పదను పోయిన కత్తి, అదును పోయిన సేద్యం

padanu poyina katti, adunu poyina sedyam

Translation

A knife that has lost its sharpness, and farming that has missed its season.

Meaning

This proverb emphasizes the importance of timing and readiness. Just as a blunt knife is useless for cutting, farming becomes futile if the right season or opportunity is missed. It is used to convey that actions must be taken at the appropriate time to be effective.

Related Phrases

The donkey that went to the city bit the donkey that went to the village.

This proverb is used to mock people who return from a big city or a prestigious position and act superior or arrogant toward those who stayed in their hometown or humble roots. It highlights the empty vanity of someone who feels elevated by their environment despite their basic nature remaining the same.

Chronic disease and garden farming.

This proverb is used to describe tasks or situations that require constant attention, effort, and resources. Just as a chronic illness needs continuous care and a garden requires daily maintenance to prevent it from withering, certain responsibilities or businesses demand unending vigilance to stay viable.

One who has ten people behind him can do farming even if he is a coward.

This proverb emphasizes the power of teamwork and support. It suggests that even an incompetent or timid person can achieve great tasks, like agriculture, if they have a large family or a strong team to support and guide them. Success often depends more on collective strength than individual ability.

If it rains during Magha and Pubba stars, your brother's farming and my farming will both turn to dust.

This is an agricultural proverb related to the lunar asterisms (Kartelu). It suggests that heavy rains during the Magha and Pubba periods are detrimental to crops. It implies that regardless of who is farming or how hard they work, the yield will be ruined (turned to dust/mud) if it rains excessively during this specific time of the season.

If virginity is lost, or if a given word is lost, life becomes a burden.

This expression emphasizes the extreme importance of integrity and keeping one's promises. In traditional contexts, it compares the loss of a person's reputation or honor (symbolized by broken promises) to the irreversible loss of virtue, suggesting that living without honor or credibility is a heavy burden.

Even if ten alms are lost in an enemy's house, they are simply gone.

This proverb suggests that one should not expect any benefit, hospitality, or return from an enemy. Even if you give or lose something valuable to an adversary, it should be considered a total loss because an enemy will never acknowledge the gesture or reciprocate. It is used to advise people to avoid dealings with those who harbor ill-will.

Even if the husband is gone, the head shave is as perfect as a Ponnakaaya fruit.

A sarcastic expression used to describe a situation where someone overlooks a major loss or disaster and instead focuses on a trivial or insignificant detail that turned out well. It highlights a misplaced sense of priority or an inappropriate focus on minor aesthetics/outcomes amidst a tragedy.

If alms are given ten times in an enemy's house, so much the better.

This proverb suggests that one should not expect help or goodwill from an enemy. Even if they appear to give something or help you, it is likely temporary, unreliable, or comes with hidden strings that ultimately result in a loss for you. It emphasizes the importance of self-respect and the futility of depending on those who wish you ill.

What remains is solid, what has gone is empty husk.

This expression is used to describe situations where unnecessary, weak, or useless elements are discarded, leaving behind only what is valuable, strong, or essential. It is often used to provide comfort during a loss or a filtering process, suggesting that whatever was lost wasn't worth keeping anyway.

Even if one goes to the cremation ground, the coin is inevitable.

This proverb highlights the persistent nature of greed or the inevitable burden of taxes and expenses. It refers to the tradition of placing a coin on a deceased person's body or paying a fee at the funeral pyre, implying that financial obligations or worldly attachments follow a person until the very end.