never leave traces..

अग्नि: शेषं ऋण: शेषं,

शत्रु: शेषं तथैव च ।

ते पुन: पुन: प्रवर्धेत,

तस्मात् शेषं न कारयेत् ।।

चाणक्य नीतिः 

അഗ്നി: ശേഷം ഋണ: ശേഷം,

ശത്രു: ശേഷം തഥൈവ ച ।

തേ പുന: പുന: പ്രവര്‍ദ്ധേത,

തസ്മാത് ശേഷം ന കാരയേത് ॥

ചാണക്യ നീതിഃ

agni: śeṣaṃ ṛṇa: śeṣaṃ,

śatru: śeṣaṃ tathaiva ca ।

te puna: puna: pravardheta,

tasmāt śeṣaṃ na kārayet ॥

cāṇakya nītiḥ

A very relevant advice from the great strategist and politician of India, Chanakya

In the administration of a nation or a state and in the management of day to day life of ordinary people too, there are many challenges for which solutions have to be sought and found effectively..
 Some problems, come back, even when solved temporarily..
 The best approach in problem-solving would be to remove the problem for ever leaving no traces..
 Surgeons do that in treating malignancy through radiation and chemotherapy for example.

If there is a fire attack, and if the fire is just put out temporarily leaving behind some damp logs and smoking parts, the fire would catch up once again sooner or later and this can happen with redoubled vigour.
 The best way is to ensure that the fire is put out completely and all materials that could cause fire are removed for ever.

The best policy in life would be that one should not incur any loans..
But that is a tall order.
 In the present day scenario we cannot survive without loans.. While taking  loans  we incur so many liabilities and we undertake to abide by so many terms and conditions, we sign documents and instruments, and even mortgage our valuable assets..
 Every prudent person would ensure that the loan is repaid sooner or later.. But if the loan is repaid only partially, the interest would mount up on the balance.. and the liability can skyrocket.
 If there is no proper documentation and complete retrieval of the encumbered assets and the sureties offered, the person who has incurred the loan, though he may not realize it, could face huge unexpected  liabilities and threats in future..
 So the best way is to ensure that the loans are discharged completely without leaving any balances or liabilities. 

And once someone has become an enemy, even though there can be truces and compromises, the enmity would persist at least in a dormant way. And every enemy would be biding for the opportunity to retaliate and get even..
So the best thing to do if we are fighting an enemy is that we should finish him off once for all and ensure that he can never come back.

The meaning of the Slokam is

One should never leave  behind traces for  future when he is dealing with either fire, loan or an enemy..
Even if some small portions of these  are left unattended, such portions would grow slowly and steadily and can pose great danger to us.