Chanakya Neeti

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20  He who has not acquired one of the following: religious merit

(dharma), wealth (artha), satisfaction of desires (kama), or liberation

(moksa) is repeatedly born to die. 

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21.  Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, comes of Her own accord where fools

are not respected, grain is well stored up, and the husband and wife do

not quarrel.

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CHAPTER FOUR

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1.  These five: the life-span, the type of work, wealth, learning and the time 

of one's death are determined while one is in the womb.

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2.  Offspring, friends and relatives flee from a devotee of the Lord: yet 

those who follow him bring merit to their families through their

devotion. 

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3.  Fish, tortoises, and birds bring up their young by means of sight,

attention and touch; so do saintly men afford protection to their

associates by the same means. 

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4.  As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, 

try to save your soul; when death is immanent what can you do?

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5.  Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons. Like a 

mother, it feeds you on your journey. Therefore learning is a hidden

treasure. 

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6.  A single son endowed with good qualities is far better than a hundred

devoid of them. For the moon, though one, dispels the darkness, which

the stars, though numerous, can not. 

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7.  A still-born son as superior to a foolish son endowed with a long life.

The first causes grief for but a moment while the latter like a blazing

fire consumes his parents in grief for life. 

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8.  Residing in a small village devoid of proper living facilities, serving a

person born of a low family, unwholesome food, a frowning wife, a 

foolish son, and a widowed daughter burn the body without fire.

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9.  What good is a cow that neither gives milk nor conceives? Similarly, 

what is the value of the birth of a son if he becomes neither learned nor

a pure devotee of the Lord? 

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10.  When one is consumed by the sorrows of life, three things give him

relief: offspring, a wife, and the company of the Lord's devotees. 

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11.  Kings speak for once, men of learning once, and the daughter is given

in marriage once. All these things happen once and only once. 

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12.  Religious austerities should be practiced alone, study by two, and

singing by three. A journey should be undertaken by four, agriculture

by five, and war by many together.