Shloka 12
Self-Discipline — Chanakya Niti
लुब्धमर्थेन गृह्णीयात् स्तब्धमञ्जलिकर्मणा ।
मूर्खं छन्दोऽनुवृत्त्या च यथार्थत्वेन पण्डितम् ॥
lubdham arthena gṛhṇīyāt stabdham añjalikarmaṇā |
mūrkhaṃ chando'nuvṛttyā ca yathārthatvena paṇḍitam ||
Win the greedy with gain; soften the arrogant with deference. Lead the fool by agreeable compliance; address the learned with truthful, accurate speech.
FAQs
In the Chanakya-nīti/Nītiśāstra tradition, short aphoristic verses often catalog interpersonal strategies relevant to courtly life, diplomacy, and counsel. This verse reflects a broader early Indian political-ethical literature that classifies human dispositions and associates each with a conventional mode of approach, consistent with pragmatic advisory genres circulating in premodern South Asia.
Persuasion is presented as disposition-dependent: material inducement corresponds to greed, deferential gesture to rigid pride, agreeable alignment to folly, and truthful speech to learning. The framing functions as a descriptive taxonomy of rhetorical means rather than a universal moral principle.
Key terms are compact and socially coded: 'añjalikarma' denotes a formalized gesture of respect (añjali), signaling hierarchy and appeasement; 'chanda' commonly indicates inclination or pleasure, so 'chando'nuvṛtti' implies accommodating preference; 'yathārthatva' emphasizes correspondence with reality, aligning the learned (paṇḍita) with discourse grounded in accurate meaning.