బత్తెమెక్కడో సత్యమక్కడ

battemekkado satyamakkada

Translation

Where there is food/wages, there is truth.

Meaning

This expression refers to people who switch their loyalties or adjust their 'truth' based on who is providing them with sustenance, money, or employment. It implies that people often follow the side that benefits them financially or provides for their livelihood.

Related Phrases

Truth alone triumphs

This phrase emphasizes that truth and righteousness will ultimately prevail over falsehood. It is often used as a moral guiding principle to encourage honesty and integrity in all aspects of life, regardless of the challenges faced. It is the national motto of India (Satyameva Jayate).

If Satyam-garu (Mr. Truth) asks me to tell a lie, it would certainly be for the protection (Bhadram) of my house.

This is a witty Telugu proverb or saying often used to justify a lie or a wrongdoing by attributing it to a higher purpose or a respectable person's suggestion. It plays on the names 'Satyam' (Truth) and 'Bhadram' (Security/Safety), implying that if even a truthful person suggests a lie, it must be for the greater good of one's household or a necessary survival tactic.

Dietary discipline should not be spoiled, truth should not be failed.

This proverb emphasizes the importance of discipline in health and integrity in character. It suggests that just as one must strictly follow a prescribed diet (Pathyam) for physical recovery, one must strictly adhere to the truth for moral well-being. Both are essential for a healthy life.

Diet for medicine, truth for words

This expression emphasizes that just as dietary restrictions (pathyam) are essential for medicine to be effective, honesty and truthfulness are essential for words to have value and credibility. It is used to highlight the importance of integrity in communication.

Where is the jackal ? where is heaven ? What prospect has the jackal of entering heaven ? A hopeless idea.

This expression is used to highlight a vast disparity or extreme difference between two things or people. It suggests that comparing them is absurd because one is lowly or insignificant (the fox) while the other is grand or celestial (heaven).

Where there is a corpse, there the vultures will be.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where people gather or hover around a place or person where there is something to be gained (often in a cynical or opportunistic way). Just as vultures find a carcass, opportunists find a source of benefit.

Don't we know our own god's truth?

This expression is used when someone tries to explain or hide facts about a person or situation that you already know very well. It highlights that one is already intimately familiar with the reality or the flaws of the subject in question, making external explanations unnecessary.

One who dives here and emerges there

This expression refers to a person who is highly cunning, elusive, or deceptive. It describes someone who disappears from one situation and reappears in another, often to avoid accountability or to secretly manipulate events. It is used to describe a person who is 'slippery' and difficult to catch or pin down.

Diet for medicine, truth for speech

Just as a medicine is only effective when a strict diet (pathyam) is followed, speech only gains value and effectiveness when it is truthful. It emphasizes that integrity is as essential to character as discipline is to health.

Truth is victory, falsehood is fear

This expression emphasizes that truth always triumphs in the end, providing strength and confidence, whereas lies lead to constant anxiety and the fear of being caught. It is used to encourage honesty as a path to a fearless life.