Meaning
'Rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot' — a stone at the bottom of the river does not know how hot the sun is. Those sheltered and comfortable have no idea what the exposed and suffering endure, the proverb observes: the person shielded from hardship cannot feel another's struggle. It is a pointed reminder to the fortunate that they cannot judge the pain of those who bear the heat of life, and a quiet defence of the sufferer, whose burdens the cool and cushioned can never truly understand.
Examples
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Di rich cyaa understand di poor; rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot.
The rich can't understand the poor; the sheltered don't know the exposed one's struggle.
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Him never know hunger, so him cyaa relate — rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot.
He's never known hunger, so he can't relate — the comfortable don't feel the hardship.
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Yuh comfortable, so yuh nuh feel it; rockstone a river bottom nuh know sun hot.
You're comfortable, so you don't feel it; those shielded don't know the heat.
Origin
A river image: a stone kept cool beneath the water has no notion of the burning sun above — as the sheltered person has no notion of another's exposed suffering.
How it’s used
A pointed comment on privilege and lack of empathy — those spared hardship cannot grasp what the afflicted endure.