Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.2.9
Ūti· What drives us to actĀgnīdhra Describes Bees as Devoted Disciples
“Seeing the bumblebees following Pūrvacitti, Mahārāja Āgnīdhra said: My dear Lord, the bumblebees surrounding your body are like disciples surrounding your worshipable self. They are incessantly chanting the mantras of the Sāma Veda and the Upaniṣads, thus offering prayers to you. Just as great sages resort to the branches of Vedic literatures, the bumblebees are enjoying the showers of flowers falling from your hair.”
What the purport teaches
- Āgnīdhra compared the bumblebees surrounding Pūrvacitti to disciples surrounding a worshipable person. This was his description of the scene before him.
- He imagined their humming as incessant chanting of the Sāma Veda and the Upaniṣads. He described their sounds as prayers offered to her.
- The bees enjoyed the flowers falling from her hair. Āgnīdhra compared this to great sages taking shelter of the branches of Vedic literature.
Try this today
Read this translation slowly once more, noticing each comparison Āgnīdhra makes.
Ask yourself
What does the image of sages taking shelter of Vedic literature suggest to me?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.