SB 12.3.51 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कलेर्दोषनिधे राजन्नस्ति ह्येको महान् गुण: । कीर्तनादेव कृष्णस्य मुक्तसङ्ग: परं व्रजेत् ॥ ५१ ॥

Verse text

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet

Synonyms

kaleḥ — of the Age of Kali ; doṣa — nidheḥ — in the ocean of faults ; rājan — O King ; asti — there is ; hi — certainly ; ekaḥ — one ; mahān — very great ; guṇaḥ — good quality ; kīrtanāt — by chanting ; eva — certainly ; kṛṣṇasya — of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa ; mukta — saṅgaḥ — liberated from material bondage ; param — to the transcendental spiritual kingdom ; vrajet — one can go .

Translation

My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O King! Although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. Simply by chanting about Kṛṣṇa, one can become free from material bondage and attains prema. Now it is said that Kali is the best of all yugas in two verses. Though Kali is an ocean of faults, one good quality prevails like a king. As one king alone kills many thieves, this one good quality destroys all the bad faults of Kali just mentioned. What is that quality? From chanting alone, which is not dependent on meditation or other processes, one attains the highest human goal, prema. Or chanting alone produce results, what to speak of combining meditation with chanting.

Purport

After mentioning the innumerable faults of this Age of Kali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī now mentions its one brilliant aspect. Just as one powerful king can kill innumerable thieves, one brilliant spiritual quality can destroy all the contamination of this age. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, especially in this fallen age.