નાથ કહાડી નથી ત્યાં સુધી ગાઠું તાણવું.

nātha kahāḍī nathī tyāṁ sudhī gāṭhuṁ tāṇavuṁ.

Literally: Pull headstrong as long as the nose-rope has not been inserted.
What it means: Assert your independence and act stubbornly before authority is firmly imposed upon you.

ગુજરાતી કહેવતસંગ્રહ (Gujarati Kahevat Sangrah) (1921) · read from the scan by machine — the Gujarati itself is unchecked · English is machine-made and nobody has checked it yet

Heard it differently, or know we've got the sense wrong? Tell us — that is exactly the kind of correction this needs.