Tirukkural-On Virtue-Covetousness -Kural 171

Add as a preferred source on Google

If a man abandons rectitude and covets another's property,
He will fall into cumulative errors and disgrace his family.

The moment a man falls into the sin of convetousness, he loses his rectitude and other sins follow in quick succession. In the process he brings his family also into disgrace.

The previous chapter only dealt with envy, which constituted an inability to be happy at the sight of another man's good fortune and well-being. The present chapter deals with 'xxxxxxxxx' or greed (i.e.) the desire to obtain by illegitimate means what is another's – the sin of covetousness.

Here again the Gita (16,21) is relevant when it describes the triple gate of hell consisting of lust, anger and greed, all of which are destructive of self.

More specific is the well-known Biblical injuction to 'covet not thy neighbour's goods'.

A corresponding passage of the proverbs is as follows:

'A grasping man brings trouble to his family'.

(Proverbs 15:27)