Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 12
Avadhūta’s Teachers: Python, Ocean, Moth, Bee, Elephant, Deer, Fish—and Piṅgalā’s Song of Detachment
सायन्तनं श्वस्तनं वा न सङ्गृह्णीत भिक्षुक: । मक्षिका इव सङ्गृह्णन् सह तेन विनश्यति ॥ १२ ॥
sāyantanaṁ śvastanaṁ vā na saṅgṛhṇīta bhikṣukaḥ makṣikā iva saṅgṛhṇan saha tena vinaśyati
ภิกษุไม่พึงสะสมอาหารแม้เพื่อวันนั้นหรือวันถัดไป หากฝ่าฝืนแล้วสะสมดุจผึ้ง อาหารอันสะสมไว้นั้นย่อมนำความพินาศมาสู่ตน
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.
FAQs
This verse warns that hoarding—even for “tonight or tomorrow”—binds and endangers a person; the mendicant ideal is to live simply, trusting in the Lord’s arrangement and avoiding possessiveness.
Because a bee gathers honey that is often taken away, and it may be destroyed along with its store—similarly, an accumulator risks suffering and downfall together with the very wealth he clings to.
Reduce needless accumulation, practice contentment, give in charity, and keep life simple; maintain necessary duties, but avoid anxiety-driven hoarding and the identity of being a “possessor.”