Page 42 - Sri Canakya Niti

1.9 Śrī Cāṇakya-nīti

ŚLOKA 1.9

धिनकः ोि यो राजा नदी वैद्य तु पञ्चमः ।
पञ्च य न िवद्यन्ते न त िदवस वसेत् ॥९॥
ं
dhanikaḥ śrotriyo rājā
nadī vaidyas tu pañcamaḥ
pañca yatra na vidyante
na tatra divasaṁ vaset

Do not stay even for a day where you do not fi nd these five: a man
of means, a brāhmaṇa learned in the Vedas, a king, a river and a
physician.

Commentary: In a word, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita advises us to avoid any
place where there is no Vedic civilization and culture. According to
the ideals of socialism and communism, the affluent must be forced

to share their wealth with the poor. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita’s vision for a
healthy society is quite the opposite. He advises that the wealthy are

ultimately beneficial for society as they are the ones who provide
employment and shoulder a tax burden, which is meant to ultimately

benefit all members of society.
Brāhmaṇas (spiritually-inclined intellectuals) are urgently required
in society because they are the teachers or mukha (lit. “head”) of
society. Without the guidance of duly initiated Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇas,
social organization becomes like a headless corpse. The absence of
common sense and spiritual leadership results in an infrastructure that
disintegrates into chaos which exactly reflects today’s world situation.

It is ironic that the yajñas (spiritual sacrifices) performed by the poor
brāhmaṇas can be credited with causing the rain of prosperity on
the earth, hence the formation of rivers as mentioned in this verse.
Though brāhmaṇas lead a Spartan existence, their yajñas actually

create affluence for others. 2,300 years ago Cāṇakya Paṇḍita led a
very frugal life—yet he planned and executed the organization of a

16