rasa - with humors; alaṅkāra-vat - with ornaments (metaphors, similes, etc.); kāvyam - poetry; doṣa-yuk - faulty; cet - if; vibhūṣitam - very nicely decorated; syāt - it becomes so; vapuḥ - the body; sundaram - beautiful; api - even though; śvitreṇa - 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.’