Shloka 20
Qualities of the Wise — Chanakya Niti
धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणां यस्यैकोऽपि न विद्यते ।
अजागलस्तनस्येव तस्य जन्म निरर्थकम् ॥
dharmārthakāmamokṣāṇāṃ yasyaiko’pi na vidyate |
ajākālastanasyeva tasya janma nirarthakam ||
If a person has not even one of the four aims—dharma, artha, kāma, or mokṣa—then that birth is purposeless, like the teat of a barren animal.
FAQs
In the broader Nīti-śāstra milieu, this verse reflects a classical South Asian framework of human aims (puruṣārthas). Such formulations circulated in didactic literature used to articulate ideals of social life, personal conduct, and—indirectly—political order, by presenting life as meaningful when oriented toward recognized goals.
The verse treats the four aims as a standard taxonomy of valued pursuits: dharma as normative order and duty, artha as material means and practical success (often including governance and economy), kāma as the domain of desire and enjoyment, and mokṣa as liberation from cyclical existence. The statement evaluates a life’s “purpose” through the presence of at least one of these aims.
The simile “ajākālastanasyeva” employs an image of a barren animal’s teat to signify apparent form without functional outcome—an established didactic trope for futility. Grammatically, the genitive plural “dharmārthakāmamokṣāṇām” frames the four aims as a recognized set, while “yasyaiko’pi na vidyate” emphasizes total absence by stating that not even a single member of the set is found.