Shloka 13
Virtuous Company — Chanakya Niti
श्लोकेन वा तदर्धेन तदर्धार्धाक्षरेण वा ।
अबन्ध्यं दिवसं कुर्याद्दानाध्ययनकर्मभिः ॥
ślokena vā tadardhena tadardhārdhākṣareṇa vā |
abandhyaṁ divasaṁ kuryād dānādhyayanakarmabhiḥ ||
Whether by a full verse, half a verse, or even half of that, one makes the day not barren—when joined with giving, study, and rightful work.
FAQs
Within the broader Nīti (didactic) tradition, the verse reflects an elite literate milieu in which daily life was evaluated through recurring practices—textual learning (often oral/recitational), gift-giving, and socially recognized duties. Such formulations are commonly associated with Brahmanical pedagogical culture and the ethics of disciplined routine in early and medieval Sanskrit instruction.
The verse frames “fruitfulness” negatively through the term abandhya (“not barren/sterile”), associating a worthwhile day with three categories of activity: dāna (gift-giving), adhyayana (learning/recitation), and karma (recognized work or duty). The emphasis on even minimal recitation suggests a valuation of continuity in learning rather than quantity alone.
The metaphor of “barrenness” (bandhya/abandhya) applies agrarian-reproductive imagery to time, treating a day as capable of yielding ‘produce’ through disciplined acts. The graded sequence—śloka, half-śloka, and a still smaller portion (tadardhārdhākṣara)—uses rhetorical diminution to highlight that even a minimal unit of textual engagement carries symbolic weight in the tradition’s evaluative vocabulary.