value of youthness-----artha sastra of chanakya-chapter-17-verse-18

athaha pashyasi kim vruddhe, patitham thava kim bhuvi. re re murkha na janasi gatham tharunya maukthikam.----------an extremely  old woman who walked  with bend  back appearing to be looking down for something, was asked by a youth sarcastically."ancient lady what for you look down? lost something or dropped something down there? the old woman replied."fool, don't you know that  the pearl of my youth years is lost?. well i look for the same. only old people know the value of youthfulness. it is the most precious  stage of  one's life. the full realization of it's value dawns only when it's gone.  the best time for gaining any knowledge is during  youthfulness, when the mind and body is strong. the old age brings in various discomforts which will hinder learning process and therefore make use of  the youthfulness in  a nice way.