A wicked wife, a foolish friend, an ill tongued servant and a house infested with serpents will undoubtedly bring death.

The quote groups together four hazards—an immoral spouse, an unwise confidant, a sharp-tongued servant, and a snake-infested home—to argue that internal, proximate dangers can be as lethal as obvious physical threats. Its force lies in equating social and moral dysfunction with mortal peril: betrayal or constant conflict within intimate relationships can “kill” security, reputation, peace, and even literal safety. The maxim also reflects a pragmatic, sometimes harsh Chanakyan worldview in which trust must be carefully placed and the household (or state) must be managed by removing sources of persistent risk. Read critically today, it also reveals patriarchal assumptions typical of premodern didactic literature, especially in its framing of a “wicked wife” as a primary danger.