subhashitawisdomchanakyaniti

Aapadarthe Dhanam Rakshet (Guard Wealth, Wife and Self)

Aapadarthe Dhanam Rakshet (Guard Wealth, Wife and Self) in English · English

🕉️ hindu·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 Morning reflection, or when making decisions about money, family and security·📜 Chanakya Niti

Read in your language / script

हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

This widely quoted verse from Chanakya Niti lays down a graded scale of priorities for prudent living. Wealth is to be saved for adversity, the family is worth protecting even at the cost of wealth, and one's own self must be safeguarded above both. It is a classic teaching on foresight, proportion and the supreme value of preserving one's own life and dignity.

Origin & Story

Chanakya Niti · Chanakya (Vishnugupta / Kautilya) · Ancient India (c. 4th–3rd century BCE)

Chanakya, who guided Chandragupta Maurya to the throne, distilled his hard-won wisdom on survival and prosperity into pithy niti verses. This verse on guarding wealth, family and self reflects his pragmatic ethics: it ranks the values a prudent person must weigh in a crisis, placing the preservation of one's own self above even wealth and household.

✦ As told in scripture

Counsellors of old held that a single grasp of this verse had saved many a ruined house, for the person who saves in good times, shields the family in hard times, and never throws away their own life learns to survive every storm and rebuild what was lost.

0all time

The Mantra

Tap any line — or the ▶ button — to hear it recited

āpad-arthe dhanaṁ rakṣed dārān rakṣed dhanair api। ātmānaṁ satataṁ rakṣed dārair api dhanair api॥

Meaning:One should save wealth to meet times of calamity; one should protect one's wife and family even by spending that wealth; but one should at all times protect one's own self, even if it means giving up both family and wealth. Chanakya sets out a clear order of priorities: wealth guards against adversity, family is dearer than wealth, but the self — one's own life and integrity — must be guarded above all.

Word-by-Word Meaning

Click any word to hear its pronunciation

āpad-arthe🔊for the sake of (times of) calamity or adversity

dhanam🔊wealth, money

rakṣet🔊one should protect / save / guard

dārān🔊wife (and family); the household

dhanaiḥ🔊by means of wealth, with money

api🔊even, also

ātmānam🔊oneself, one's own self

satatam🔊always, constantly, at all times

dāraiḥ🔊by (even sacrificing) the wife/family

dhanaiḥ api🔊and even by (sacrificing) wealth

dārair api dhanair api🔊even at the cost of both wife and wealth (self must be guarded first)

rakṣed dhanair api🔊should protect (the family) even by spending wealth

Benefits of Chanting Aapadarthe Dhanam Rakshet (Guard Wealth, Wife and Self)

✦

Teaches financial foresight — saving for times of adversity

✦

Clarifies a wise order of priorities among wealth, family and self

✦

Instils the principle of self-preservation and protecting one's integrity

✦

A practical guide for prudent decision-making under pressure

✦

Encourages responsibility toward family without recklessness

✦

A short, memorable maxim for sound life management

How to Chant Aapadarthe Dhanam Rakshet (Guard Wealth, Wife and Self)

Repetitions3times

Best TimeMorning reflection, or when making decisions about money, family and security

Recite the verse slowly and dwell on its ascending order: save wealth for hard times, spend even that wealth to protect your family, but above all guard your own self. Reflect on how this scale of priorities should guide difficult choices. It is traditionally studied among Chanakya's teachings on prudence and survival.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Aapadarthe Dhanam Rakshet (Guard Wealth, Wife and Self) written in the English script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

It is a famous verse from the Chanakya Niti (Niti Darpana), the body of aphorisms attributed to Chanakya (Kautilya / Vishnugupta), the ancient Indian teacher of statecraft, economics and ethics.

Wealth should be saved for adversity; family (dara) should be protected even by spending that wealth; and one's own self (atman) must always be protected, even at the cost of both family and wealth. Self comes first, then family, then wealth — an ascending order of value.

No. The verse speaks of prudence in genuine calamity, not selfishness. Its point is that one cannot protect family or use wealth if one's own life and integrity are lost; preserving the self is therefore the foundation that makes all other duties possible.