కాసుకు దోవలేదు, నూటికి పరవా లేదు.

kasuku dovaledu, nutiki parava ledu.

Translation

He has not the means of [getting] one cash, but thinks nothing of [spending] a hundred [pagodas]. A pagoda = 3½ Rupees. Wanton extravagance. He is able to buy an abbey.

Meaning

This proverb describes a person who lacks the means to earn even a small amount of money (a 'kasu'), yet talks or acts with grand indifference toward large sums (a 'hundred'). It is used to mock someone who is boastful or financially reckless despite being in deep poverty.

Related Phrases

When there is no room for him to pass himself, he hangs a big drum round his neck. Said of a man who tries to provide for another, when he has diffi- culty in managing for himself.

This proverb describes a person who is already in a difficult or impossible situation but takes on additional, unnecessary burdens that make progress even harder. It is used to mock someone who lacks the capacity to handle their own basic problems yet complicates them with extra responsibilities or shows of vanity.

The king did not arrive, and the broken grain dumplings were not made.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where one waits for a significant event or person that never arrives, resulting in wasted preparation or a lack of result. It signifies wasted anticipation or a task left incomplete because the expected catalyst never appeared. It is often used to mock someone who makes grand plans based on an uncertain event.

There is no waste in charity, and there is no pay for forced labor.

This proverb highlights two contrasting concepts: that giving to a good cause is never a loss or waste of resources, whereas forced labor (vetti) provides no financial reward or compensation to the worker. It is used to encourage voluntary service or charity while acknowledging the exploitative nature of unpaid toil.

No pollution is caused by the hand being put in the mouth. Engili literally means saliva. Said by a careless Brahman.

This expression refers to someone who is extremely stingy or miserly. It describes a person who does not even eat properly (to avoid spending) nor do they ever offer a single morsel of food to others. It is used to criticize someone's lack of charity and their extreme parsimony.

Even after working to the point of death, there is no way to get a palmful of gruel.

This expression describes a situation of extreme exploitation or poverty where someone works incredibly hard, to the point of exhaustion or 'near death,' yet remains unable to secure even the most basic necessities like a small amount of food (ganji). It is used to highlight the injustice of backbreaking labor that yields no basic survival reward.

He doesn't have a single coin, but he raised a flag for a crore.

This expression is used to describe a person who lacks even the most basic resources or money but makes grand, boastful claims or undertakes projects far beyond their actual means. It highlights the irony of extreme poverty coupled with excessive vanity or unrealistic ambition.

Neither study nor forgetting.

This expression is used to describe someone who is completely ignorant or uneducated. It implies that since the person never learned anything (study) in the first place, there is nothing for them to forget. It highlights a state of total lack of knowledge or intellectual effort.

Neither on that day did I put it on, nor on this day have I torn it.

This proverb is used to describe someone who is consistently lazy, indifferent, or irresponsible. It refers to a person who didn't take the effort to wear/tie a garment properly in the past and doesn't bother about it being torn or ruined in the present. It characterizes a state of having no cares, no progress, and no sense of responsibility regardless of the time or situation.

Said by a poor fellow who had never had the pleasure of putting on a good cloth or the annoyance of tearing it.

He was without a cash, but raised his banner for a crore.

This proverb is used to describe a person who lacks even the most basic resources or money but makes grand, boastful claims or undertakes projects far beyond their means. It highlights the irony of having big aspirations or showing off when one cannot even afford the bare minimum.

A cash ( Kāsu ) equals about one fortieth of a penny. Penniless, but bragging of having a plum.

The pig does not have diarrhea, but the bran is not spared.

This proverb describes a situation where an effort or resource is wasted without achieving the intended result, or when someone is blamed/burdened despite the situation not requiring it. It refers to a scenario where a pig is fed bran (tavida) to cure diarrhea (paaru), but even if the pig doesn't have the ailment, the bran is still consumed. It is used when expenses are incurred or sacrifices are made unnecessarily.