Shloka 20
Liberation and Truth — Chanakya Niti
पश्यसि किं बाले पतितं तव किं भुवि ।
रे रे मूर्ख न जानासि गतं तारुण्यमौक्तिकम् ॥
paśyasi kiṃ bāle patitaṃ tava kiṃ bhuvi |
re re mūrkha na jānāsi gataṃ tāruṇya-mauktikam ||
Child, what do you see fallen to the ground? O fool—do you not know that the “pearl of youth” has already departed?
FAQs
In the wider nītiśāstra tradition, such verses commonly function as didactic reflections on impermanence and social perception. The imagery of youth as a valuable but transient possession aligns with broader classical Indian moral-literary themes, where the passing of time is framed as a key factor in prudence and self-assessment within society.
Impermanence is presented through the statement that youth has already ‘gone’ (gatam), with youth characterized as a ‘pearl’ (mauktika), i.e., something precious yet easily lost. The verse’s focus is descriptive of a traditional valuation of youth and the inevitability of its departure.
The compound “तारुण्यमौक्तिकम्” (tāruṇya-mauktikam) compresses a metaphor into a single expression, equating youth with a pearl to indicate rarity and value. The vocatives “बाले” and “मूर्ख,” together with the interjection “रे रे,” mark a scolding rhetorical register typical of aphoristic instruction, emphasizing a contrast between perception (paśyasi) and recognition/understanding (jānāsi).