ŚB 11.23.16
Devanagari
यशो यशस्विनां शुद्धं श्लाघ्या ये गुणिनां गुणा: ।
लोभ: स्वल्पोऽपि तान् हन्ति श्वित्रो रूपमिवेप्सितम् ॥ १६ ॥
लोभ: स्वल्पोऽपि तान् हन्ति श्वित्रो रूपमिवेप्सितम् ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
yaśo yaśasvināṁ śuddhaṁ
ślāghyā ye guṇināṁ guṇāḥ
lobhaḥ sv-alpo ’pi tān hanti
śvitro rūpam ivepsitam
ślāghyā ye guṇināṁ guṇāḥ
lobhaḥ sv-alpo ’pi tān hanti
śvitro rūpam ivepsitam
Synonyms
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.