lohāke - iron; yāvat - as long as; sparśi' - touching; hema - gold; nāhi - not; kare - transforms; tāvat - until then; sparśa-maṇi - the touchstone; keha - someone; cinite - to recognize; nā - not; pāre - is able.

As long as it does not turn iron into gold by its touch, no one can recognize an unknown stone to be a touchstone.