Chapter 23
यशो यशस्विनां शुद्धं श्लाघ्या ये गुणिनां गुणा: । लोभ: स्वल्पोऽपि तान् हन्ति श्वित्रो रूपमिवेप्सितम् ॥ १६ ॥
Transliteration
yaśo yaśasvināṁ śuddhaṁ ślāghyā ye guṇināṁ guṇāḥ lobhaḥ sv-alpo ’pi tān hanti śvitro rūpam ivepsitam
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
yaśaḥ — the fame; yaśasvinām — of those who are famous; śuddham — pure; ślāghyāḥ — praiseworthy; ye — which; guṇinām — of those endowed with good qualities; guṇāḥ — the qualities; lobhaḥ — greed; su-alpaḥ — a little; api — even; tān — these; hanti — destroys; śvitraḥ — white leprosy; rūpam — physical beauty; iva — just as; īpsitam — enchanting.
Translation
“Whatever pure fame is possessed by the famous and whatever praiseworthy qualities are found in the virtuous are destroyed by even a small amount of greed, just as one’s attractive physical beauty is ruined by a trace of white leprosy.”