Life-Changing Chanakya Quotes
Chanakya is also called Vishnugupta or Kautilya (375 – 283 BCE). Chanakya was an ancient Indian polymath and active as a philosopher, strategist, teacher, economist, author & royal advisor. He played a vital role in the Maurya Empire. Chanakya served as chief advisor for Chandragupta and his son Bindusara empire. Let’s see some of the most inspiring quotes of Chanakya.
Famous Quotes of Chanakya
Once you start working on something don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.- Chanakya
The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.- Chanakya

There is no disease so destructive as lust.- Chanakya
One who can’t determine his goals; cannot win.- Chanakya
As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, try to save your soul; when death is imminent what can you do?- Chanakya
Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. It’s not pride, it’s self-respect.- Chanakya
A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first. – Chanakya
Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher full of poison with milk on top.- Chanakya
Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions: why I am doing it, what the results are, and whether I will be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.- Chanakya
No one can defeat a powerful mind.- Chanakya
It is the mind of man alone that is the cause of his bondage or freedom.- Chanakya
Skills are called hidden treasures as they save like a mother in a foreign country.- Chanakya
A person who is aware of future troubles, and fights against them with his intelligence will be always happy. And a person who remains inactive (without working ) waiting for good days to come will destroy his own life.- Chanakya
Don’t judge the future of a person based on his present conditions, because time has the power to change black coal to shiny diamond.- Chanakya
Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained, but this body when lost may never be acquired again.- Chanakya
Whoever helps you at the time of illness, misfortune, famines, and invasion is your true brother in the real sense.- Chanakya
The enemy’s enemy is a friend.- Chanakya
As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.- Chanakya
Learn from the mistakes of others….. you can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves. – Chanakya
Chanakya Quotes on Leadership
Wisdom and Knowledge:
“The snake and the mongoose may be friends but the mongoose will never trust the snake.”
“A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.”
Decision Making:
“Once you start a working on something, don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.”
Leadership Qualities:
“The king shall lose no time when the opportunity waited for arrives.”
“Even as a single good tree with fragrant flowers can spread its fragrance in the entire forest, so also, the leader of a nation with good character can make the entire nation fragrant.”
Strategy:
“Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions – Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
Teamwork:
“The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.”
“He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.”
Character and Integrity:
“A man is great by deeds, not by birth.”
“A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.”
Adaptability:
“A wise man should not reveal his loss of wealth, the vexation of his mind, the misconduct of his own wife, base words spoken by others, and disgrace that has befallen him.”
Chanakya Motivational Quotes
On Effort and Persistence:
“A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.”
“Once you start a working on something, don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.”
On Learning and Knowledge:
“Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.”
“A man is born alone and dies alone, and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone, and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.”
On Self-Improvement:
“Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions – Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.”
“He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.”
On Leadership and Influence:
“The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.”
“The king shall lose no time when the opportunity waited for arrives.”
On Determination:
“A wise man should not reveal his loss of wealth, the vexation of his mind, the misconduct of his own wife, base words spoken by others, and disgrace that has befallen him.”
“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.”
On Focus and Concentration:
“The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.”
“Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.”