Chanakya born (4th Century BC in India) was also known as Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta and best recognized for his ancient Indian political treatise. His clever mind in classical economics had helped in establishing the Maurya Empire. Chanakya was known as a teacher, philosopher, economist, and royal advisor. Even after hundreds of years, these Chanakya quotes are still a powerful inspiration in our lives.

Inspirational Chanakya Quotes

1. “We return evil for evil, in which there is no sin, for it is necessary to pay a wicked man in his own coin.”
2. “Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher full of poison with milk on top.”
3. “One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others can use neither knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.”
4. “The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end nor protects it from the bites of insects.”
5. “As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.”
6. “There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.”
7. “The king shall lose no time when the opportunity waited for arrives.”
8. “Once you start working on something, don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.”
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10.  “There is no austerity equal to a balanced mind, and there is no happiness equal to contentment; there is no disease like covetousness and no virtue like mercy.”
11. “Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown-up children are your best friends.”
12. “Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.”
13. “Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.”
14. “Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions: Why I am doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.” , Chanakya Quotes success
15. “Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto ant hills.”
16.  “The testing time of the following are; the wife when the money is gone, the friend in the time of need, the relatives in the times of crisis and the servants when they are assigned a mission. In such times they show their true faces.”
17. “As compared to males the females eat twice the amount of food, possess cleverness four times, display courage six times and exhibit lustful desires eight times.”
18. “He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is the attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.”
19. “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind but the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.”
20. “The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquility are not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving here and there.”
21. “One destitute of wealth is not destitute, he is indeed rich, but the man devoid of learning is destitute in every way.”
22. “It is better to die than preserve life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life only pain a moment, but disgrace every day of one’s life.”  ,Chanakya Quotes about life
23. “Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.”
24. “We have to make people soft who are hard, to attract those who are far, if they do bad for us then even considering our aim we should always love them.”
25. “The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.”
26. “The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability.”
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28. “The earth is supported by the power of truth, it is the power of truth that makes the sunshine and the winds blow, indeed all things rest upon truth.”
29. “Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.”
30. “Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained, but this body when lost may never be acquired again.”
31. “All the creatures are pleased by loving words; and therefore we should address words that are pleasing to all, for there is no lack of sweet words.”
32. “Drop the idea that attachment and love are one thing. They are enemies. It is the attachment that destroys all love.” , Chanakya Quotes on love
33. “There are three gems upon this earth, food, water, and pleasing words — fools consider pieces of rocks as gems.”
34. “He who is prepared for the future and he who deals cleverly with any situation that may arise are both happy, but the fatalistic man who wholly depends on luck is ruined.”
    

    More Chanakya Quotes

35. “As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, try to save your soul, when death is imminent what can you do?”
36. “A man is great by deeds, not by birth.”
37. “We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future; men of discernment deal only with the present moment.”
38. “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.”
39. “A learned man is honored by the people. A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honored everywhere.”
40. “Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities.”
41.  “The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.”
42. “Learn from the mistakes of others, You can’t afford to make them all on your own.” , Chanakya Quotes English
43. “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.”
44. “God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.”
45. “If you were to choose between an evil person and a snake to keep company with, opt for the snake. Because the snake will bite you only in self-defense but the evil person will put a bite for any reason and any time or always.”
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47. “Never reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.”
48. “There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.”
49. “Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness.”
50.  “Purity of speech, of the mind, of the senses, and of a compassionate heart are needed by one who desires to rise to the divine platform.”
51. “The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.” , Chanakya Quotes best
52. “There are only two ways of dealing with evil persons or thorns. Crush them under your boot or stay far away from them.”
53. “Too much beauty got Sita kidnapped, too much ego got Ravana killed and too much charity got Raja Bali in deep trouble. So too much of anything is bad. One should refrain from ‘too much.”
54. “A man is born alone and dies alone, and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone, and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.”
55. “I consider almighty god above all so only I always propagate his true message of Vedas.”
56. “The enemy’s enemy is a friend.” , Chanakya Quotes enemy
57.  “Save your wealth against future calamity. Do not say, “what fear has a rich man of calamity?” Wealth sometimes vanishes away and large accumulations perish.”
58. “It is the mind of man alone that is the cause of his bondage or freedom.”
59. “The man who is praised by others is regarded as worthy though he may be really void of all merit. But the man who sings his own praises becomes disgraced though he might be Indra, the possessor of all Excellencies.”
60. “He who has wealth has friends.”
61. “It is better to be without a king than [to have] a bad one.” , Chanakya Quotes on king
62. “It is better to have only one son endowed with good qualities than a hundred devoid of them. For the moon though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, do not.”

Interesting facts about Chanakya:-

• It is believed that it was Chanakya who was responsible to unite entire India when the nation was attacked by Alexandar the great
• He secretly possessed the army of females known as Vishakanyas and used them in secret assassination missions
• Apart from his knowledge in economics and politics, he even achieved knowledge in medicine and astronomy
• He mentored a 19-year-old boy Chandragupta Maurya, who later went on to establish Maurya Dynasty, India’s biggest ancient dynasty
• He was the first person to write one economics Arthashastra, which is of significance even today