Chanakya NitiChoosing places and company
Chanakya Niti on where to live and whom to avoid
Where you live, and with whom, shapes your life. Chanakya lists the five things a place should have, warns against fools and the wicked, and advises leaving places that give you no livelihood, respect or way to learn.
The verses
यस्मिन् देशे न सम्मानो न वृत्तिर्न च बान्धवः । न च विद्यागमऽप्यस्ति वासस्तत्र न कारयेत्
yasmin deśe na sammāno na vṛttirna ca bāndhavaḥ | na ca vidyāgama'pyasti vāsastatra na kārayet
In plain words: Do not live in a place where there is no respect, no way to earn a living, no relatives and no way to learn.
धनिकः श्रोत्रियो राजा नदी वैद्यस्तु पञ्चमः । पञ्च यत्र न विद्यन्ते न तत्र दिवसं वसेत
dhanikaḥ śrotriyo rājā nadī vaidyastu pañcamaḥ | pañca yatra na vidyante na tatra divasaṃ vaseta
In plain words: Do not stay even a day where these five are missing: a rich merchant, a learned person, a ruler, a river and a doctor. Put in modern words: livelihood, learning, order, water and healthcare.
दुर्जनस्य च सर्पस्य वरं सर्पो न दुर्जनः । सर्पो दंशति काले तु दुर्जनस्तु पदे पदे
durjanasya ca sarpasya varaṃ sarpo na durjanaḥ | sarpo daṃśati kāle tu durjanastu pade pade
In plain words: Between a snake and a wicked person, the snake is better: the snake bites only now and then, the wicked at every step.
मूर्खस्तु परिहर्त्तव्यः प्रत्यक्षो द्विपदः पशुः । भिद्यते वाक्यशूलेन अदृश्यं कण्टकं यथा
mūrkhastu pariharttavyaḥ pratyakṣo dvipadaḥ paśuḥ | bhidyate vākyaśūlena adṛśyaṃ kaṇṭakaṃ yathā
In plain words: Avoid a fool: he is a two-legged animal in plain sight, who pierces you with words like an unseen thorn.
The Sanskrit is from a volunteer-made online edition and may contain slips; the gists are our own plain summaries, not a translation. Maxims reflect the society and the views of their time, and some verses about women, birth and class are not views we share; we show the text as it is and do not comment on those verses.