SB 11.7.33-35 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापोऽग्निश्चन्द्रमा रवि: ।

कपोतोऽजगर: सिन्धु: पतङ्गो मधुकृद् गज: ॥ ३३ ॥

मधुहाहरिणो मीन: पिङ्गला कुररोऽर्भक: ।

कुमारी शरकृत् सर्प ऊर्णनाभि: सुपेशकृत् ॥ ३४ ॥

एते मे गुरवो राजन् चतुर्विंशतिराश्रिता: ।

शिक्षा वृत्तिभिरेतेषामन्वशिक्षमिहात्मन: ॥ ३५ ॥

Verse text

pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam

āpo ’gniś candramā raviḥ

kapoto ’jagaraḥ sindhuḥ

pataṅgo madhukṛd gajaḥ

madhu-hā hariṇo mīnaḥ

piṅgalā kuraro ’rbhakaḥ

kumārī śara-kṛt sarpa

ūrṇanābhiḥ supeśakṛt

ete me guravo rājan

catur-viṁśatir 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 ; pataṅgaḥ — the moth ; madhu-kṛt — the honeybee ; gajaḥ — the elephant ; madhu-hā — the honey thief ; hariṇaḥ — the deer ; mīnaḥ — the fish ; piṅgalā — the prostitute named Piṅgalā ; 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-viṁśatiḥ — 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 Piṅgalā, 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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O King! I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: the earth, air, ether, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon, python, the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant, honey thief, the deer, the fish, the prostitute Piṅgalā, the kurara bird, a child, a young girl, an arrow maker, a serpent, a spider and a wasp. My dear King, by studying their activities I have learned things to be known about the self. By their activities, I have learned things that be known about the self.

Purport

The wasp is known as supeśa-kṛt because it causes the insect that it kills to take a beautiful form in the next life.