यथैकेन न हस्तेन तालिका सम्प्रपद्यते। तथोद्यमपरित्यक्तं न फलं कर्मणः स्मृतम्॥
yathaikena na hastena tālikā samprapadyate । tathodyamaparityaktaṃ na phalaṃ karmaṇaḥ smṛtam ॥
Meaning of Yathaikena Na Hastena Tālikā
Just as a clap cannot be made with one hand, success in innovation is not possible without effort. Talent bears fruit only when it is supported by hard work and continuous action.
Word by word
- यथाyathā
just as
यथा
- एकेनekena
by one
एक
- नna
not
न
- हस्तेनhastena
by the hand
हस्त
- तालिकाtālikā
a clap
ताल
- सम्प्रपद्यतेsamprapadyate
comes about
सम् + प्र + √पद्
- तथाtathā
so too
तथा
- उद्यमपरित्यक्तम्udyamaparityaktam
devoid of effort
उद्यम + परि + √त्यज्
The pivot of the verse: udyama, exertion, is what is missing.
- फलम्phalam
fruit, result
फल
- कर्मणःkarmaṇaḥ
of action
कर्मन्, √कृ
- स्मृतम्smṛtam
is held, is taught
√स्मृ
Commentary
The image of a clap makes the verse's logic immediate: one hand alone cannot produce the intended sound. In the same way, a desired result does not arise from wish, talent, or favorable conditions without udyama, deliberate effort. The comparison is about necessary contribution, not a claim that effort alone controls every outcome. Applied to innovation or enterprise, an idea must be joined by testing, labor, and persistence before it can become useful. Vision and exertion work like two hands; either one without the other remains incomplete. The shared meaning brings in innovation and talent, neither of which appears in the verse. The text says udyama-parityaktam: the fruit of action is not obtained where effort has been abandoned. Its subject is exertion, not aptitude.
Sources and textual variants
Original Post
More from Panchatantra
View source pageउद्यमस्य प्रसादेन दृश्यन्ते विविधाः कलाः। कातरा एव जल्पन्ति यद् भाव्यं तद् भविष्यति॥
udyamasya prasādena dṛśyante vividhāḥ kalāḥ । kātarā eva jalpanti yad bhāvyaṁ tad bhaviṣyati ॥
Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha teaches that diverse skills are revealed through enterprise, while the timid merely leave everything to what will happen.
त्याज्यं न धैर्यं विधुरेऽपि दैवे धैर्यात्कदाचित्स्थितिमाप्नुयात्सः। याते समुद्रेऽपि च पोतभङ्गे सांयात्रिको वाञ्छति कर्म एव॥
tyājyaṁ na dhairyaṁ vidhure'pi daive dhairyāt kadācit sthitim āpnuyāt saḥ । yāte samudre'pi ca potabhaṅge sāṁyātriko vāñchati karma eva ॥
Even when fortune turns adverse, patience and continued action can restore one's position, just as a shipwrecked voyager still strives at sea.
यत्रोत्साहसमारम्भो यत्रालस्यविहीनता। नयविक्रमसंयोगस्तत्र श्रीरचला ध्रुवम्॥
yatrotsāhasamārambho yatrālasyavihīnatā । nayavikramasaṃyogas tatra śrīr acalā dhruvam ॥
The Panchatantra teaches that enthusiasm, freedom from idleness, prudent judgment, and courage make prosperity steady and enduring.
More subhashitams on Perseverance
View topic pageनित्यं परिचरेच्चैव तद्वै सुकृतमुत्तमम्। कीर्तिं पुण्यं यशो लोकान् प्राप्स्यसे राजसत्तम॥
nityaṃ paricareccaiva tadvai sukṛtamuttamam । kīrtiṃ puṇyaṃ yaśo lokān prāpsyase rājasattama ॥
Daily service is praised as an excellent deed that brings merit, renown and higher realms.
रत्नैर्महाब्धेस्तुतुषुर्न देवा न भेजिरे भीमविषेण भीतिम्। सुधां विना न प्रययुर्विरामं न निश्चितार्थाद्विरमन्ति धीराः॥
ratnair mahābdhes tutuṣur na devā na bhejire bhīmaviṣeṇa bhītim । sudhāṃ vinā na prayayur virāmaṃ na niścitārthād viramanti dhīrāḥ ॥
Bhartrhari recalls the churning of the ocean to show that resolute people neither settle for partial gains nor abandon their aim when danger appears.
स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः। स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु॥
sve sve karmaṇyabhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ । svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tacchṛṇu ॥
The Bhagavad Gita teaches that devotion to one's own work is a path to perfection.