कार्यमण्वपि काले तु कृतमेत्युपकारताम् । महानप्युपकारोऽपि रिक्ततामेत्यकालतः ॥ २६ ॥
kāryamaṇvapi kālē tu kṛtamētyupakāratām | mahānapyupakārō’pi riktatāmētyakālataḥ || 26 ||
Translation
"A task, however small, done at the right time becomes a real help; a help, however great, done out of time comes to nothing."
Word by word
- kāryam
- a task
- aṇu
- small
- api
- however
- kālē
- at the right time
- tu
- indeed
- kṛtam
- done
- ēti
- becomes
- upakāratām
- a real help
- mahān
- great
- upakārō
- (upakāraḥ) a help
- riktatām
- to nothing
- akālataḥ
- out of time
Meaning
A general maxim to close the argument: timing is everything.