Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 34

अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् । सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते

akīrtiṃ cāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te'vyayām | sambhāvitasya cākīrtirmaraṇādatiricyate

Translation

People, too, will recount thy everlasting infamy; and, to one who has been esteemed, infamy is more than death.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

akīrtim

dishonor

ca

and

api

also

bhūtāni

creatures

kathayiṣyanti

will relate

te

to thee

avyayām

undiminishing

sambhāvitasya

of the honored

ca

and

akīrtiḥ

dishonor

maraṇāt

than death

atiricyate

exceeds

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Not merely sin, but lasting infamy follows the abandonment of duty. For one who has hitherto been honoured, such infamy is more painful than death itself. Death is preferable to disgrace.