Nitivakya

Nitivakya — Turn timeless wisdom into daily action.

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Inspiration

The inspiration for Nitivakya came from a personal frustration during my university days. I searched the Google Play Store for a good Chanakya Niti app, but most existing apps had outdated designs and generic content. I wanted to build an app that truly reflected the value of Chanakya Niti.

However, I realized creating "yet another quotes app" with a prettier design wasn't enough. Standard quote apps usually display only a quote and a simple meaning. Sanskrit academic texts provide prose reordering (anvay) and word-by-word breakdowns, but for an everyday user in a fast-paced world, that is far too academic. I decided to scrap the academic clutter entirely and focus on what the wisdom actually teaches.

Then I had a breakthrough: what if I shifted from the reader's perspective to the author's perspective? Ancient authors didn't share wisdom just to tell a story - they shared it so readers wouldn't repeat the same painful mistakes in their own lives. This birthed two core features: Why It Matters (author's intent) and How to Apply in Modern Life (translating ancient text into modern real-world actions).

Coming from a Sanskrit background, I also expanded the app beyond Chanakya Niti to cover broader Nitishastra literature (Vidur Niti, Nitishatakam, Shukra Niti) with Sources and Multi-Language Translations to break language barriers.

Finally, I combined this with a memory from my school days (around 7th or 8th grade), where I read a library book framing the 24 hours of a day as an 86,400 daily score budget. That memory inspired the Action Creator and the Lore of Mitrasthali, turning passive wisdom reading into active daily execution.

What it does

Nitivakya is a Kotlin Multiplatform app that turns timeless ancient Sanskrit wisdom into daily action:

  • Decoded Daily Sanskrit Wisdom: Displays daily shlokas with compact meanings, Why It Matters (author's underlying intent), How to Apply in Modern Life (practical scenarios), and cross-referenced Sources (spanning Chanakya Niti, Vidur Niti, Nitishatakam, Shukra Niti, etc.).
  • Multi-Language Translation: Breaks language barriers and counters the misconception that Sanskrit is just an outdated ritualistic (Karmkand) language.
  • Action Creator: Allows users to break down wisdom guidance into structured, time-bound execution levels connected to an 86,400 daily time-budget.
  • The Lore of Mitrasthali: Uses an immersive narrative world (King Mitrayan, Solar Coins, Time Credits) to give daily time management a visual, narrative soul.

How we built it

Nitivakya is built with a strictly decoupled, offline-first Clean Architecture + MVI pattern using Kotlin Multiplatform:

  • UI Framework: Compose Multiplatform with Material 3.
  • Dependency Injection: Koin.
  • Local Storage & Database: SQLDelight and DataStore.
  • Backend & Auth: Supabase (Postgres, Row Level Security, Edge Functions).
  • Navigation: Jetpack Navigation 3 DSL.
  • Monetization: RevenueCat.

Challenges we ran into

  • Designing a Differentiated Content Model: Avoiding the trap of "yet another quote app" by stripping away academic clutter (anvay and word-by-word breakdowns) and figuring out how to present ancient Sanskrit guidance in modern, relatable daily scenarios.
  • Offline-First Resilience: Ensuring that users can create custom actions, practice routines, and favorite quotes while offline, and seamlessly sync everything back to Supabase without data loss or UI lag.
  • Balancing Performance and UI Polish: Maintaining smooth 60 FPS animations and real-time 86,400 countdown timers in Compose Multiplatform while keeping state management lean and responsive.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Pioneering a New Wisdom Framework: Moving beyond static quote readers by inventing Why It Matters (Author's Intent) and How to Apply in Modern Life.
  • Production-Grade KMP Architecture: Successfully implementing a clean, testable Clean Architecture + MVI codebase in Kotlin Multiplatform using Compose Multiplatform, Koin, SQLDelight, and Supabase.
  • Meaningful Product Worldbuilding: Creating the Lore of Mitrasthali (King Mitrayan, Solar Coins, Time Credits) to give a productivity app a narrative soul.
  • Multi-Language Accessibility: Making ancient Nitishastra texts accessible to everyone by breaking language and cultural barriers.

What we learned

  • Content & Perspective Are the True Differentiators: A modern UI attracts users, but a unique perspective (shifting from Reader's POV to Author's POV) is what creates genuine value.
  • The Maturity of Kotlin Multiplatform: Experiencing firsthand how KMP and Compose Multiplatform have evolved to support complex, production-ready, offline-first mobile applications.
  • Storytelling Enhances Engagement: Adding narrative worldbuilding (Time Credits, Solar Coins) transforms daily time management from a chore into a meaningful daily ritual.

What's next for Nitivakya

  • Expanding the Nitishastra Library: Incorporating more ancient ethical texts and cross-referenced sources.
  • Community Actions Ecosystem: Enabling users to share, discover, and adopt custom practice blueprints created by the community.
  • Expanding to iOS & Desktop: Leveraging our Kotlin Multiplatform architecture to expand Nitivakya to iOS and Desktop using Compose Multiplatform and native home screen widgets.

Built With

  • android
  • jetpack-compose
  • kotlin
  • kotlin-multiplatform
  • sqldelight
  • supabase
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