Chanakya Neeti

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20. A learned man is honoured by the people. A learned man commands
respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honoured
everywhere.

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21. Those who are endowed with beauty and youth and who are born of
noble families are worthless if they have no learning. They are just like
the kimshuka blossoms ( flowers of the palasa tree) which, though
beautiful, have no fragrance.

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22. The earth is encumbered with the weight of the flesh-eaters, winebibblers,
dolts and blockheads,
who are
beasts
in the form of men.

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23. There is no enemy like a yajna (sacrifice) which consumes the kingdom
when not attended by feeding on a large scale; consumes the priest
when the chanting is not done properly; and consumes the yajaman (the
responsible person) when the gifts are not made.

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CHAPTER NINE

[vadapav]

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1.  My dear child, if you desire to be free from the cycle of birth and death, 
then abandon the objects of sense gratification as poison. Drink instead
the nectar of forbearance, upright conduct, mercy, cleanliness and truth.

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3. Perhaps nobody has advised Lord Brahma, the creator, to impart
perfume to gold; fruit to the sugarcane; flowers to the sandalwood tree;
wealth to the learned; and long life to the king.

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4. Nectar (amrita) is the best among medicines; eating good food is the
best of all types of material happiness; the eye is the chief among all
organs; and the head occupies the chief position among all parts of the
body.

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5. No messenger can travel about in the sky and no tidings come from
there. The voice of its inhabitants as never heard, nor can any contact be
established with them. Therefore the brahmana who predicts the eclipse
of the sun and moon which occur in the sky must be considered as a
vidwan (man of great learning).

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6. The student, the servant, the traveller, the hungry person, the frightened
man, the treasury guard, and the steward: these seven ought to be
awakened if they fall asleep.

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7. The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the
dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be
awakened from sleep.

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8. Of those who have studied the Vedas for material rewards, and those
who accept foodstuffs offered by shudras, what potency have they?
They are just like serpents without fangs.

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10. The serpent may, without being poisonous, raise high its hood, but the
show of terror is enough to frighten people -- whether he be venomous
or not.

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11. Wise men spend their mornings in discussing gambling, the afternoon
discussing the activities of women, and the night hearing about the
activities of theft. (The first item above refers to the gambling of King
Yuddhisthira, the great devotee of Krishna. The second item refers to
the glorious deeds of mother Sita, the consort of Lord Ramachandra.
The third item hints at the adorable childhood pastimes of Sri Krishna
who stole butter from the elderly cowherd ladies of Gokula. Hence
Chanakya Pandits advises wise persons to spend the morning absorbed
in Mahabharata, the afternoon studying Ramayana, and the evening
devotedly hearing the Srimad-Bhagvatam.)