అన్న దీక్షయేకాని, అక్షరదీక్షలేదు.

anna dikshayekani, aksharadikshaledu.

Translation

Committed to food, but not to learning.

Meaning

This proverb is used to describe someone who is only interested in eating and material pleasures, but shows no interest or commitment toward education or intellectual growth. It highlights the contrast between physical appetite and mental discipline.

Related Phrases

He searches for bones in a woman's breast.

This expression is used to describe a person who examines something with extreme, often excessive, detail. It refers to a rigorous or pedantic scrutiny where one looks for even the smallest flaws or nuances, similar to the English idiom 'hair-splitting'.

Applied to a very minute enquiry.

For the illiterate Virupaksha Deekshita, are twenty-one sweets a challenge?

This expression is used to describe someone who lacks knowledge or skill in a particular area but excels in consumption or simple physical tasks. It highlights a contrast between a lack of intellectual depth ('illiterate') and a huge appetite or capacity for material indulgence. It is often used sarcastically to refer to someone who is more interested in eating than learning.

In his house neither Ili nor Bali is offered.

This expression is used to describe an extreme miser or a very stingy person. It suggests that the person is so greedy or poor-hearted that they wouldn't even offer a tiny bit of food to a housefly or provide a small portion for ritual charity. It is used to highlight someone's total lack of generosity.

Ili is applied to the grains of raw rice religiously offered to ants, &c. Bali is the food given in the same manner to crows before commencing a meal. He'll flay a flint. Dogs run away with whole shoulders.

Yaksha's Questions

Refers to a series of extremely difficult, complicated, or unsolvable questions. It originates from the Mahabharata where a Yaksha poses 126 complex philosophical questions to Yudhishthira. In modern usage, it is used to describe a situation or problem that is very hard to answer or resolve.

Criticizing others leads to the destruction of the home; criticizing a sage leads to the destruction of the lineage.

This proverb serves as a moral warning against slander. It suggests that speaking ill of others (Paraninda) brings misfortune to one's household, while insulting or criticizing a saintly person or a monk (Yatininda) brings spiritual ruin that can wipe out one's entire family line or reputation.

For a person with an empty/illiterate stomach like Virupaksha Dikshita, is eating twenty-one sweets even a challenge?

This proverb is used to describe a person who is uneducated or lacks intellectual depth (nirakshara kukshi) but has an insatiable appetite or a singular focus on material consumption. It suggests that for someone who doesn't spend time on learning or refinement, performing a task of indulgence—like eating a large number of sweets—is effortless and of no consequence.

Am I to be examined, or is my copper pot ? Said by an ignorant Vaidika who with great pretensions to learning knew nothing, and wished his pot to be examined instead of himself.

This expression is used when someone is being excessively scrutinized or tested for no valid reason, or when an expert's skills are questioned over trivial matters. It originates from a story where a king tries to test a scholar's wisdom by asking about the properties of his simple copper water pot, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.

If Lakshanam is neglected it becomes Avalakshanam.

This expression means that a small flaw or a lapse in character can turn a virtue into a vice. It is used to caution people that maintaining one's good reputation or quality requires consistency, as even a minor deviation can lead to being perceived negatively.

There is a pun here on the word Lakshanam which as a noun signifies the ' rules of classic composition,' and as an adjective ' handsome.'—Ava- lakshanam means ' ugly,' ' deformed.'

Clever at his meals, but stupid at his books.

This proverb is used to describe someone who is very eager and enthusiastic about eating or physical pleasures but shows no interest or initiative toward education, learning, or intellectual pursuits.

Well fed, but ill taught. (French.)? He has two stomachs to eat, and one to work. * L'avarice rompt le sac. † Bien nourri et mal appris,

Inexhaustible vessel

Originally referring to the mythical vessel given to Yudhisthira by Lord Surya which provided an unlimited supply of food, it is now used as a metaphor for any resource, person, or organization that seems to have a never-ending supply of wealth, knowledge, or talent.