SB 7.13.37 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अनीह: परितुष्टात्मा यद‍ृच्छोपनतादहम् । नो चेच्छये बह्वहानि महाहिरिव सत्त्ववान् ॥ ३७ ॥

Verse text

anīhaḥ parituṣṭātmā yadṛcchopanatād aham no cec chaye bahv-ahāni mahāhir iva sattvavān

Synonyms

anīhaḥ — with no desire to possess more ; parituṣṭa — very satisfied ; ātmā — self ; yadṛcchā — in its own way, without endeavor ; upanatāt — by things brought in by possession ; aham — I ; no — not ; cet — if so ; śaye — I lie down ; bahu — many ; ahāni — days ; mahā — ahiḥ — a python ; iva — like ; sattva — vān — enduring .

Translation

I do not endeavor to get anything, but am satisfied with whatever is achieved in its own way. If I do not get anything, I am patient and unagitated like a python and lie down in this way for many days.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I do not endeavor to get anything but am satisfied with whatever comes on its own. If I do not get anything, I am patient like a python and sleep in this way for many days. He explains what the python has taught him. I sleep (śaye) patiently (sattvavān).

Purport

One should learn detachment from the bumblebees, for they collect drops of honey here and there and keep it in their honeycomb, but then someone comes and by force takes all the honey away, leaving the bumblebees with nothing. Therefore one should learn from the bumblebee not to keep more money than one needs. Similarly, one should learn from the python to stay in one place for many, many days without food and then eat only if something comes in its own way. Thus the learned brāhmaṇa gave instructions gained from two creatures, namely the bumblebee and the python.