Chanakya Niti — Right Conduct, Shloka 15
परकार्यविहन्ता च दाम्भिकः स्वार्थसाधकः ।
छली द्वेषी मृदुः क्रूरो विप्रो मार्जार उच्यते ॥
parakāryavihantā ca dāmbhikaḥ svārthasādhakaḥ |
chalī dveṣī mṛduḥ krūro vipro mārjāra ucyate ||
Vipra mà phá việc người, giả đạo đức, chỉ lo lợi mình, gian trá, thù ghét, ngoài mềm mỏng mà trong tàn nhẫn—được gọi là “con mèo”.
FAQs
In the broader nīti (didactic-ethical) tradition, verses commonly catalogue recognizable social “types” relevant to courtly life, patronage, and trust. This shloka reflects a milieu in which learned or priestly figures (vipra) could be evaluated not only by status but by conduct, and it uses moral characterization as part of a wider discourse on reliability in social and political relations.
The verse frames hypocrisy (dāmbhika) and deceit (chalī) through a cluster of traits: obstructing others’ aims (parakāryavihantā), acting for personal gain (svārthasādhaka), and maintaining a contrast between outward softness (mṛdu) and inner harshness (krūra). The definition is presented as a composite behavioral profile rather than a single abstract term.
The metaphor “mārjāra” (cat) functions as a compact image for concealed predation: an animal that can appear quiet or gentle while remaining opportunistic. The paired adjectives mṛduḥ/krūraḥ create a rhetorical antithesis that highlights dissonance between appearance and intention, a common strategy in Sanskrit gnomic literature to mark duplicity.