అంతమాత్రం ఉంటే, దొంతులతో కాపరం చెయ్యనా?

antamatram unte, dontulato kaparam cheyyana?

Translation

If I had so much, would I not live with piles of pots?

Meaning

This expression is used to highlight a lack of basic resources. It implies that if a person had even a small amount of wealth or the necessary means, they would have lived much better or managed things more efficiently. It is often a sarcastic or defensive reply when someone asks why a person isn't doing more with their life or home.

Related Phrases

Like breaking a ring to make a top, and then breaking the top to make a ring.

This proverb is used to describe a person who lacks a clear vision or skill, resulting in wasted effort and resources. It refers to someone who repeatedly undoes their own work or destroys something useful to create something else, only to reverse the process again, ending up with nothing productive or losing the original value of the materials.

The one who doesn't bend his body (lazy person) supposedly joined a gang of thieves.

This proverb is used to describe a person who is so lazy and averse to hard work that they prefer to take the shortcut of joining criminals rather than putting in manual effort. It highlights how laziness can lead a person toward a path of dishonesty or crime.

Illusionary worldly life - stack of clay pots

This expression highlights the fragility and impermanence of worldly life and family bonds. Just as a stack of clay pots can shatter completely with a single fall, human life and attachments are temporary and can break or end at any moment.

When one asked for alms loudly, the stacked pots rattled emptily.

This proverb describes a situation where a person asks for help from someone who is in an even worse or more impoverished state than themselves. It highlights the irony of seeking resources from a source that is completely empty or bankrupt.

Clear your debts and then live in the marketplace.

This proverb emphasizes the importance of financial freedom and peace of mind. It suggests that once a person is free from debt, they can live fearlessly and confidently anywhere, even in a busy or public place like a market, without the shame or fear of facing creditors.

If a fire catches, can we extinguish it with just our hands?

This proverb is used to explain that once a situation has escalated or a conflict has grown large, simple or manual efforts are not enough to stop it. It suggests that major problems require significant measures or that some damages are irreversible once they start.

If I had even that much, wouldn't I live with stacks of pots?

This proverb is used to point out a lack of basic resources or means. It implies that if the speaker had even a small amount of what is being discussed, they would have managed to live a much better or settled life. It is often used as a sarcastic retort when someone suggests a solution that requires resources the person simply does not possess.

She made the family as large as Kanchi into clods. Said of a woman who by going astray brings disgrace upon the whole family.

This expression is used to describe a person who completely ruins or destroys a prosperous, well-settled family or business through sheer negligence, poor management, or bad habits. It signifies the transformation of a grand existence into rubble.

Kanchi is the celebrated town of Conjeveram. * Er hat die Henne für das Ei gegeben.

Do you eat with both hands just because you are hungry?

This expression is used to advise patience and decorum, regardless of how urgent a need might be. It suggests that even in desperate situations, one must maintain their dignity, follow proper etiquette, and not act greedily or impulsively.

A promise on Monday, a refusal on Tuesday

This proverb describes someone who is unreliable or fickle. It refers to a person who makes a grand promise one day and backs out or makes excuses the very next day. It is used to caution against trusting people who are quick to commit but fail to follow through.