SB 6.1.10
Devanāgarī
क्वचिन्निवर्ततेऽभद्रात्क्वचिच्चरति तत्पुन: । प्रायश्चित्तमथोऽपार्थं मन्ये कुञ्जरशौचवत् ॥ १० ॥
Text
kvacin nivartate ’bhadrāt kvacic carati tat punaḥ prāyaścittam atho ’pārthaṁ manye kuñjara-śaucavat
Synonyms
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.