Shloka 14
Learning and Knowledge — Chanakya Niti
उपार्जितानां वित्तानां त्याग एव हि रक्षणम् ।
तडागोदरसंस्थानां परीवाह इवाम्भसाम् ॥
upārjitānāṁ vittānāṁ tyāga eva hi rakṣaṇam |
taḍāgodarasaṁsthānāṁ parīvāha ivāmbhasām ||
Accumulated wealth is safeguarded by relinquishment—giving and spending—just as pond water is preserved by having an outflow.
FAQs
In the broader Nīti-śāstra milieu, wealth is frequently treated as socially and politically volatile: it attracts attention, envy, taxation, theft, and obligations. This verse reflects a historical idea found across didactic traditions that redistribution—through gifts, patronage, ritual expenditure, or strategic spending—reduces the risks associated with hoarding and helps stabilize one’s social position within hierarchical and competitive settings.
Here, “protection” is framed less as physical guarding and more as risk-management through circulation. The phrasing “tyāga eva hi rakṣaṇam” presents relinquishment as the mechanism by which accumulated resources avoid becoming a liability, implying that controlled dispersal (social, economic, or ritual) historically functioned as a protective strategy.
The metaphor hinges on “taḍāgodara-saṁsthānām… ambhasām,” water held in a pond-basin. “Parīvāha” (outflow/drainage) suggests that water remains viable and the pond remains safe when water is channeled and does not stagnate or overflow. The comparison maps this hydraulic logic onto wealth: circulation and regulated outflow are depicted as preserving stability, whereas static accumulation is implicitly associated with danger.