ఏటిమీద దేవరకు కూటిమీదే చింత

etimida devaraku kutimide chinta

Translation

The deity on the riverbank is only worried about the food offerings.

Meaning

This expression is used to describe a person who, despite having important responsibilities or a high status, is solely focused on their personal gain or basic needs (like food or money). It highlights a lack of dedication to one's duty in favor of selfish interests.

Related Phrases

For the deity on the mound, the world is centered on food.

This proverb refers to people who are solely focused on their basic needs or selfish gains rather than their duties or spiritual significance. It is used to describe someone who cares more about being fed or compensated than the actual work they are supposed to perform.

The deity on the mound always chants for food.

This proverb describes someone who is more interested in the perks or rewards of a job rather than the duty itself. It is used to mock people who pretend to be pious or professional but are actually focused solely on their personal gain or their next meal.

A beggar with unwashed teeth is only focused on food.

This proverb describes a person who is so desperate or single-minded about their basic needs (like food or money) that they lack self-respect or discipline. It is used to point out someone's narrow-minded obsession with material gain or survival above all else.

The goddess Gangânamma who presides over the burial ground, thinks of nothing but eating [ the corpses ]. Entirely given to the selfish pursuit of one object.

This proverb is used to describe a person who is extremely greedy or obsessed only with food and selfish needs, regardless of their status or position. It implies that someone's focus is entirely on basic sustenance or material gain rather than their duties or higher purpose.

Fencing on a sword

This expression is used to describe a situation that is extremely risky, precarious, or requires great skill and caution to handle without causing a disaster. It is synonymous with 'walking on a tightrope' or 'skating on thin ice'.

Like searching the whole village for ghee while having butter on the hanging shelf

This expression describes a situation where someone searches everywhere for something they already possess or which is right under their nose. It is used to mock the irony of looking for a solution or resource far away when it is easily available at home.

Serving a newly rich person is like walking on a sword's edge.

This proverb highlights the volatility and unpredictability of serving or working for someone who has recently acquired wealth (a nouveau riche person). It implies that such individuals may be arrogant, demanding, or lack the temperament of established wealth, making the relationship as precarious and dangerous as performing acrobatics on a sharp blade.

Farming on high-elevated barren land will not even provide a meal.

This proverb highlights that investing effort or resources in an unproductive or unsuitable environment will yield no results. Just as farming on dry, elevated mound soil (pati) is futile because it cannot hold water, working on a flawed plan or in a hopeless situation will not even cover basic necessities.

Food on the high-slung basket, sleep on the village.

This expression describes a person who lives a carefree, irresponsible, or nomadic lifestyle without any domestic stability or worries. It refers to someone who eats whenever they find food (stored in an 'Utti' or rope-net basket) and sleeps wherever they happen to be in the village, essentially living without any definite home or plan.

For Ganganamma on the mound, her whole world revolves around food.

This proverb is used to describe someone who is excessively focused on their own needs, particularly food or self-interest, rather than their duties or surroundings. It refers to a local deity (Ganganamma) who, instead of focusing on her devotees or spiritual role, is preoccupied only with the offerings provided to her.