232 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 8, Ch. 16
“‘O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men render devotional
service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive,
and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” Aditi was arta,
a person in distress. She was very much aggrieved because her sons, the
demigods, were bereft of everything. Thus she wanted to take shelter of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the direction of her husband,
Kasyapa Muni.
TEXT 23
fea et fate fate agrarety |
ory goat H Sa: alge: AE IAB! UR
Gdisa tvarn duija-srestha
vidhim tad-upadhavanam
dsu tusyati me devah
sidantyah saha putrakaih

adisa —just instruct me; tuam—O my husband; dvija-srestha—O best
of the brahmanas; vidhim—the regulative principles; tat—the Lord;
upadhavanam—the process of worshiping; dsu—very soon; tusyati—
becomes satisfied; me—unto me; devah—the Lord; sidantyah—now
lamenting; saha—with; putrakaih—all my sons, the demigods.

TRANSLATION

O best of the brahmanas, kindly instruct me in the perfect
method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in
devotional service, by which the Lord may very soon be pleased
with me and save me, along with my sons, from this most
dangerous condition.

PURPORT

Sometimes less intelligent men ask whether one has to approach a
guru to be instructed in devotional service for spiritual advancement.
The answer is given here—indeed, not only here, but also in Bhagavad-
gitd, where Arjuna accepted Krsna as his guru (Sisyas te "har Sadhi mam
tvam prapannam). The Vedas also instruct, tad-vijhdnartham sa gurum
evabhigacchet: one must accept a guru for proper direction if one is
