
कुचैलिनं दन्तमलोपधारिणं
बह्वाशिनं निष्ठुरभाषिणं च ।
सूर्योदये चास्तमिते शयानं
विमुञ्चति श्रीर्यदि चक्रपाणिः ॥
kucailinaṃ dantamalopadhāriṇaṃ
bahvāśinaṃ niṣṭhurabhāṣiṇaṃ ca |
sūryodaye cāstamite śayānaṃ
vimuñcati śrīr yadi cakrapāṇiḥ ||
Prosperity (Śrī), even if upheld by Viṣṇu the Cakrapāṇi, abandons one who wears filthy clothes, keeps dental grime, eats excessively, speaks harshly, and lies down at sunrise and at sunset.
FAQs
In the nīti (didactic) tradition, prosperity is frequently linked to visible markers of discipline—cleanliness, moderation in consumption, controlled speech, and regulated daily routine. Such prescriptions reflect household and courtly ideals in premodern South Asia, where social reputation and perceived self-mastery were understood as prerequisites for patronage, employment, and stable livelihood.
The verse frames loss of prosperity as associated with habitual neglect: unclean appearance (dirty clothing, dental filth), excess (overeating), social friction (harsh speech), and disregard for normative daily rhythms (sleeping at sunrise and sunset). The wording presents these as behavioral correlates of decline rather than as a metaphysical doctrine requiring assent.
Śrī functions both as a common noun (“prosperity”) and as a personified power that can ‘leave’ (vimuñcati), a standard poetic device in Sanskrit moral literature. The phrase ‘even if Cakrapāṇi (Viṣṇu)’ underscores the point through hyperbole: divine favor is rhetorically invoked to emphasize that prosperity is depicted as contingent on conduct and discipline.