---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The undertaking of a careless man…"
description: "\"The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though well placed in ambush, kills not his quarry..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg"
---

#  The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he…

![“The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though well placed in ambush, kills not his quarry if he falls asleep.” quote by J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg)

> “The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though well placed in ambush, kills not his quarry if he falls asleep.”

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Success requires vigilance and effort; even with good tools, negligence leads to failure.

**In simple terms:** Even with good tools, you must stay alert.

Key Takeaway

Stay focused and act deliberately.

Themes

vigilance effort failure skill

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

moral didactic

When to use this quote

- hunting
- project management
- exam preparation
- business ventures

Key Concepts

Sanskrit literature folk tale morality

Questions to Reflect On

- Are you fully present in your tasks?
- What habits keep you alert?

A Different Perspective

Neglect can nullify any advantage.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Hunters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunters/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/)

## Related quotes

> [“Unchecked craving strangles the careless man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/unchecked-craving-strangles-the-careless-man/)

[Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/)

> [“The most awful hunger is the type that is satisfied too soon, before it moves you, before you are moved by it, before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/the-most-awful-hunger-is-the-type-that-is-satisfied-too-soon-before/)

[Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/)

> [A man succeeds in completing a work only when his qualities transcend that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/a-man-succeeds-in-completing-a-work-only-when-his-qualities-transcend/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [An imitator is a man who succeeds in being an imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/an-imitator-is-a-man-who-succeeds-in-being-an-imitation/)

[Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/)

> [The man who succeeds above his fellows is the one who early in life clearly discerns his object, and towards that object habitually directs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-man-who-succeeds-above-his-fellows-is-the-one-who-early-in-life-2/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [“The man who makes a success of an important venture never wails for the crowd. He strikes out for himself. It takes nerve, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-howard/the-man-who-makes-a-success-of-an-important-venture-never-wails-for/)

Tony Howard

> [“the man who succeeds is the man who is able to reduce problems to their simplest terms and who has the courage of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/the-man-who-succeeds-is-the-man-who-is-able-to-reduce-problems-to/)

[Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/)

> [The man who succeeds above his fellows is the one who early in life, clearly discerns his object, and towards that object habitually directs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/the-man-who-succeeds-above-his-fellows-is-the-one-who-early-in-life/)

[Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/)

> [The man who succeeds must always in mind or imagination live, move, think, and act as if he had gained that success, or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prentice-mulford/the-man-who-succeeds-must-always-in-mind-or-imagination-live-move/)

[Prentice Mulford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prentice-mulford/)

> [When a wise man succeeds, the temptation to shut up is greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/when-a-wise-man-succeeds-the-temptation-to-shut-up-is-greater/)

[Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/)

> [The only time a lazy man ever succeeds is when he tries to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/the-only-time-a-lazy-man-ever-succeeds-is-when-he-tries-to-do-nothing/)

[Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/)

> [Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/only-when-man-succeeds-in-developing-his-reason-and-love-further-than/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [Isn’t there a time or two you can remember when somehow an animal you’ve hunted has done something to make you let him vanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-hill/isn-t-there-a-time-or-two-you-can-remember-when-somehow-an-animal-you/)

[Gene Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-hill/)

> [“The dogs are still playing in the yard, but the quarry will not escape them, never mind how fast it is running through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-dogs-are-still-playing-in-the-yard-but-the-quarry-will-not-escape/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/sustained-and-soothed-by-an-unfaltering-trust-approach-thy-grave-like/)

[William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/)

## More by J. K. Bharavi

> [Success is like a lovely woman, wooed by many men, but folded in the arms of him alone who, free from over-zeal, firmly persists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/success-is-like-a-lovely-woman-wooed-by-many-men-but-folded-in-the/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

> [Be patient, if thou wouldst thy ends accomplish; for like patience is there no appliance effective of success, producing certainly abundant fruit of actions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/be-patient-if-thou-wouldst-thy-ends-accomplish-for-like-patience-is/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

> [Do nothing rashly; want of circumspection is the chief cause of failure and disaster. Fortune, wise lover of the wise, selects him for her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/do-nothing-rashly-want-of-circumspection-is-the-chief-cause-of/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

> [As drops of bitter medicine, though minute, may have a salutary force, so words, though few and painful, uttered seasonably, may rouse the prostrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/as-drops-of-bitter-medicine-though-minute-may-have-a-salutary-force/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

> [Those who wish well towards their friends disdain to please them with words which are not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/those-who-wish-well-towards-their-friends-disdain-to-please-them-with/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

> [The natural hostility of beasts is laid aside when flying from pursuers; so also when danger is impending the enmity of rivals is ended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/the-natural-hostility-of-beasts-is-laid-aside-when-flying-from/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

> [The friendship of the bad is like the shade of some precipitous bank with crumbling sides, which, falling, buries him who is beneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/the-friendship-of-the-bad-is-like-the-shade-of-some-precipitous-bank/)

[J. K. Bharavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

[Explore all 8 J. K. Bharavi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/)

## More Ambush quotes

> [“You can easily discern whether someone is truly interested to learn & know when s/he asks you or cornering and ambushing you to stumble...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/you-can-easily-discern-whether-someone-is-truly-interested-to-learn/)

[Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/)

> [“That was the cruelty of memory. The way it could ambush you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-d-leclaire/that-was-the-cruelty-of-memory-the-way-it-could-ambush-you/)

[Anne D. LeClaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-d-leclaire/)

> [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [Ideally a painter (and, generally, an artist) should not become conscious of his insights: without taking the detour through his reflective processes, and incomprehensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/ideally-a-painter-and-generally-an-artist-should-not-become-conscious/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/accidents-ambush-the-unsuspecting-often-violently-just-like-love-it/)

[Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/)

> [“Okay then, we’re set” he thought. “Come and get it”. The enemy, his enemy, were walking into the classic football ambush and they didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dougie-brimson/okay-then-we-re-set-he-thought-come-and-get-it-the-enemy-his-enemy/)

[Dougie Brimson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dougie-brimson/)

> [Some fell by laudanum, and some by steel, and death in ambush lay in every pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-garth/some-fell-by-laudanum-and-some-by-steel-and-death-in-ambush-lay-in/)

[Samuel Garth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-garth/)

> [ What would things been like \[in Russia\] if during periods of mass arrests people had not simply sat there, paling with terror at every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/what-would-things-been-like-in-russia-if-during-periods-of-mass/)

[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/)

> [We stand there, quiet. My questions all seem wrong: How did you get so old? Was it all at once, in a day, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/we-stand-there-quiet-my-questions-all-seem-wrong-how-did-you-get-so/)

[Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/)

> [The only rule Muslims know is to win. It does not matter how. All rules can be broken as long as they win the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/the-only-rule-muslims-know-is-to-win-it-does-not-matter-how-all-rules/)

[Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/)

> [“Grief is an ambush. You’re walking along feeling fine, look down, see a leaf, and begin to weep. —Jack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/grief-is-an-ambush-you-re-walking-along-feeling-fine-look-down-see-a/)

[Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/)

> [A wealthy traveller fears an ambush, while one with empty pockets journeys on in safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-wealthy-traveller-fears-an-ambush-while-one-with-empty-pockets/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [She is a mortal danger to all men. She is beautiful without knowing it, and possesses charms that she's not even aware of. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyrano-de-bergerac/she-is-a-mortal-danger-to-all-men-she-is-beautiful-without-knowing-it/)

[Cyrano de Bergerac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyrano-de-bergerac/)

> [In tennis the addict moves about a hard rectangle and seeks to ambush a fuzzy ball with a modified snow-shoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-chaze/in-tennis-the-addict-moves-about-a-hard-rectangle-and-seeks-to-ambush/)

[Elliott Chaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-chaze/)

> [“He's prowling back and forth like a lion with distemper now. There's a shiny streak down one side of his face. "I shouldn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-s-prowling-back-and-forth-like-a-lion-with-distemper-now-there-s-a/)

[Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/)

Browse all 66 Ambush quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though well placed in ambush, kills not his quarry if he falls asleep.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "J. K. Bharavi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succeeds-not-though-he-use-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ambush"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succeeds-not-though-he-use-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/j-k-bharavi-47212_ambush_the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succee_1562829.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though…” — J. K. Bharavi",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "J. K. Bharavi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-bharavi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The undertaking of a careless man...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succeeds-not-though-he-use-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-bharavi/the-undertaking-of-a-careless-man-succeeds-not-though-he-use-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```