Shloka 13
Learning and Knowledge — Chanakya Niti
यत्रोदकं तत्र वसन्ति हंसा- स्तथैव शुष्कं परिवर्जयन्ति ।
न हंसतुल्येन नरेण भाव्यं स्त्यजन्तः पुनराश्रयन्ते ॥
yatrodakaṁ tatra vasanti haṁsās tathaiva śuṣkaṁ parivarjayanti |
na haṁsatulyena nareṇa bhāvyaṁ styajantaḥ punar āśrayante ||
Swans dwell where there is water and abandon what has dried up. Do not deem steadfast the man like a swan: he leaves, then returns again to seek refuge.
FAQs
In the Cāṇakya-nīti tradition, such verses are commonly read as part of a didactic repertoire circulating in premodern South Asian political and ethical discourse, where stability of allegiance and the reliability of associates were recurring concerns in courts, households, and patronage networks. The imagery reflects an environment in which mobility—toward resources, protection, or patronage—was a recognizable social and political pattern.
Reliability is framed indirectly through a contrast: the swan is portrayed as relocating according to the presence of water, and the verse maps that behavior onto a person who departs when conditions change and later returns when conditions improve. The implied category is a figure whose attachment is contingent on circumstances rather than enduring commitment.
The haṁsa functions as a conventional Sanskrit emblem used in moral and poetic literature; here it is employed not for purity or discernment (another common association) but for selective habitation tied to resources (udaka). The opposition of udaka (water) and śuṣka (dryness) provides a compact ecological metaphor for prosperity versus scarcity, while āśrayante (taking refuge) anchors the social reading in the language of dependence, shelter, and patronage.