Dhammapada verse 240
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“It is the rust born on the iron that eats away the place it arose. And so it is their own deeds that lead the overly-ascetic to a bad place.”
Ayasāva malaṁ samuṭṭhitaṁ, Tatuṭṭhāya tameva khādati; Evaṁ atidhonacārinaṁ, Sāni kammāni nayanti duggatiṁ.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 240 mean?
Verse 240 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 239 and verse 241 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-one verses on stains — the defilements as dirt on a surface that can be cleaned. The chapter lists the specific stains it means, including hardness, carelessness, deceit and jealousy, and it treats purity not as innocence but as the result of scrubbing.