పిఠాపురము వెళ్లి పిడతెడు నీళ్లు తెచ్చినట్టు.

pithapuramu velli pidatedu nillu techchinattu.

Translation

He went to Piṭhāpuram, and brought a little potful of water.

Meaning

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone puts in a massive amount of effort, travel, or time, only to achieve a very trivial or insignificant result. It highlights the disproportion between the effort expended and the outcome gained.

Related Phrases

Like going to Kashi and bringing back a donkey's egg.

This expression is used to describe someone who goes on a long, arduous, or expensive journey only to return with something useless or non-existent. It mocks futile efforts or the act of bringing back something completely irrelevant after a significant undertaking.

He brought the house forward by going behind it. Said jokingly of a man who professed to have improved the family prospects.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone performs a task in a needlessly complicated, roundabout, or illogical manner. It refers to wasting effort on an impossible or unnecessarily difficult way of doing something that should be simple.

Going to Mekka and bringing back dog's dirt.

This expression is used to describe a person who goes on a great or sacred journey (or takes on a significant opportunity) but returns with something worthless or engages in something trivial and disgraceful. It highlights the irony of wasting a valuable opportunity or a holy pilgrimage by focusing on or bringing back something foul.

Like going all the way to Pithapuram just to bring back a small pot of water.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone puts in a massive amount of effort, travel, or time, only to achieve a very trivial or insignificant result. It highlights the disproportion between the effort expended and the outcome achieved.

She slapped Rambhâ's cheeks, and then brought a spinning- wheel. A woman thought she excelled Rambhâ (No. 1066) in beauty, but really was an ugly creature, only fit to sit at the spinning-wheel.

This expression is used to describe a person who, despite having access to something incredibly beautiful, divine, or valuable, chooses something mundane, cheap, or useless instead. Rambha represents the pinnacle of celestial beauty, while a spinning wheel (raatnamu) represents a common, laborious tool. It highlights poor judgment or a lack of taste.

Even if the body leaves, the day does not pass.

This expression is used to describe a state of extreme suffering or boredom where time feels agonizingly slow. It suggests that while one's life or strength might be fading away, the day itself feels endless and difficult to get through.

Like going to Benares and bringing back an ass's egg.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone puts in a massive amount of effort or travels a long distance only to return with something useless, non-existent, or disappointing. Since donkeys do not lay eggs, it highlights the futility and absurdity of a wasted journey or endeavor.

An absurd exploit. * Chi bestia va à Roma bestin retorna.

Like going to Benares, and bringing back dog's hair.

This proverb is used to describe someone who goes on a long, arduous journey or undertakes a significant task, only to return with something trivial, worthless, or useless. It highlights the irony of putting in great effort for a meaningless result.

Great labour and small results.

Hot water added to cold water

This expression is used to describe a situation where two people or things provide mutual support, even if one's contribution is small. It often refers to a husband and wife or partners helping each other to make life more comfortable and manageable, just as mixing hot and cold water results in a pleasant temperature.

Like the ox being away when wanted for the plough. Absent when most wanted.

This proverb refers to someone who cannot escape their hard work or nature, no matter where they go. Just as an ox trained for ploughing will be put to the same labor even in a new country, a person's habits or burdens follow them everywhere. It is used to describe situations where a change in location does not result in a change in one's toil or circumstances.