Indian Proverbs

Indian Proverbs and Pithy Sayings

The first section of sayings below is a selection where the English is updated, and some rhymes broken by me. The second section contains eight proverbs from a book by Charles A. Kincaid.

Book data is at the bottom of the page. - Tormod Kinnes

God cures the patient,

The doctor takes the fee.

You have no cares? Then buy a goat.

The goat gave up her life; 'twas not enough:

The eater grumbles that the meat is tough!

He shot at a sparrow

And spoiled a good arrow.

The man thinks he knows,

But the woman knows better.

Before you have forded the river, o brother,

Revile not unduly the crocodile's mother.

Earth laughs at him who calls a place his own.

The idol-carver worships not;

He knows what gods are made of.

Shoot the tiger through and through;

Miss him, and he won't miss you.

Cutting down a donkey's ears

Will make no arab steed of him.

What's in the soul, the sorrow shows.

Remember well

There are no fans in hell!

"My beard is burning!" one will cry.

Another lights his pipe thereby.

Man is the slave of gold,

Gold is the slave of none.

Danger he challenges, laughing and singing,

Grasping the tiger's moustaches and swinging.

The barber, lacking custom, shaved the cat.

Among the blind the one-eyed man is king.

Pearls grow yellow, men grow old.

A sin will guide you to a grave.

What business had the eggs to dance with stones?

Avoid suspicion: when you're walking through

Your neighbor's melon-patch, don't tie your shoe.

If you suspect him, then reject him.

If you select him, don't suspect him.

If friend but speak with friend,

The liar is disgraced.

Appraise the spring before you drink the water;

Observe the mother before you wed the daughter.

He knew the ox might kick,

So he stood behind the mule.

"He has killed a thousand men!'"

"Ah, he's half a doctor, then."

A word informs the wise at once.

A hundred lashes teach the dunce.

The food was the bee's, but by man it is eaten.

The sin was the flea's, but the bedding is beaten.

Have flowers less of fragrance when they bloom where none may mark?

Are rubies dull and worthless when they lie on mountains lone?

Who finds a crow asleep when figs are ripe?

Within the temple thrives the scamp.

It's darkest underneath the lamp.

The rains have come! The rice-blades spring!

The farmer cares not who is kingl

The eager fish repent within the net.

Young lovers wish, and married men regret.

Death took him off

But cured his cough.

Time and space are naught to them that love!

The roots of strife are four, all told:

A woman, cattle, land and gold.

The more he dances, feasts and sings;

The married man is bound to toil;

His mind is full of sterner things,

And those are food and wood and oil.

The farmer prays for rain, the washerman for sun.

If prayers were not in vain, the world would be undone.

Fair is the hope of a distant day;

Blue are the hills that are far away.

The wayside spring is the friend of all.

Sloth breaks the husbandman.

Qlass bracelets at a farthing each are sold;

But when on arms without a fleck

They clasp, in love, a husband's neck

Their worth is many thousand pounds of gold.

The jungle peacocks dance.

Though none is there to see.

Broken friendship's friendship ended;

Shattered pearls may not be mended.

The bridegroom longs to see the bride,

The guests to see the dinner.

Where donkeys gather, kicks are cheap.

A penny buyeth troubles

That dollars cannot cure.

Jt is the soldier's blood and grief

That makes the glory of the chief.

Both of us are lords of men —

Who will drive the donkeys, then?

Some men are ruined in pursuit of pleasure. [Mod]

Though strong are dagger, sword and musket-ball,

The cooking pot is mightiest of all.

The crab instructs its young,

"Walk straight ahead — like me!"

Where deep and smooth the stream beguiles,

Beware! Look, out for crocodiles!

The curs are barking, one and all,

But that won't make the mountain fall.

Although the cow may not be vicious,

Her long, sharp horns make folks suspicious.

When clover blooms, the honey bee has little time for stinging. [Abr]

I'll make it rain as soon as men

Will all agree and tell me when.

Who brags about his great forbears

Would steal the praise that should be theirs.

Guerati and Deccan Sayings

If your bed is not soft, make it so. (Abr)

In our need we call an ass our king.

On a green tree are many parrots.

Qualities of a son may be seen from his cradle.

Some cannot reach heaven without dying. (Mod).

The hope that rests on others is continual despair.

The one behind may profit by the tripping of the man in front.

Litteratur  

Guiterman, Arthur, tr. Chips of Jade: Being Chinese Proverbs with More Folk-sayings from Hindustan and Other Oriental Countries. Rhymed in English. New York: Dutton, 1920.

Kincaid, Charles Augustus. The Tale of the Tulsi Plant and Other Stories. Bombay: The Times of India Office, 1908, p 164 ff.



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