O wise man! Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet.
Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.
Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.
The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end, nor protects it from the bites of insects.
One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.
As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.
There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.
He whose son is obedient to him, whose wife's conduct is in accordance with his wishes, and who is content with his riches has his heaven here on earth.
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.
As water collected in a tank gets pure by filtration, so accumulated wealth is preserved by being employed in charity.
It is better to have only one son endowed with good qualities than a hundred devoid of them. For the moon though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars, though numerous, do not.
A wicked wife, a false friend, a saucy servant, and living in a house with a serpent in it are nothing but death.
Do not put your trust in rivers, men who carry weapons, beasts with claws or horns, women, and members of a royal family.
Those parents who do not educate their sons are their enemies; for as is a crane among swans, so are ignorant sons in a public assembly.
Trees on a riverbank, a woman in another man's house, and kings without counselors go without doubt to swift destruction.
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.
The Goddess of wealth is unsteady, and so is the life breath. The duration of life is uncertain, and the place of habitation is uncertain; but in all this inconsistent world religious merit alone is immovable.
A father who is a chronic debtor, an adulterous mother, a beautiful wife, and an unlearned son are enemies in one's own home.
Do not pass between two brahmanas, between a brahmana and his sacrificial fire, between a wife and her husband, a master and his servant, and a plough and an ox.
The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.
