Sametalu

ākali ruci erugadu, nidra sukhaṁ erugadu.

Hunger does not know taste; sleep does not know comfort. (Need overrides preference.)

dīpaṁ uṇḍagānē illu cakkabeṭṭukō.

Set your house in order while the lamp is still lit. (Act while you still have time and means.)

kañcē cēnu mēstē, iṅka rakṣaṇa ēmiṭi?

If the fence itself eats the field, what protection remains? (When the guardian becomes the thief.)

cētiki emuka lēdu.

There is no bone in the hand. (Said of someone exceptionally generous — gives without restraint.)

mokkai vaṅganidi mānai vaṅgutundā?

If it does not bend as a sapling, will it bend as a tree? (Habits not corrected in childhood cannot be corrected later.)

aḍḍagōḍa mīda dīpaṁ.

A lamp on the dividing wall. (A statement that can be read either way; a person who sides with both parties.)

pilli kaḷḷu mūsukuni pālu tāgitē lōkāniki teliyadā?

If a cat closes its eyes while drinking milk, does the world not see? (You cannot hide wrongdoing by ignoring it yourself.)

tāḍi ceṭṭu kinda kūrcuni pālu tāginā kallu anukuṇṭāru.

Even if you drink milk under a palmyra tree, people will assume it is toddy. (Your company shapes how others judge you.)

enta ceṭṭuki anta gāli.

As big the tree, so strong the wind it faces. (The greater your stature, the greater your trials.)

dūrapu koṇḍalu nunupu.

Distant hills look smooth. (Things appear easier or more attractive from far away — the grass is greener.)

iṇṭa gelici racca geluvu.

Win at home before you try to win in the assembly. (Master your own house before taking on the world.)

aḍigē vāḍiki ceppēvāḍu lōkuva.

To the one who keeps asking, the one who answers becomes cheap. (Do not give counsel where it is not valued.)

caduvurāni vāḍu vintapaśuvu.

An unlettered man is a strange beast. (Education is what raises a person above the animal.)

tinaga tinaga vēmu tiyyanuṇḍu.

Eat neem long enough and even it turns sweet. (Practice and habituation make even the bitter palatable.)

piṭṭa koñcem, kūta ghanaṁ.

The bird is small, but its call is mighty. (A small person can carry great voice or impact.)

gontemma kōrkelu.

Gontemma's wishes. (Said of impossible, fanciful demands — wishing for the moon.)

nūru goḍlu tinna rābandhu okagāliki tāki kūlunu.

A vulture that ate a hundred cattle is felled by a single gust of wind. (The mighty are eventually undone by something small.)

aracētini aḍḍupeṭṭi sūryuni āpalēru.

You cannot block the sun with the palm of your hand. (Truth cannot be hidden by petty effort.)

kuḍitilō paḍḍa eluka.

A mouse fallen into the cattle-slop. (Someone trapped in a wretched, hopeless mess of their own making.)

niṇḍu kuṇḍa toṇakadu.

A full pot does not slosh. (The truly accomplished do not boast; only the half-empty rattle.)

attalēni kōḍaluttamurālu, kōḍalulēni atta guṇavanturālu.

A daughter-in-law without a mother-in-law is virtuous; a mother-in-law without a daughter-in-law is noble. (We praise people most when there is no one to test us against them.)

illu kaṭṭi cūḍu, peḷḷi cēsi cūḍu.

Build a house and see; conduct a wedding and see. (Until you have done these two things, you do not know real difficulty.)

ceviṭivāḍi mundu śaṅkhaṁ ūdinaṭlu.

Like blowing a conch in front of a deaf man. (Wasted effort on someone who will not or cannot hear.)

āvu cēlō mēstē dūḍa gaṭṭuna mēstundā?

If the cow grazes in the field, will the calf graze on the bund? (Children follow the example their parents set.)

modaṭikē mōsaṁ.

Cheated of even the principal. (In trying for more, one loses what one already had.)

tāmbūlāliccēśānu, tannuku cāvaṇḍi.

I have handed out the betel leaves; now fight it out among yourselves. (Said when one washes one's hands of a problem after starting it.)

piccukapai brahmāstraṁ.

A Brahmastra against a sparrow. (Using overwhelming force on a trivial target.)

gōranta dīpāniki koṇḍanta velugu.

A lamp the size of a fingernail throws a mountain of light. (Small good acts have far-reaching effects.)

nakka ekkaḍa, nāgalōkaṁ ekkaḍa?

Where is the jackal, and where is Nagaloka? (Said when two things being compared are wildly mismatched in stature.)

cēsukunnavāḍiki cēsukunnanta mahadēva.

To each, as much Mahadeva as he himself worships. (You reap what you sow — your own effort determines your reward.)

attamīda kōpaṁ duttamīda cūpinaṭṭu.

Like venting anger meant for the mother-in-law on the milk-pot. (Taking out frustration on someone or something innocent.)

unnamāṭa aṇṭē ulukekkuva.

Speak the plain truth and it stings the most. (People resent honesty more than any insult.)

uppu tinna vāḍiki uppu ruci telustundi.

Only the one who has eaten salt knows its taste. (Only experience teaches the value of a thing.)

ekkaḍi goṅgaḍi akkaḍē.

The blanket lies right where it always was. (Said when nothing has actually changed despite all the talk.)

oka oralō reṇḍu kattulu imaḍavu.

Two swords cannot fit in one scabbard. (Two strong egos cannot share a single seat of power.)

kāki pilla kākiki muddu.

A crow's chick is dear to the crow. (Even the ugliest child is beautiful to its own mother.)

koṇḍanu tavvi elukanu paṭṭinaṭṭu.

Like digging up a mountain to catch a mouse. (Enormous effort for a trivial result.)

guḍḍi ēnugu cēlō paḍḍaṭṭu.

Like a blind elephant fallen into a field. (Reckless destruction caused by someone with power but no judgment.)

cinta caccinā pulupu cāvadu.

The tamarind dies, but its sourness does not. (A person's nature does not change, even with age or hardship.)

tēluku pettanaṁ istē tellavārlū kuṭṭindaṭa.

Give a scorpion authority and it stings all night. (Power in the wrong hands is used only to harm.)

doṅgaku doṅga buddhi, doraku dora buddhi.

A thief thinks like a thief; a lord thinks like a lord. (Each judges others by their own nature.)

nīḷḷalō munigitē cali, eṇḍalō nilistē vēḍi.

Cold if you sit in water, hot if you stand in the sun. (No matter what one does, complaints will follow — there is no pleasing some people.)

pagalu diviṭī paṭṭukoni vetikinā dorakaḍu.

Could not be found even if you searched by torchlight in broad daylight. (Said of someone or something that is impossibly rare.)

pilla cēta kākarakāya tinipiñcinaṭṭu.

Like making a child eat bitter gourd by hand. (Forcing something unpleasant on someone for their own good.)

puṇḍu mīda kāraṁ callinaṭṭu.

Like sprinkling chilli powder on a wound. (Adding cruelty to someone already in pain — rubbing salt in the wound.)

mūligē nakka mīda tāṭipaṇḍu paḍḍaṭṭu.

Like a palmyra fruit falling on a groaning fox. (One trouble piled on top of another — when it rains, it pours.)

rāmāyaṇaṁ antā vini, rāmuḍiki sīta ēmavutundani aḍiginaṭṭu.

Like listening to the entire Ramayana and then asking how Sita is related to Rama. (Said of someone who has heard everything and understood nothing.)

vaṅkara ṭiṅkara dārilō vaṅgi naḍavāli.

On a crooked path, one must walk bent. (One must adapt to the circumstances one finds oneself in.)

śivājña lēnidē cīmainā kuṭṭadu.

Without Shiva's command, not even an ant will bite. (Nothing happens without divine sanction; each event has its appointed cause.)

nakka siṁhāsanaṁ mīda kūrcunnā nakkē.

Even seated on a throne, a jackal remains a jackal. (Position cannot turn a lowly nature into a noble one.)