ఊరేలినా తాను పండుటకు మూడు మూరల తావే.

urelina tanu pandutaku mudu murala tave.

Translation

Even if one rules a town, they only need three cubits of space to lie down.

Meaning

This proverb highlights human mortality and the futility of excessive greed or pride. No matter how much wealth, land, or power a person acquires in their lifetime, in the end, they only occupy a tiny amount of space for rest or burial. It is used to teach humility and contentment.

Related Phrases

A person who considers it a festival whenever he gets a kudumu (steamed dumpling) in his hand.

This expression describes a person who lacks foresight or long-term planning, finding complete satisfaction in small, immediate gains. It is used to mock someone who is easily pleased by minor, temporary comforts and forgets about the future or larger goals.

Like tying bald heads and knees in a knot. Said of a very cunning person.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone tries to link two completely unrelated things or logic. It highlights an absurd comparison or a forced connection that makes no sense, as both a bald head and a knee are smooth and impossible to 'tie' together.

Three cubits once round, thirty cubits once round [ the body ]. A woman on being given cloths of different lengths, complained in each case that the cloth would go only once round her body. Not to be satisfied.

This proverb refers to efficiency and laziness. It describes a situation where one person wraps a rope or cloth carefully in small, precise loops (three cubits), while another person, out of laziness or haste, wraps it in huge, messy loops (thirty cubits) just to finish the job quickly. It is used to criticize sloppy work done without attention to detail.

Crop is the younger brother of dairy farming

This proverb highlights the interdependence of agriculture and animal husbandry. It suggests that where there is dairy (cattle), a good harvest naturally follows, as they complement each other's success and provide a holistic livelihood for a farmer.

Like a green leaf laughing at a dry, yellow leaf.

This proverb is used to criticize the arrogance of the youth who mock the elderly. Just as a green leaf (youth) will eventually become a dry leaf (old age), young people should realize that they will also age and face the same frailties they currently mock in others.

There is no bran to eat, but a piglet is needed every week.

This expression is used to describe a person who lacks basic necessities or financial stability but insists on living a luxurious or extravagant lifestyle beyond their means. It highlights the irony of having zero resources while maintaining expensive habits or making grand demands.

For a clever person, things stick in three places.

This proverb is used to describe a person who is exceptionally clever, meticulous, or perhaps overly cautious. It suggests that such a person ensures their work or words are so well-placed or impactful that they 'stick' or take hold in multiple ways or locations, leaving no room for failure or ambiguity.

The stove burns bright after the cooking is finished.

This expression is used to describe a situation where resources, solutions, or enthusiasm arrive too late to be of any practical use. It highlights the irony of something becoming available only after the need for it has passed.

A fruit ripened after being plucked. Said of a precocious youth.

This expression is used to describe someone who shows maturity, wisdom, or behaviors far beyond their actual age, often used in the context of a child acting like an adult or being 'precocious'. It can also imply someone who has gained experience or 'ripened' prematurely.

He has not even bran to eat, but he wants a pig every week.

This proverb describes a person who lacks even the basic necessities of life yet indulges in or demands expensive luxuries and extravagant habits. It is used to mock someone who lives far beyond their means or has unrealistic, high-end desires despite being in poverty.