Shloka 8
Virtue and Vice — Chanakya Niti
परैरुक्तगुणो यस्तु निर्गुणोऽपि गुणी भवेत् ।
इन्द्रोऽपि लघुतां याति स्वयं प्रख्यापितैर्गुणैः ॥
parair uktaguṇo yas tu nirguṇo'pi guṇī bhavet |
indro'pi laghutāṃ yāti svayaṃ prakhyāpitair guṇaiḥ ||
One whose virtues are spoken of by others is deemed virtuous even if he lacks them; but one who proclaims his own virtues makes even Indra seem small.
FAQs
Within nīti-śāstra literature, social standing is frequently framed as a function of public perception, courtly discourse, and the circulation of praise or blame. This verse reflects a historical milieu in which reputation (often mediated by others’ speech) could shape credibility in political and social settings, including royal courts and learned assemblies.
The verse presents guṇa (“qualities/virtues”) as socially legible attributes whose effective force depends on attribution by others. It contrasts externally affirmed praise with self-proclaimed merit, implying that public validation is treated as conferring ‘virtue-status’ more strongly than self-assertion.
The juxtaposition of परैरुक्त- (“spoken by others”) and स्वयं प्रख्यापित- (“proclaimed by oneself”) foregrounds speech-acts as instruments of social valuation. The reference to Indra functions as a conventional Sanskrit hyperbole: even a paradigmatic king of gods is rhetorically reduced (लघुताम्) when associated with self-praise, underscoring a cultural suspicion of आत्मप्रशंसा (self-eulogy) in elite discourse.