પાયા વગર કાંઈ ગંધાય.

pāyā vagara kāṁī gaṁdhāya.

Literally: Can anything smell without a foundation?
What it means: Rumors or complaints do not arise out of nowhere; there is always some underlying truth.

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.