Source of Knowledge

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.7.33-35

pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo 'gniś candramā raviḥ
kapoto 'jagaraḥ sindhuḥ patańgo madhukṛd gajaḥ
madhu-hā hariṇo mīnaḥ pińgalā kuraro 'rbhakaḥ
kumārī śara-kṛt sarpa ūrṇanābhiḥ supeśakṛt
ete me guravo rājan catur-viḿśatir āśritāḥ
śikṣā vṛttibhir eteṣām anvaśikṣam ihātmanaḥ

SYNONYMS

pṛthivī — the earth; vāyuḥ — the air; ākāśam — the sky; āpaḥ — the water; agniḥ — the fire; candramāḥ — the moon; raviḥ — the sun; kapotaḥ — the pigeon; ajagaraḥ — the python; sindhuḥ — the sea; patańgaḥ — the moth; madhu-kṛt — the honeybee; gajaḥ — the elephant; madhu-hā — the honey thief; hariṇaḥ — the deer; mīnaḥ — the fish; pińgalā — the prostitute named Pińgalā; kuraraḥ — the kurara bird; arbhakaḥ — the child; kumārī — the young girl; śara-kṛt — the arrow maker; sarpaḥ — the serpent; ūrṇa-nābhiḥ — the spider; supeśa-kṛt — the wasp; ete — these; me — me; guravaḥ — spiritual masters; rājan — O King; catuḥ-viḿśatiḥ — twenty-four; āśritāḥ — taken shelter of; śikṣā — instruction; vṛttibhiḥ — from the activities; eteṣām — of them; anvaśikṣam — I have properly learned; iha — in this life; ātmanaḥ — about the self.

TRANSLATION

O King, I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon and python; the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief; the deer, the fish, the prostitute Pińgalā, the kurara bird and the child; and the young girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp. My dear King, by studying their activities I have learned the science of the self.


Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.8.10

aṇubhyaś ca mahadbhyaś ca śāstrebhyaḥ kuśalo naraḥ
sarvataḥ sāram ādadyāt puṣpebhya iva ṣaṭpadaḥ

SYNONYMS

aṇubhyaḥ — from the smallest; ca — and; mahadbhyaḥ — from the greatest; ca — also; śāstrebhyaḥ — from religious scriptures; kuśalaḥ — intelligent; naraḥ — a man; sarvataḥ — from all; sāram — the essence; ādadyāt — should take; puṣpebhyaḥ — from the flowers; iva — like; ṣaṭpadaḥ — the honeybee.

TRANSLATION

Just as the honeybee takes nectar from all flowers, big and small, an intelligent human being should take the essence from all religious scriptures.