ŚB 11.26.12
Devanagari
किं विद्यया किं तपसा किं त्यागेन श्रुतेन वा ।
किं विविक्तेन मौनेन स्त्रीभिर्यस्य मनो हृतम् ॥ १२ ॥
किं विविक्तेन मौनेन स्त्रीभिर्यस्य मनो हृतम् ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
kiṁ vidyayā kiṁ tapasā
kiṁ tyāgena śrutena vā
kiṁ viviktena maunena
strībhir yasya mano hṛtam
kiṁ tyāgena śrutena vā
kiṁ viviktena maunena
strībhir yasya mano hṛtam
Synonyms
kim — what is the use; vidyayā — of knowledge; kim — what; tapasā — of austerities; kim — what; tyāgena — of renunciation; śrutena — of having studied the scriptures; vā — or; kim — what; viviktena — of solitude; maunena — of silence; strībhiḥ — by women; yasya — whose; manaḥ — the mind; hṛtam — taken away.
Translation
What is the use of a big education or the practice of austerities and renunciation, and what is the use of studying religious scriptures, of living in solitude and silence, if, after all that, one’s mind is stolen by a woman?
Purport
All of the above-mentioned processes are useless if one’s heart and mind are stolen by an insignificant woman. One who hankers after a woman’s association certainly spoils his spiritual progress. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that if one worships the example of the liberated gopīs of Vṛndāvana, who accepted Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as their paramour, one can free one’s mental activities from the contamination of lust.