Chapter 1
क्वचिन्निवर्ततेऽभद्रात्क्वचिच्चरति तत्पुन: । प्रायश्चित्तमथोऽपार्थं मन्ये कुञ्जरशौचवत् ॥ १० ॥
Transliteration
kvacin nivartate ’bhadrāt kvacic carati tat punaḥ prāyaścittam atho ’pārthaṁ manye kuñjara-śaucavat
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
kvacit — sometimes; nivartate — ceases; abhadrāt — from sinful activity; kvacit — sometimes; carati — commits; tat — that (sinful activity); punaḥ — again; prāyaścittam — the process of atonement; atho — therefore; apārtham — useless; manye — I consider; kuñjara-śaucavat — exactly like the bathing of an elephant.
Translation
“Sometimes one who is very alert so as not to commit sinful acts is victimized by sinful life again. I therefore consider this process of repeated sinning and atoning to be useless. It is like the bathing of an elephant, for an elephant cleanses itself by taking a full bath, but then throws dust over its head and body as soon as it returns to the land.”