Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 6
Paugaṇḍa Cowherding, Tālavana, the Slaying of Dhenukāsura, and Revival from Poisoned Yamunā Water
एतेऽलिनस्तव यशोऽखिललोकतीर्थं गायन्त आदिपुरुषानुपथं भजन्ते । प्रायो अमी मुनिगणा भवदीयमुख्या गूढं वनेऽपि न जहत्यनघात्मदैवम् ॥ ६ ॥
ete ’linas tava yaśo ’khila-loka-tīrthaṁ gāyanta ādi-puruṣānupathaṁ bhajante prāyo amī muni-gaṇā bhavadīya-mukhyā gūḍhaṁ vane ’pi na jahaty anaghātma-daivam
O Original Personality, these bees must all be great sages and most elevated devotees of Yours, for they are worshiping You by following You along the path and chanting Your glories, which are themselves a holy place for the entire world. Though You have disguised Yourself within this forest, O sinless one, they refuse to abandon You, their worshipable Lord.
The word gūḍham is significant in this verse. It indicates that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of Kṛṣṇa or Balarāma appears like an ordinary human being within the material world, great sages always recognize the Lord as the Supreme Absolute Truth. All the transcendental forms of Godhead are eternal and full of bliss and knowledge, exactly the opposite of our material bodies, which are temporary and full of misery and ignorance.
FAQs
This verse calls Kṛṣṇa’s fame “akhila-loka-tīrtham,” meaning His glories themselves purify like a sacred place—hearing and singing them becomes a direct spiritual pilgrimage.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes this to King Parīkṣit, poetically explaining that even bees in Vṛndāvana appear like sages devoted to worshiping the Primeval Lord.
Adopt the “bee-like” practice: regularly sing or recite Kṛṣṇa’s names and pastimes, keeping devotion steady even in a quiet, hidden way—without needing external recognition.