• If a man has money, he has friends, When he has money, He is recognised by his relatives. In this world a stranger becomes kinsman to a moneyed man, Whilst a poor man is avoided even by his family. A man with money will even be considered a scholar.

• 'A wise man should never sacrifice big interests For smaller ones.'

• To make peace or war, To attack or to entrench, To take protection under a powerful ally Or provoke a quarrel between one's opponents."

• 'The thoughts of others can be ascertained In their faces, their gestures, their speech, And the twitching of their eyes.'

• 'Silk comes out of the worm, Gold out of the rocks, The lotus from filth, Fire from a piece of wood, And the gem from the hood of the cobra*.' —"So, too," continued Damanaka, "virtue can come out of people humbly born."

• 'Whatever is heard by six ears Can never remain secret, And so a wise man should not allow his secrets To reach six ears.'

• 'There are some things that you can tell to wives, Some to sons, some to the family, But you can't tell everything to everybody.'

• 'When a man can share his sorrows With a trusted friend or a devoted servant, A kind master or a faithful wife, That man finds relief.'

• 'Horses, weapons, books, conversation, The harp and a wife, They all become worthy or worthless According to the man they belong to.'

• 'As a man in good health requires no doctor So a king free from troubles pays no attention to his minister.'

• 'The storm spares the low-bowing and weak grass But uproots the tall trees. The strong fight the strong But not the weak.'

• 'And there is no doubt about it when a woman is involved. She smiles at one man, with half-opened lips, throws a little remark at another, at the same time flirting with the third, her eyes half-closed, whilst in her heart she dreams of yet another man, the one she loves. Who can depend on the love of such a woman, with eyebrows like the bows of an archer? The man who thinks that a woman loves him, is a fool. He falls into her trap — she'll treat him like a toy.'

• "Has anyone heard of A crow that is clean, A gambler who is honest, A snake that forgives, A passionate woman who is calm, An impotent man who is brave, A drunkard with discrimination, Or the friendship of a king."

• 'A man who, out of pride, Does not properly handle the high, the middle and the low, Shall be ruined, as Dantila was ruined, Even though he was the favourite of the king.'

• 'Getting money is an arduous toil And guarding it is even more of a trial. Coming and going money causes trouble, Damn this unending source of worry!'

• "A king is ruined through bad advisers, A Sanyasi through company, A son through over-indulgence, A Brahmin through lack of studying the shastras, A business or a farm through neglect, And a family and character through contact with bad people."

• 'Lakshmi bestows her favours, On the zealous man. She scorns the idle, Who depend entirely on luck. So, brush destiny aside And try with all your might. If you still fail, Find out what went wrong.'

• 'What cannot be achieved by force, Can be achieved through deceit. With the help of the gold chain, The female crow killed the black cobra.'

• "Suppress your enemies and diseases At the very beginning Or they will become strong And destroy you."

• "He who attacks an enemy, Without knowing his strength, Is sure to be destroyed, Like a moth in the fire."

• 'In the company of the wicked, The good follow the wrong path, And so the wise shun the company of wicked men.'

• 'You cannot change a person's temperament by preaching, Even boiled water will Finally get cold.'

• "A man of intelligence who seeks his welfare, Will never trust anyone Whose character, family and strength He does not know."

• 'The poor, the sick, fools, exiles, And servants who have to serve all their lives, All these, although living, Are, in reality, dead.'

• 'Enter into marriage ties and friendship Only with those, who are socially and financially Your equals.'

• "The head of the family Must be protected in every way possible, For if he dies, the whole family will come to grief."

• 'Even soft water drops, Falling persistently on a rock, Wear it away: So too, continuous complaints Against someone else, Poison a man's mind.'

• "He who attacks an enemy Without knowing his strength, Will be destroyed like the moth in fire."

• "An elephant can be brought under control by a goad, Well, is a goad as big as an elephant? When a lamp is lighted, the darkness disappears, Well, is the lamp as big as the darkness? When a thunderbolt strikes it, the mountain crumbles, Well, is a thunderbolt as big as the mountain? So the man with zeal is the man who is strong, The size is unimportant."

• And until a man puts some effort into what he is doing, he does not succeed.'

• "Small insignificant things united, Become unconquerable; Thin blades of grass, woven into a thick rope Can tie up an elephant. In the same way working together, A sparrow, a woodpecker, a fly and a frog Killed an elephant." '

• 'Wise men don't grieve Over lost things, the dead And what belongs to the past: But a fool weeps over things Not worth his tears. He adds sorrow To the sorrow already existing, So his suffering is doubled. That's the difference Between wise men and fools.'

• 'A friend is a friend when he helps you in trouble, A son is a son when he obeys his parents, A servant is a servant when he performs his duties, And a wife is a wife when she makes her husband happy.'

• 'In affluent times, All men are your friends, But the person who helps you When times are bad, Regard him as your true friend, Even when he belongs to a different caste.'

• "When a weak man, blown up with self-importance, Attacks a strong enemy, He has to retreat, Like an elephant with a broken tusk."

• "He who has his own interests at heart, Should avoid offending anyone, But should handle other with affection, As he would his own son."

• 'Lakshmi bestows her favours, On the zealous man. She scorns the idle, Who depend entirely on luck. So, brush destiny aside And try with all your might. If you still fail, Find out what went wrong.'

• 'The wind has the strength to pull down a tree But not to raise it again. So also, a small-minded man can destroy others' work But he cannot reconstruct it.'

• 'Let your heart be hard as stone And your tongue as soft as butter, Destroy your enemy without mercy.'

• 'A cunning man, Even at the cost of tormenting others, Artfully looks after his own interests And keeps his plans a secret, As Chaturaka* the jackal did In the jungle.'

• 'Only a man who can reach his goal Through cunningness and intrigue, Avoiding war, Deserves to be a minister.'

• "A man who has not wandered in different lands And has not learned foreign languages, Nor studied various cultures, And made himself a fortune, Is born in vain on this earth."

• "A wise man thinks not only of a solution to his problems, But also of its consequences. The heron found a way to kill the snake, Little realising that this would result in his own destruction.

• 'Let your speech be soft as butter But your heart as hard as stone, Advise your enemy in such a way That he is wiped out, along with his race.'

• 'A man who has formerly lived in great style But now lives in great misery, Is looked down upon by all.'

• 'Fools sneer at the wise, The poor hate the rich, The wicked run down the righteous, And harlots discredit the names of virtuous women.'

• "Clever people and those well versed in nitishastras, Even when they are without means, Achieve success very quickly Just like the crow, the mouse, the turtle and the stag."

• 'He who holds- on to his courage, In the face of disaster, Will, with the help of his intelligence, Ultimately surmount all his difficulties.'

• "Nothing happens that is not predestined, And what is predestined, always comes to pass, Even when a man has something in his hand, If fate is hostile, it slips from his grasp."

• 'When calamity befalls a man, Only a true friend will help him; Others offer only lip-sympathy.'

• 'However great the volume of the sea, It must await the appearance of full moon To produce the high tide, And however talented a wise man may be, He nonetheless needs friends.'

• 'Friendship is only possible Between people who are equals In strength, wealth and status.'

• 'However much you heat water, It still extinguishes fire.'

• 'Enmity that arises for some particular reason, Vanishes when the cause is removed, But the natural enmity, between certain species, Endures for ever. So with fire and water, Carnivorous animals and grass-eaters, Lions and elephants, The mongoose and the snake, Dogs and cats, The hunter and the deer, Devils and angels, Atheists and believers, The fools and the learned, The immoral and the virtuous, And a man's two wives.' "

• "When a man is wealthy, He becomes elated And his energy increases."

• "To flaunt oneself, to humble others, And to treat them contemptuously, All this is done on the strength of riches."

• "A snake without fangs And a man without money, Merely exist."

• "A rich man Who loses his money, Suffers more than a poor man Who never had any."

• 'You always get What's coming to you. Even the gods can't oppose The laws of destiny. And so, I regret nothing And nothing astonishes me. What destiny gives me, No one can take away.'

• 'You always get What's coming to you. Even the gods can't oppose The laws of destiny. And so, I regret nothing And nothing astonishes me. What destiny gives me, No one can take away.'

• 'You can only enjoy riches and youth, The friendship of the wicked, Cooked food and women, For a short time.'

• —'Action!' said one of them to the other. 'Why did you allow Somilaka to earn three hundred pieces of gold? Don't you know that he is destined to earn only what he requires for his food and clothing?' —'Destiny!' replied the other. 'What could I do? This man put in a great effort and I had to reward him according to his actions. But it is still for you to decide how much he is going to retain. So why blame me?'

• But what will a man not do for money? He will cast a slur on the righteous, And praise the wicked.'

• 'There are two ways of rescuing yourself From the clutches of an enemy: You can use your hands to fight Or your feet to run.'

• And so, the four of them got friendly and, from that time onward, would meet everyday at noon, under the shady trees on the bank of the lake and discuss morals and philosophy. In this way, they spent their time very happily.

• 'When Destiny frowns on him, Even a sage May lose his power of thought. What is predestined Cannot be avoided Even by the great.'

• "Suppress your enemy and diseases At the very beginning, Or they will become strong And destroy you."

• 'Peace, war, retreat, entrenchment, Seeking the help of allies or intrigue.'

• 'Make peace with an enemy Who is as strong as you are, For, in a battle between equals, The victory hangs in the balance, Never fight Unless you are sure of success.'

• 'A crocodile in water Can drag an elephant But outside, on land, He is harassed by a mere dog.'

• 'A messenger should be someone Who has wits, good looks and an unselfish nature, An excellent conversationalist, with a thorough knowledge of the shastras, Someone who understands the minds of other people.'

• 'Our bodies are perishable And even our money does not last for ever, We face death continually, So we must live according to the shastras. A man who passes his days irreligiously, Is like an ironsmith's bellows Which breathes, yet has no life.'

• "The wound caused by an arrow or a sword may heal, But not the wound caused by sharp words." '

• 'Most people are taken in by The intriguing talk of a rogue, The pretended politeness of a new servant, The charming conversation of guests And a woman's false tears.'

• 'A wise man never begins What he cannot bring to fruition.'

• Love, once shattered, can never be restored by a show of affection.'

• 'Wicked people who destroy life, Are dangerous to be near. They can well be compared to snakes Who bite one and all.'

• 'A wife whose husband is not pleased with her, Cannot be called a wife, But a woman who makes her husband happy, Wins the esteem of the gods. Now, a father, a brother and a son, Give within limits, But what wife won't desire to please her husband, When he gives beyond limit.'

• From today on, I shall give up all my pleasures and lead a life of discipline.'

• Widowhood results in loss of pride, loss of respect in the household and loss of authority over servants.'

• 'Young girls reject a man whose hair have turned grey, They shrink from a limp and bent body.'

• "Enter into marriage ties and friendship Only with those who are, socially and financially, Your equals."

• "A wise man should give his daughter in marriage To someone who fulfils the following seven requirements: Good family, good character, the capability to look after a family, Education, wealth, physical fitness and suitable age."

• A small amount of debt unpaid, The last trace of fire left unextinguished, The last trace of sickness uncured after treatment, And enemies surviving a battle, All these will rise again and again Unless they are utterly destroyed.'

• 'Inferior people never begin a task for fear of destruction, Ordinary people give up a task only half-finished because of obstruction, But superior people will never give up anything, However many difficulties may beset them.'

• 'Those who look down on insignificant work, Because they think it's too easy, Do it carelessly, And, one day, regret it.'

• "A man who does not lose his head, In the face of calamities, Shall overcome them, Just like the monkey in the midst of the sea."

• -"So far," said the crocodile's wife, "you have never turned down any of my requests. So, I think this must be some female monkey whom you love and spend the whole day with. Now I understand you very well. You don't even speak nicely to me any more and give me what I ask for. At night time, when we are together, your sighs are as hot as a flame of fire, but not for me! You don't hug and kiss me as passionately as you used to either. Hypocrite! I believe some other sweet thing lives in your heart nowadays."

• 'Glue, an idiot, a woman, a crab, A shark, indigo dye and a drunkard, Once they attach themselves to something They will never let go.'

• 'There are six indications of friendship: Giving and receiving, Listening to and telling secrets, Entertaining and being entertained.'

• "A wise man, whose limbs have grown weak And has no source of income, Should always arrange things in such a way That he continues to earn his livelihood without any effort."

• "When a complete loss is imminent, A wise man gives half away voluntarily And works with the rest, For a complete loss is unbearable."

• "A wise man never sacrifices big interests For smaller ones."

• We will pass our days happily, telling each other moral stories and talking about philosophy.'

• 'Even when one's life is in danger, It is not proper to forget one's obligations And so commit a sin.'

• 'In what way doesn't a man Do what a woman asks him to do? On her request, He neighs like a horse And shaves his head at odd times.' "

• 'Silence is golden, Parrots and other cackling birds get caught Whilst the cranes stay free. So, by keeping quiet one succeeds.'

• 'The donkey, who was dressed up in a tiger's skin, Was frightening to look at, But he got killed because he brayed.'

• 'He who has neither mother, Nor a sweet speaking wife in the house, Should go to the jungle, For to him, jungle and home are alike.'

• When the monkey heard this, he smiled and said, "Foolish crocodile! Right from the beginning, I realised that you were a slave to your wife and a hen-pecked husband. And now I have proof. How stupid you are! You grieve when you should be rejoicing.

• 'A wife of bad character, Who takes delight in always quarrelling, Brings her husband premature old age; So a man who seeks his own happiness, Should not even mention the name Of such a wicked woman. Women are very peculiar, They never say what they have on their minds Or on the tips of their tongues And what they do is always contrary to what they say. Those who are drawn to women by their enchanting appearances, Are destroyed, like moths in a flame.'

• "In a certain town, there lived a farmer and his wife. As her husband was old, the woman was always thinking of other men and could never relax at home. The whole day she would wander about the town, looking for company. "Once, a certain crook, who made it his business to rob other people, noticed her. When there was nobody else about, he went up to her and said, 'You lovely creature! My wife is dead and when I looked at you, I fell in love with you. So, let me have the pleasure of your company.' —'My handsome fellow,' she replied, 'if that's the case, I am ready. And what is more, my husband is very rich but so old that he can't even walk. So, we can steal his money, elope together and enjoy life to our heart's content, in another town.'

• 'Naked woman! You are twice as clever as I am, but you have now neither your lover nor your husband, so what are you staring at?'

• 'You get more cuts where there is already a wound And when the food is all gone, Then you are more hungry for it. During hard times, your enemies multiply. All this happens when fate is against you.'

• 'Bow before the great, Pit two brave opponents against each other, Give small presents to the mean, And Fight with the equally powerful.'

• "As long as you manage to stay alive, There are hundreds of good things to enjoy."

• "You should only eat What you can digest And what, once digested, Does you good."

• 'Bow before the great, Pit two brave opponents against each other, Give small presents to the mean, And fight with the equally powerful.'

• "No wise man should follow the barber's example, Pursuing what he has neither accurately observed, Nor properly understood: Neither correctly heard, Nor sufficiently considered."

• 'A poor man may be wise, upright And of genteel birth But everyone shuns him, Whilst a rich man, although stupid, immoral And low born, Is, for ulterior motives, overwhelmed with attention.'

• "An old man's hair turn white, His teeth grow loose And his eyes and ears cease to function properly, But his desires remain eternally young."

• "No wise man should follow the barber's example, Pursuing what he has neither accurately observed, Nor properly understood, Neither correctly heard Nor sufficiently considered."

• "A son may be useless, conceited, Ugly, stupid, badly behaved or wicked, His parents will still dote on him."

• "Be ambitious, within limits, For when a man is too greedy, A wheel whirls around his head: That's what happened to Chakradhara*

• 'When a man loses his money, His friends and relatives avoid him, He is deserted by his own sons. Even a gentle wife, born of good family, Wants nothing to do with him. None of his good qualities are appreciated And his troubles multiply. His name, his body, his voice, his mind. Remain the same But everything else collapses in a flash.'

• 'It is much better to live in seclusion, In a thorny jungle, full of tigers and elephants, To sleep on a bed of grass and wear clothes made of bark, Than to live, amongst one's kith and kin, in utter poverty.'

• 'Water comes Not only in the form of rain, Dropped from the sky, But also by digging deep in the earth.'

• 'Commonsense is superior to scholarship: The scholars who were devoid of commonsense, Put life into the lion and died as a result.'

• " ' "One day, these four friends had a discussion together. They said, 'What is the good of scholarship, if you cannot impress kings in far off lands by it, or earn money with it? So, let us travel east.'

• "A -mean-minded man Thinks, 'This is mine, and that is his,' But to a generous man, The whole world is one big family."

• 'When fate is hostile, Even the talented pay with their lives, Whilst those with lesser talents live happily.'

• "If the wishes of snakes, rogues and wicked people Were fulfilled, The world would come to an end."

• "Nothing in life is impossible, For talented people, Chanakya* killed the heavily armed members of the Nanda* family, Without the use of any weapons."

• "that's why I said, that even clever people are helpless when fate is against them."

• barber. 'The shastras advise against consulting women, for their intelligence is of a lower calibre than ours. The shastras state that: "A wise man should give his woman, Food, clothes and ornaments, And have children by her, But he should never consult her on matters of importance." And Shukracharaya* has said: "A house ruled by a woman, An addict or a child, Is sure to be destroyed."

• 'He who neither has commonsense. Nor listens to what his friends tell him, Is sure to be destroyed, Like Mantharaka, the weaver.'

• He who has a hundred, Wants a thousand; He who has a thousand, Wants a hundred thousand; He who has a hundred thousand, Wants millions;

• 'In old age, the hair turn white, The teeth become loose, The eyes and the ears cease to function properly, But greed remains young for ever.'