16.71
rasalankara-vat kavyam
dosa-yuk ced vibhusitam
syad vapuh sundaram api
svitrenaikena durbhagam
SYNONYMS
rasa—with humors; alankara-vat—with ornaments (metaphors, similes, etc.); kavyam—poetry; dosa-yuk—faulty; cet—if; vibhusitam—very nicely decorated; syat—it becomes so; vapuh—the body; sundaram—beautiful; api—even though; svitrena—by a white spot of leprosy; ekena—one; durbhagam—unfortunate " ’As one’s body, although well-decorated with ornaments, is made unfortunate by even one spot of white leprosy, so an entire poem is made useless by a fault, despite alliteration, similes and metaphors.’