Shloka 4
Ethics of Action — Chanakya Niti
वित्तं देहि गुणान्वितेषु मतिमन्नान्यत्र देहि क्वचित् प्राप्तं वारिनिधेर्जलं घनमुखे माधुर्ययुक्तं सदा ।
जीवान्स्थावरजंगमांश्च सकलान्संजीव्य भूमण्डलं भूयः पश्य तदेव कोटिगुणितं गच्छन्तमम्भोनिधिम् ॥
vittaṃ dehi guṇānvitēṣu matimannānyatra dehi kvacit prāptaṃ vārinidher jalaṃ ghanamukhe mādhuryayuktaṃ sadā |
jīvān sthāvarajaṅgamāṃś ca sakalān saṃjīvya bhūmaṇḍalaṃ bhūyaḥ paśya tadeva koṭiguṇitaṃ gacchantam ambhonidhim ||
Give wealth to the virtuous and discerning; do not bestow it elsewhere. Water drawn from the ocean, reaching the face of a rain-cloud, becomes sweet, revives all beings and sustains the earth—then returns to the sea multiplied many times over.
FAQs
Within the broader Nīti-śāstra tradition, this verse reflects elite norms around dāna (patronage/giving) and the social economy of merit, where resources were ideally directed toward persons perceived as possessing learning, discernment, and virtuous conduct. Such formulations are commonly situated in courtly and administrative milieus in which patronage networks supported scholarship and public goods, and where reciprocity was framed as a stabilizing principle of social order.
The verse frames wealth-giving as most meaningful when directed to the guṇānvit (virtuous) and matiman (discerning), and it characterizes giving elsewhere as comparatively unproductive. The ocean–cloud–rain cycle is used to depict a model in which resources placed in an appropriate conduit become transformed into broadly beneficial outcomes and are imagined to return in amplified form, expressing an economy of circulation rather than one-time expenditure.
The metaphor hinges on transformation and redistribution: ocean water (saline) becomes 'mādhurya-yukta' (sweet/fresh) in the cloud and then sustains 'sthāvara-jaṅgama' life across the 'bhūmaṇḍala'. The phrase 'koṭi-guṇitam' intensifies the idea of multiplication, a common Nīti rhetorical device for emphasizing returns on properly directed resources. The paired terms vārinidhi/ambhonidhi reinforce the cyclical return to the sea, aligning moral economy with a natural cycle familiar to classical Sanskrit audiences.