Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 33
Kṛṣṇa’s Impending Departure; Uddhava’s Surrender; King Yadu and the Avadhūta’s Twenty-Four Gurus
Beginnings
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 ॥
pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo ’gniś candramā raviḥ kapoto ’jagaraḥ sindhuḥ pataṅgo madhukṛd gajaḥ
O King, I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, the moon, the sun, the pigeon and the python; the sea, the moth, the honeybee, the elephant and the honey thief; the deer, the fish, the courtesan Piṅgalā, the kurara bird and the child; and the young girl, the arrow maker, the serpent, the spider and the wasp. By contemplating their ways, I have learned the science of the Self.
The wasp is known as supeśa-kṛt because it causes the insect that it kills to take a beautiful form in the next life.
FAQs
In this verse, Dattātreya begins listing his teachers, including the earth, air, sky, water, fire, the moon, the sun, the pigeon, the python, the ocean, the moth, the bee, and the elephant—models from whom he learned practical spiritual lessons.
He teaches King Yadu that divine instruction is available everywhere: the elements and celestial bodies demonstrate virtues like tolerance, purity, steadiness, and regulated duty, which guide one toward self-realization.
Observe and adopt virtues shown in nature—be tolerant like earth, steady like the sun in duty, and detached like the sky—so daily life itself becomes a path of inner training.