ProverbPedia

“ തല മറന്നു എണ്ണ തേക്കരുതു”
English Translation:
Do not apply oil while forgetting the head itself. (Never lose sight of your fundamental station or core priorities while indulging in superficial vanity.)

— Malayalam

Related Mantras

“ ചെമ്മീനും ചുരക്കായും കറിവെച്ചിട്ടെനിക്കെന്ത്യെടീ കള്ളീ, ചെമ്മീനും ചുരക്കായും കറിവെച്ചിട്ടൊണ്ടൊടൊ കള്ളാ”
English Translation:
“Why haven’t you served me the prawn and gourd curry, you deceitful woman?”
English Translation:
“Did I ever cook a prawn and gourd curry, you deceitful man?” (Picking bitter domestic quarrels over imaginary offenses and non-existent feasts.)

“ തട്ടാൻ തൊട്ടാൽ പത്തിന്നെട്ടു (എട്ടാൽ ഒന്നു)”
English Translation:
If the goldsmith touches it, only eight parts in ten remain (or one part in eight is skimmed). (A traditional folk caution against the inevitable cut or commission shaved off whenever dealing with dishonest intermediaries.)

“ സാരം അറിയുന്നവൻ സർവ്വജ്ഞ”
English Translation:
He who understands the core essence is the truly all-knowing. (True mastery lies not in accumulating heaps of superficial trivia, but in grasping the fundamental truth of things.)