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Best of Hitopadesha—Part - I
Knowledge—the Highest Form of Wealth
by Dr Satya Narayana Dasa
The
Backdrop
 About 1,500 years ago
the King of Iran got hold of a book that
contained the secret of how to raise the
dead by means of rasayana, an
elixir of life. The book explained the
procedure to extract the elixir from herbs
and trees growing on the high mountains of
India. Eager to sample this elixir, the
King sent his chief minister on a quest
for the prescribed herbs and trees.
In India, the minister was well-received
and aided by the sages. He scoured the
mountains for the herbs and trees to make
the elixir. No mixture he made, however,
could bring the dead back to life.
Finally, the disappointed minister
concluded that the information was false.
Greatly distressed about returning
empty-handed and disappointing his king,
the minister asked his hosts what to do.
They led him to a famous philosopher, who
once searched in vain for the same elixir,
and in the end discovered that the elixir
was actually a book.
The philosopher explained that the story
about the elixir was allegorical. The high
mountains in the story represented the
wise and learned men of lofty intellect;
the trees and herbs, which are the
products of the mountains, indicated the
various writings of those sages; the
elixir itself denoted the wisdom extracted
from the sages’ writings, which revived
the dead intelligence and buried thoughts
of ignorant materialistic men.
Relieved and elated, the minister begged a
copy of the book from the philosopher,
translated it, and returned to his king.
That book we know today is a variant of
the book of Hitopadesha.
 The origins of this book are a little less
known. Study of old hand-written
manuscripts, however, reveals that
Narayana Pandit, who lived in the
fourteenth century Bengal province of
India, wrote the book on the request of
King Dhavalchandra. Traditionally, it was
taught to the initiated students in
gurukula (ancient Hindu residential
school in India).
Hitopadesha, or “Good
Instructions”, is famous for its wisdom
and is one of the most popular books on
ethics and polity. It uses the
story-within-a-story format, with animals
as the main characters. It is popular with
children because of the fables, in which
characters of animals are used to
personify certain traits found in humans.
I am happy to have been able to translate
this book from its original Sanskrit
couplets. This will surely expand the
reach of Hitopadesha and help
children and grown-ups alike
by being a
tool while taking decisions. It will also
inspire them
to overcome their daily
problems.
Below is an extract taken from the first
chapter of Hitopadesha. I have
selected the fourth couplet from this
chapter. This is the first write-up of a
series of total three articles that will
be published in future.
“The best wealth is knowledge—it cannot
be stolen, it is priceless and
imperishable.”
The original couplet puts forward the
three reasons why vidya (knowledge)
is the best wealth.
Aharyatvat—Knowledge
cannot be stolen
A rich man is always anxious that his
wealth may be plundered or embezzled, lost
in speculative business or gambling, or
that he or his relatives may be held for
ransom. Today’s rich man can easily become
tomorrow’s pauper. As depicted in the epic
Mahabharata, Yudhisthira lost his
entire kingdom in a day and Dhritarashtra
lost all his sons in eighteen days along
with the kingdom they had acquired by
intrigue against their cousins, the
Pandavas. Here, material wealth and
happiness is compared with the instability
of a drop of water on a lotus leaf. The
short story that follows illustrates the
precarious nature of riches.
 Once, two brothers left their village to
seek their fortune. One brother entered a
gurukula and studied. The other
became an apprentice to a rich merchant.
After some years they decided to visit
their parents and offer whatever they had
earned. On the way, dacoits attacked and
seized all the wealth of the brother who
was the merchant’s apprentice. The other
brother, who was only carrying wealth in
the form of knowledge from books in his
mind, was left untouched.
Knowledge cannot be snatched or taken
away. It is permanent, never burdensome to
carry, and causes no anxiety. Instead, it
alleviates one’s anxiety. Therefore,
knowledge is the most stable form of
wealth. Furthermore, spiritual knowledge
is never lost, even after the demise of
the body. It is a permanent asset.
Anarghatvat—Education is
priceless
Although worldly affluence is limited,
vidya is unlimited, for no one can
estimate the extent or value of one’s
knowledge. With knowledge, one can earn
any amount of wealth. Consultants in
different fields earn millions, while
their knowledge remains intact; in fact it
increases with time and experience.
Knowledge is also priceless in the sense
that it cannot be purchased like other
commodities; it has to be earned by
individual effort.
Aksayatvat—Education is
imperishable
Worldly riches diminish when distributed.
As a result, most people are not
enthusiastic about indulging in charity.
Vidya, however, increases when
shared with others.
This is especially true with spiritual
knowledge. A man enriched with
transcendental knowledge can distribute
his wealth unlimitedly, yet his wealth of
realisation will only increase. This can
be practically tested when one tries to
explain the philosophy of Vedic
literature, which presents the path of
pure devotional service to Lord Krishna as
the true culmination of all knowledge. The
more one talks about the Vedic teachings,
the more one’s store of transcendental
knowledge increases. This experience is
available to anyone who does not
adulterate the true spirit and intent of
the Lord’s instruction to Arjuna.
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita,
“In this endeavour there is no loss or
diminution.” When one dies, his worldly
wealth is left behind, but spiritual
knowledge is never lost. It is carried
with his subtle body to his next life. In
this way, spiritual knowledge is superior
to worldly opulence.
 In this connection, there is a story about
a proud king who was attached to worldly
opulence. A saintly person once called on
him, and noticing the king’s strong
attachment to mercenary objects, suddenly
became very serious. “Why have you become
so grave?” asked the King.
“I can foresee,” replied the saint, “that
very soon you will die; but don’t worry.
Your pious deeds will elevate you to the
heavenly sphere. However, there is one
problem! Your heavenly palace will be
infested with mosquitoes, and though you
will have a nice mosquito net, it will
have a hole through which the mosquitoes
will enter and bite you.”
Though the king liked the saint’s message,
the bit about the mosquitoes disturbed
him. For, he hated them. However, he
assured the saint that he would simply
have the net mended.
The saint replied, “That’s alright, except
for the fact that in heaven there are no
needles. So when you die, be sure to take
a needle with you.”
“But how can I take a needle with me?”
“I have no idea,” said the saint, “but if
you cannot even take a needle with you,
then why are you so proud of your earthly
opulence?”
Hearing this, the king realised the
futility of his attachment and forsook his
false pride.
Therefore, knowledge is the highest form
of wealth.
Endnote
To sum up, here, I quote Shri Shukracharya,
who says, “Vidya is superior to material
wealth as it is the cause of earning all
other wealth; it always increases when
given in charity; it is never burdensome
to carry; and no one can ever forcibly
take it away.”
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