ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുക്കളെ നിനച്ചു കുന്തവും വിഴുങ്ങണം”
— English Translation:
Keeping one's master in mind, one must be ready to swallow even a spear. (Absolute devotion and loyalty to one's teacher demand bearing the most grueling hardships without complaint.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോഴി ചിള്ളുംപോലെ തന്റെമുമ്പിൽമാത്രം”
— English Translation:
Like a chicken scratching the soil only immediately in front of itself. (Parochial short-sightedness; caring only for one's immediate selfish perimeter without regard for the wider world.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുക്കൾക്കു കൊടുക്കുന്നത് അപ്പംതിന്നാൽ പലിശക്കുകൊള്ളുന്നത് പുറത്തു”
— English Translation:
Eating the sweet cake intended for the master results in paying the interest squarely on one's own back. (Defrauding one's teacher or misusing sacred dues brings swift, agonizing retribution upon oneself.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോഴിമുട്ട ഉടെപ്പാൻ കുറുന്തടി വേണമൊ”
— English Translation:
Do you need a heavy club to break a hen’s egg? (Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut; employing wildly excessive force on a fragile, simple matter.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുക്കൾക്കുള്ളത് ചക്കകൊണ്ടാൽ പലിശക്കുള്ളതു പുറത്ത്”
— English Translation:
If you steal the jackfruit meant for the master, the interest will be extracted squarely from your back. (Defrauding a teacher or sacred authority brings severe physical retribution upon oneself.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോഴിമുട്ടെക്കു തുരുമ്പു പറിക്കയാണൊ”
— English Translation:
Are you scraping for rust on an eggshell? (Pedantic fault-finding; frantically hunting for non-existent blemishes on something naturally smooth.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുക്കൾ നിന്നു പാത്തിയാൽ ശിഷ്യർ നടന്നു പാത്തും”
— English Translation:
If the teacher urinates standing, the disciples will urinate while walking. (When a leader engages in minor misconduct, their followers indulge in far worse excesses; bad leadership multiplies degeneracy.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോഴിയിറച്ചി തിന്മാറുണ്ടു, കോഴിപ്പൂ ചൂടാറുണ്ടോ”
— English Translation:
We may eat chicken meat, but does anyone wear a rooster's comb in their hair? (One may draw practical use from something without making an absurd, tasteless parade of its crude parts.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഗുരുവിനെക്കരുതിയാൽ പിതൃമനെക്കഴക”
— English Translation:
If you truly revere your master, clean and tend to your father's house. (Genuine spiritual devotion begins with fulfilling filial duties and honoring your domestic roots.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോൽ ഇവിടെഉറച്ചു; ആലയും ചക്കുമെ ഇനി ഉറയ്ക്കാനുള്ളു”
— English Translation:
The measuring stake is planted here; now only the forge and the oil press remain to be established. (Counting your chickens before they hatch; mistaking a single preliminary step for the complete realization of a massive venture.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോലവുംനന്നു ശീലവും നന്നെന്നുവരുമൊ”
— English Translation:
Does it ever happen that both outward form is fine and inner character is equally noble? (Rarely do dazzling beauty and spotless integrity coincide in equal measure.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോട്ടയിൽ‌ഉപദേശം (മന്ത്രം) അങ്ങാടിയിൽ‌പാട്ടു”
— English Translation:
Counsel whispered in the fort becomes a public ballad in the marketplace. (Confidential palace dealings and elite secrets quickly leak to become public gossip.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോലിനു ഇരയില്ലാത്തമീൻ എയ്യരുതു”
— English Translation:
Do not shoot your arrow at a fish that is not worth the value of the arrow shaft. (Never expend valuable energy, capital, or risk on a prize that fails to cover the cost of the endeavor.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോട്ടം‌പൊളിഞ്ഞാൽ ഭഗവതി പട്ടുവത്തു”
— English Translation:
When the temple citadel collapses, the goddess takes refuge in Pattuvam. (When the primary seat of power falls, its patrons and dependents disperse to humbler havens.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോലേൽ പഴന്തുണിചുറ്റിയപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like wrapping a ragged old cloth around a stick. (A shoddy, flimsy makeshift; or an emaciated, pathetic figure swathed in ill-fitting garments.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
കോണംകൊടുത്തു പുതപ്പുവാങ്ങി”
— English Translation:
Exchanged the essential loincloth just to purchase an ornate blanket. (Sacrificing vital, basic necessities to acquire ostentatious luxuries; foolishly disordered priorities.)