आपत्काले च कष्टेऽपि नोत्साहस्त्यज्यते बुधैः। इति प्रबोधितस्तेन कथञ्चिद् दृढबुद्धिना॥
āpatkāle ca kaṣṭe’pi notsāhas tyajyate budhaiḥ । iti prabodhitastena kathañcid dṛḍhabuddhinā ॥
Meaning of Āpatkāle Ca Kaṣṭe’Pi Notsāhas
Wise people with steady and resolute minds understand that truly intelligent people never lose their enthusiasm, even in times of adversity and difficult circumstances.
Word by word
- आपत्कालेāpatkāle
at a time of calamity, in adversity
आपद् + काल
- चca
and
- कष्टेkaṣṭe
in hardship, in difficulty
कष्ट
Locative singular.
- अपिapi
even
- नna
not
Sandhi: na + utsāhaḥ gives notsāhaḥ.
- उत्साहःutsāhaḥ
enthusiasm, energy, determined effort
उद् + √सह्
Sandhi: utsāhaḥ + tyajyate gives utsāhas tyajyate.
- त्यज्यतेtyajyate
is abandoned, is given up
√त्यज्
- बुधैःbudhaiḥ
by the wise
बुध
Instrumental plural, the agent of tyajyate.
- इतिiti
thus, with these words
- प्रबोधितःprabodhitaḥ
instructed, roused
प्र + √बुध्
Sandhi: prabodhitaḥ + tena gives prabodhitastena.
- तेनtena
by him
- कथञ्चित्kathañcit
somehow, with some difficulty
The final t becomes d before dṛḍhabuddhinā.
- दृढबुद्धिनाdṛḍhabuddhinā
by Dṛḍhabuddhi, the firm-minded companion
दृढ + बुद्धि
A proper name in the narrative, also literally meaning one of firm intellect.
Commentary
The central maxim is direct: wise people do not cast away utsāha, their energy, initiative and determined spirit, even when calamity and hardship arrive. The passive form tyajyate makes enthusiasm something that must not be relinquished, while āpatkāle and kaṣṭe’pi test that resolve precisely under adverse conditions. Budhaiḥ grounds this perseverance in wisdom rather than in blind optimism. The lesson is therefore not that difficulty is unreal, but that difficulty should not be allowed to extinguish purposeful effort. In the Kathasaritsagara narrative, Dṛḍhabuddhi is the name of Sundarasena’s steadfast companion, who rouses the grief-stricken prince to act after Mandāravatī has been carried away. The supplied meaning also reads dṛḍhabuddhi descriptively as a steady and resolute mind, an interpretation that suits both the name and the character’s role. The two quoted lines come from the first halves of consecutive verses, so the second line retains its narrative sense: “thus, somehow instructed by Dṛḍhabuddhi.”
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A reflection on how glorious fame and extraordinary achievements are only possible through the embrace of courage.
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A Yoga Vasistha verse that links the fruit of an undertaking to human effort and identifies such effort with what people call destiny.