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subhashitawisdomnitihitopadesha

Yasya Nasti Svayam Prajna

Yasya Nasti Svayam Prajna in English · English

🕉️ hindu·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 Morning reflection, or while studying and seeking to understand·📜 Hitopadesha (Subhashita)
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हिन्दी / देवनागरीతెలుగుதமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡമലയാളംગુજરાતીবাংলাଓଡ଼ିଆਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

Yasya Nasti Svayam Prajna is a famous niti-shloka from the Hitopadesha on the necessity of native intelligence. With a striking simile — a mirror is useless to the eyeless — it teaches that scripture and book-learning can do nothing for a person who lacks his own wisdom and discernment. True learning requires that knowledge be met by an intelligent, discerning mind.

Origin & Story

Hitopadesha (Subhashita) · Narayana Pandita (compiler of the Hitopadesha) · Classical Sanskrit literature (c. 9th–12th century CE)

The Hitopadesha is a collection of instructive animal fables in prose interspersed with verse, composed to teach princes wisdom and statecraft through delightful stories. This verse appears among its niti-shlokas, using the memorable image of a mirror useless to the blind to declare that scripture profits only the one already endowed with native intelligence.

✦ As told in scripture

Teachers of old loved to quote this verse to awaken thinking in their pupils; it is said that a student who grasps its meaning stops studying merely to memorise and begins to study in order to understand, and so makes every book he reads truly his own.

The Mantra

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yasya nāsti svayaṁ prajñā śāstraṁ tasya karoti kim। locanābhyāṁ vihīnasya darpaṇaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati॥

Meaning:For one who has no wisdom of his own, what can scripture do? Just as, for a person devoid of eyes, what use is a mirror? The verse teaches that book-learning bears fruit only when joined to one's own native intelligence and discernment.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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yasya🔊of whom, for the one who
nāsti🔊there is not, does not exist
svayam🔊one's own, innate, by oneself
prajñā🔊wisdom, native intelligence, discernment
śāstram🔊scripture, the science or treatise, book-learning
tasya karoti kim🔊what can it do for him? (it is of no use)
locanābhyām🔊with the two eyes
vihīnasya🔊of one who is devoid (deprived), of the one lacking
darpaṇaḥ🔊a mirror
kiṁ kariṣyati🔊what will it do? (it serves no purpose)

Benefits of Chanting Yasya Nasti Svayam Prajna

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Highlights that native intelligence and discernment are essential to learning

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Warns that book-knowledge alone, without understanding, is fruitless

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Encourages the cultivation of one's own reasoning and judgement

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Offers a memorable simile to grasp the limits of mere information

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A valuable lesson for students that learning must be understood, not just read

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A short, witty verse for reflection on wisdom versus rote knowledge

How to Chant Yasya Nasti Svayam Prajna

Repetitions3times
Best TimeMorning reflection, or while studying and seeking to understand

Recite the verse thoughtfully, dwelling on its simile of the mirror useless to the eyeless. Reflect that knowledge bears fruit only when met by one's own intelligence and discernment, and resolve to truly understand rather than merely memorise. It is often quoted to students as a reminder that learning is meant to awaken thinking, not replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Yasya Nasti Svayam Prajna written in the English script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.
Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.
It is a celebrated niti-shloka (subhashita) from the Hitopadesha, the classical Sanskrit collection of moral fables compiled by Narayana Pandita, and it is widely quoted in the broader Subhashita tradition on intelligence.
That scripture and book-learning are of no use to a person who lacks his own wisdom and discernment — just as a mirror is useless to someone without eyes. Native intelligence is essential for knowledge to be of any value.
No. It does not belittle scripture but stresses that its benefit depends on the learner's own intelligence and understanding. Study is fruitful only when joined to discernment, so the verse encourages cultivating both.

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