Niti Shastra Teachings And Quotes

Teachings and Quotes from Niti Shastra of Bhartrihari.

If a margosa seed be dropped into a beverage composed of sugar, honey and ghee, the whole of it becomes bitter, that although milk may rain upon it for a thousand years the mixture will lose nothing of its bitterness. This is symbolical of the wicked, who, however good people may be to them, never lose their natural tendency to do evil.

In the afflictions, misfortunes and tribulations of life only he who actively helps us is our friend.

Just as a plant of the forest becomes a friend of the body when by virtue of its medicinal properties it cures an illness which afflicts the body, however different the one may be from the other; similarly, he who renders us services should be considered our friend, however lowly may be his condition and however far he may be separated from us.

One should keep oneself five yards distant from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured.

The attribute most noble of the hand
Is readiness in giving: of the head
bending before a teacher: of the mouth
Veracious speaking: of a victor’s arms
Undaunted valour: of the inner heart
Pureness of the most unsullied: of the ears
Delight in hearing and receiving truth —
These are the adornments of high minded man
Better than all the majesty of empire.