Shloka 11
Ethics of Action — Chanakya Niti
काष्ठपाषाणधातूनां कृत्वा भावेन सेवनम् ।
श्रद्धया च तथा सिद्धिस्तस्य विष्णुप्रसादतः ॥
kāṣṭha-pāṣāṇa-dhātūnāṃ kṛtvā bhāvena sevanam |
śraddhayā ca tathā siddhis tasya viṣṇu-prasādataḥ ||
Even wood, stone, and metal, when approached with devotional intent and tended with faith, are said to yield efficacy; that efficacy is by the grace of Viṣṇu.
FAQs
In the broader landscape of niti (didactic) literature, verses sometimes incorporate widely shared religious idioms alongside pragmatic counsel. This shloka reflects a premodern South Asian milieu in which devotional practices could be articulated through the language of efficacy (siddhi) and divine favor (prasāda), and where worship could involve material substrates such as wood, stone, and metal—materials also associated with icon-making and ritual objects.
The verse frames siddhi (accomplishment/effectiveness) as contingent upon two internal factors—bhāva (intent, inner disposition) and śraddhā (faith)—while attributing the ultimate causal source to Viṣṇu’s prasāda (favor/grace). The phrasing presents efficacy as a traditional theological explanation rather than as a mechanically guaranteed outcome.
The compound kāṣṭha-pāṣāṇa-dhātūnām foregrounds inert materials, creating a contrast between external substance and internal disposition (bhāva). The term sevanam can denote service, attendance, or devotional observance, allowing the line to encompass both ritual worship and sustained veneration. The closing ablative viṣṇu-prasādataḥ (“from Viṣṇu’s favor”) functions as an attributional marker, typical of devotional registers that explain success through divine sanction.