SB 11.8.12
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please note: The synonyms, translation and purport of this verse were composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TEXT 12
- sāyantanaṁ śvastanaṁ vā
- na saṅgṛhṇīta bhikṣukaḥ
- makṣikā iva saṅgṛhṇan
- saha tena vinaśyati
SYNONYMS
sāyantanam — meant for the night; śvastanam — meant for tomorrow; vā — either; na — not; saṅgṛhṇīta — should accept; bhikṣukaḥ — a saintly mendicant; makṣikā — honeybee; iva — like; saṅgṛhṇan — collecting; saha — with; tena — that collection; vinaśyati — is destroyed.
Translation and purport composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TRANSLATION
A saintly mendicant should not even collect foodstuffs to eat later in the same day or the next day. If he disregards this injunction and like the honeybee collects more and more delicious foodstuffs, that which he has collected will indeed ruin him.
PURPORT
Bhramara refers to that honeybee who wanders about from flower to flower, and makṣikā is the honeybee who accumulates more and more honey in the beehive with great attachment. A saintly mendicant should be like the bhramara bee because if he imitates the makṣikā bee his spiritual consciousness will be ruined. This point is so important that it is repeated in this verse.