మునిగిపోయినవాడా నువ్వులు చల్లుమన్నట్టు.

munigipoyinavada nuvvulu challumannattu.

Translation

O unfortunate man! sow Sesamum. Advice given to a farmer very unfortunate in his crops. The Sesamum crop is generally profitable.

Meaning

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone who is already in a state of total loss or ruin is asked to perform a ritual or act that no longer matters. It signifies a point beyond recovery where additional small efforts or ceremonial gestures are futile, or when someone takes advantage of another's complete downfall to get a task done.

Related Phrases

Like teaching a man without hands to eat Sesamum seed. Attempting impossibilities.

This proverb describes a scenario where someone is tasked with something impossible or extremely difficult given their current limitations. Sesame seeds are tiny and require dexterity to pick up; asking someone without fingers to eat them highlights a futile, frustrating, or mocking effort.

Oil according to the [ quantity of ] Sesamum.

This expression is used to indicate that the result or output is directly proportional to the investment, effort, or resources put in. It is often used to tell someone that they get what they pay for, or that rewards are commensurate with the work performed.

Like being given sesame seeds and told to cook mustard seeds

This expression describes a situation where someone provides the wrong resources but expects a specific, different result. It is used to mock illogical demands or impossible expectations where the input does not match the desired output.

Like returning to see a household that one once built and left.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone who was previously in charge or responsible for a task returns merely as a visitor or observer, often with a sense of nostalgia or to see how things are being managed in their absence. It highlights the transition from a role of active responsibility to one of a detached onlooker.

After the celebration with flowers is over, is there any point in gathering them?

This expression refers to performing an action after the appropriate time has passed. It emphasizes that efforts or remedies are useless once the opportunity or the need for them has ended. It is similar to the English proverb 'locking the stable door after the horse has bolted'.

Like offering a dead cow to an outcast Brahman. Knock a man down, and kick him for falling. Him that falls all the world run over. (German.) All bite the bitten dog. (Portuguese.)

This expression describes a situation where one useless or ruined thing is given to someone who is already in a helpless or destitute state. It refers to a mock charity or a futile gesture where neither the giver is making a sacrifice nor the receiver is getting any benefit. It is used to mock instances where someone tries to solve a problem with a worthless solution.

Like a man with handicapped hands threatening that he won't eat sesame seeds.

This proverb describes a situation where someone tries to make a threat or a 'sacrifice' that they are physically incapable of doing anyway. Since a person with handicapped or paralyzed hands cannot pick up tiny sesame seeds to eat them, threatening to 'boycott' eating them is meaningless and laughable. It is used to mock someone making empty threats or pretending to abstain from something they can't have in the first place.

As if a face like the moon arrived and immediately caused a sunstroke.

This expression is used to describe a situation where something that appeared beautiful or promising at first glance unexpectedly resulted in a harsh or painful experience immediately upon arrival. It highlights the irony of a pleasant presence causing sudden distress.

The dead buffalo used to give a potful of milk.

This proverb is used to describe the tendency of people to exaggerate the value or qualities of something or someone only after they are gone or lost. It highlights how people romanticize the past or overestimate the worth of a missed opportunity.

Like saying 'I forgot and poured buttermilk into the buttermilk'.

This expression is used to describe a person who tries to cover up a mistake with a silly or redundant excuse. It highlights an act of doing something completely unnecessary or repetitive and then acting as if it were a genuine oversight, often used to mock someone's illogical reasoning.