Top 101 Indian Proverbs

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India is a country with a lot of history and culture. It is completely then the rest of the world. They have a lot of interesting insights about the world. With that in mind, check out the top 101 Indian proverbs.

#101 – 90. Indian Proverbs

101. A problem is solved when it gets tougher.

100. The Three great mysteries: air to a bird, water to a fish, mankind to himself.

99. It is better to sit down than to stand, it is better to lie down than to sit, but death is the best of all.

98. It is better to make a vow of silence than to utter falsehoods.

97. A friend advises in his interest, not yours.

96. Smiles that you broadcast, will always come back to you.

95. Blaw the wind ne’er so fast, it will lower at last.

94. A person who misses a chance and the monkey who misses its branch can’t be saved.

93. He who has a true friend, has no need of a mirror.

92. Don’t eat your bread on someone Else’s table.

91. I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet.

90. The way to overcome the angry man is with gentleness, the evil man with goodness, the miser with generosity and the liar with truth.

#89 – 80. Indian Proverbs

89. Blaming your faults on your nature does not change the nature of your faults.

88. Speak like a parrot; meditate like a swan; chew like a goat; and bathe like an elephant.

87. If you are up to your knees in pleasure, then you are up to your waist in grief.

86. He who delivers another from danger, and he who removes terror from the mind, are the greatest of friends.

85. Sit on the bank of a river and wait: Your enemy’s corpse will soon float by.

84. Greatness is not the fruit of birth, but of effort: it is not attained but by the greatest exertions; whereas to become insignificant costs no pains: to raise a stone to the top of a mountain requires great labour, but it will descend with the utmost velocity.

83. Drops join to make a stream; ears combine to make a crop.

82. Call on God, but row away from the rocks.

81. A house without children is a graveyard.

80. The worst kind of poverty is to have many debts.

#79 – 70. Indian Proverbs

79. A hundred divine epochs would not suffice to describe all the marvels of the Himalaya.

78. A good bark year makes a good wheat year.

77. The vicious, notwithstanding the sweetness of their words, and the honey on their tongues, have a whole storehouse of poison in their hearts.

76. A fight in your neighbor’s house is refreshing.

75. The tongue is safe; even among thirty teeth.

74. The earth trembles while she sustains a person who seeks to injure a generous, faithful, and holy person.

73. A man without money is like a bow without arrows.

72. The contented are always happy; the discontented are ever miserable.

71. To the mediocre, mediocrity appears great.

70. One and one sometimes make eleven.

#69 – 60. Indian Proverbs

69. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.

68. The good exercise compassion by making the case of others their own.

67. A mother is a school, preparing her is like preparing a good nation.

66. Large desire is endless poverty.

65. There are three uncertainties: woman, wind, and wealth.

64. Any water in the desert will do.

63. Even a cat is a lion in her own lair.

62. If you live in the river you should make friends with the crocodile.

61. In a tree that you can’t climb, there are always a thousand fruits.

60. War is to men, childbirth is to women.

#59 – 50. Indian Proverbs

59. Danger should be feared when distant, and braved when present.

58. They who give, have all things; they who withhold, have nothing.

57. In my homeland I possess one hundred horses, yet if I go, I go on foot.

56. The heart of an excellent person resembles the coconut, which, though hard without, contains refreshing water and delicious food within.

55. It’s better to pick a fight with your in-laws than with your neighbors.

54. Keep five yards from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, and a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured.

53. Faith keeps the world going.

52. You do not stumble over a mountain, but you do over a stone.

51. Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given it wings.

50. Advice to the stupid produces anger.

#49 – 40. Indian Proverbs

49. It is little use to dig a well after the house has caught fire.

48. A monkey that amuses me is better than a deer astray.

47. A tree starts with a seed.

46. Don’t judge any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.

45. A fly, a harlot, a beggar, a rat, and gusty wind; the village-boss and the tax collector – these seven are always annoying to others.

44. Be first at the feast, and last at the fight.

43. Clouds that thunder seldom rain.

42. True happiness lies in giving it to others.

41. Those who hunt deer sometimes raise tigers.

40. Ask thy purse what thou should buy.

#39 – 30. Indian Proverbs

39. When you are in the water you swim.

38. Complaining is the weak man’s weapon.

37. The eyes do not see what the mind does not want.

36. What was hard to bear is sweet to remember.

35. A wise and prudent person is not thrown into confusion by reproach; but is like the flame, which, when stirred, ascends higher and higher.

34. Fate and self-help share equally in shaping our destiny.

33. Don’t just cross a river – cross it bearing fire!

32. There is no evil without its advantages.

31. Patience is the most beautiful prayer.

30. Truth, contentment, patience, and mercy, belong to great minds.

#29 – 20. Indian Proverbs

29. A foolish ruler, a weak child, and a person mad after riches, desire that which can not be procured.

28. September blow soft till the fruit’s in the loft.

27. Never stand in front of a judge or behind a donkey.

26. Advice sharpens a rusty opinion.

25. If you want to know what a tiger is like, look at a cat.

24. No strength within, no respect without.

23. Consult the wise and do not disobey him.

22. He who in your presence speaks kindly, but in your absence seeks to injure you, must be utterly rejected, like a bowl of poison covered with milk.

21. You may look up for inspiration or look down in desperation but do not look sideways for information.

20. You can never enter the same river twice.

#19 – 10. Indian Proverbs

19. The weakest go to the wall.

18. Don’t delay today’s work until tomorrow.

17. When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

16. To control the mind is like trying to control a drunken monkey that has been bitten by a scorpion.

15. Don’t bargain for fish which are still in the water.

14. Before his appointed time, a person cannot die though thrown into the very jaws of death; but when that time arrives, even a straw destroys him.

13. I have lanced many boils, but none pained like my own.

12. Every dog is a tiger in his own street.

11. A dog always bites under the knee.

10. To lend is to buy a quarrel.

#9 – 1. Indian Proverbs

9. Fish and guests smell when they are three days old.

8. We can’t change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

7. Advice to the stupid produces anger.

6. Something done at the wrong time should be regarded as not done.

5. Garlic is as good as ten mothers.

4. He is a real teacher who not only instructs others, but practices the same instructions himself.

3. Stolen sugar is the sweetest.

2. The cruel are feared even by the wise.

1.Pearls are of no value in a desert.

Ideas for the top 101 Indian proverbs come from the following sources.^[1]quote authors – Indian Proverb and Sayings^[2]History of Painters – India Proverb, Old Sayings and Customary Wisdom