ProverbPedia

“ സ്വരം നല്ലപ്പോഴെ പാട്ടു നിൎത്തികളയണം”
English Translation:
Conclude the song while the singing voice is still sweet. (Quit while you are ahead; depart from public office or the stage at the peak of glory before decline sets in.)

“ സ്വരമുള്ളപ്പോൾ താളംവരാ, താളമുള്ളപ്പോൾ സ്വരംവരാ”
English Translation:
When melody flows, rhythm is lost; when rhythm is kept, melody fails. (Frustrating disharmony and lack of coordination; vital complementary talents failing to unite effectively.)

“ സ്വാമിദ്രൊഹി വീട്ടിനു പഞ്ചമഹാപാതകങ്ങൾ വാതിൽ”
English Translation:
For the house of the traitor who betrays his master, the five mortal sins stand as the doorway. (Treachery against one’s benefactor is the ultimate moral transgression, opening the entrance to every conceivable curse and ruin.)

“ ഹിരണ്യനാട്ടിൽ ചെന്നാൽ ഹിരണ്യായനമഃ”
English Translation:
When you arrive in the kingdom of Hiranya, chant “Salutations to Hiranya!” (When in Rome, do as the Romans do; adapt to prevailing authority and conform to local customs for safety, however tyrannical they may be.)

“ സ്ഥാനംവിറ്റു ചക്കരതിന്നുക”
English Translation:
Selling off one’s honorable position just to gorge on sweet jaggery. (Surrendering enduring rank, heritage, and dignity for fleeting sensory gratification.)

“ സ്വകാൎയ്യം തിന്നാൽ സൂകരം”
English Translation:
Devouring food solely for one’s own selfish gratification makes one a swine. (Selfish greed devoid of charity, sharing, or hospitality degrades human character to the level of a beast.)

“ സാള(മം) വരുമ്പോൾ സ്വരവരാ, സ്വരവരുമ്പോൾ സാള(മം)വരാ, രണ്ടുംകൂടിവരുമ്പോൾ അവസരവരാ”
English Translation:
When rhythm is present, melody is absent; when melody is present, rhythm is absent; and when both finally align, the opportunity is gone. (The tragic comedy of chronic bad timing; essential complementary elements rarely coincide while the window of opportunity is open.)

“ സുഖത്തിൽ പിന്നെ ദു:ഖം; ദു:ഖത്തിൽ പിന്നെ സുഖം”
English Translation:
After joy follows sorrow; after sorrow follows joy. (The eternal cycle of life; pleasure and pain perpetually alternate, and neither condition lasts forever.)

“ സുഖദുഖാദികൾ വെള്ളത്തിൽഇട്ട ഉതളങ്ങ പോലെ”
English Translation:
Joys and sorrows are like an odollam fruit bobbing upon water. (Fortunes rise and sink incessantly with the shifting swells of circumstance; worldly states are fluid and unstable.)

“ സാമം = താളം”
English Translation:
[Linguistic/textual gloss from source text: Clarifies that “Samam” denotes musical rhythm or tempo (“Thalam”), glossing proverb #2436.]

“ സുൽത്താൻ പക്കീറായാലും പക്കീർ സുൽത്താനായാലും തരം അറിയിക്കും”
English Translation:
Whether a Sultan becomes a beggar or a beggar becomes a Sultan, true breeding will show through. (Inborn caliber and dignity cannot be hidden; royal grace shines even through rags, just as vulgar coarseness betrays itself upon a throne.)

“ സൂക്ഷിച്ചാൽ ദുഃഖി(ഖേദി)ക്കെണ്ടാ”
English Translation:
If you exercise caution, you will not have to grieve. (Better safe than sorry; careful foresight, vigilance, and prudence prevent bitter regrets.)

“ സൂക്ഷിച്ചു നോക്കിയാൽ കാണാത്തതും കാണും”
English Translation:
If you inspect with keen precision, you will see even what was hidden. (Deep, attentive scrutiny brings subtle flaws, concealed truths, and overlooked solutions into plain view.)

“ സൂചികൊണ്ടെടുപ്പാനുള്ളതു തൂമ്പാകൊണ്ടാക്കരുതു”
English Translation:
Do not turn a matter that could be picked out with a needle into something requiring a heavy spade. (Address small irritants promptly before they escalate into massive crises; nip troubles in the bud.)

“ സമ്മതം മറഞ്ഞു ദുർമ്മതം നിറഞ്ഞു”
English Translation:
Mutual agreement vanished, and stubborn bigotry filled the space. (When spirit of compromise and consensus dissolves, malicious factionalism and bitter intransigence take control.)

“ സൂചിനോക്കി നാഴിഎണ്ണ എരിച്ചു”
English Translation:
Burned a full measure of lamp oil hunting for a dropped needle. (Expending a fortune in resources and effort to recover an insignificant trifle; wildly disproportionate cost.)