Shloka 8
Virtue and Vice — Chanakya Niti
परैरुक्तगुणो यस्तु निर्गुणोऽपि गुणी भवेत् ।
इन्द्रोऽपि लघुतां याति स्वयं प्रख्यापितैर्गुणैः ॥
parair uktaguṇo yas tu nirguṇo'pi guṇī bhavet |
indro'pi laghutāṃ yāti svayaṃ prakhyāpitair guṇaiḥ ||
ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਗੁਣ ਹੋਰ ਲੋਕ ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਉਹ ਗੁਣਹੀਨ ਵੀ ਹੋਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਗੁਣੀ ਮੰਨਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਪਰ ਜੋ ਆਪਣੇ ਗੁਣ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਜਤਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਸ ਨਾਲ ਇੰਦਰ ਵੀ ਛੋਟਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
FAQs
Within nīti-śāstra literature, social standing is frequently framed as a function of public perception, courtly discourse, and the circulation of praise or blame. This verse reflects a historical milieu in which reputation (often mediated by others’ speech) could shape credibility in political and social settings, including royal courts and learned assemblies.
The verse presents guṇa (“qualities/virtues”) as socially legible attributes whose effective force depends on attribution by others. It contrasts externally affirmed praise with self-proclaimed merit, implying that public validation is treated as conferring ‘virtue-status’ more strongly than self-assertion.
The juxtaposition of परैरुक्त- (“spoken by others”) and स्वयं प्रख्यापित- (“proclaimed by oneself”) foregrounds speech-acts as instruments of social valuation. The reference to Indra functions as a conventional Sanskrit hyperbole: even a paradigmatic king of gods is rhetorically reduced (लघुताम्) when associated with self-praise, underscoring a cultural suspicion of आत्मप्रशंसा (self-eulogy) in elite discourse.