SB 12.3.52 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कृते यद्ध्यायतो विष्णुं त्रेतायां यजतो मखै: । द्वापरे परिचर्यायां कलौ तद्धरिकीर्तनात् ॥ ५२ ॥

Verse text

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

Synonyms

kṛte — in the Satya-yuga ; yat — which ; dhyāyataḥ — from meditation ; viṣṇum — on Lord Viṣṇu ; tretāyām — in the Tretā-yuga ; yajataḥ — from worshiping ; makhaiḥ — by performing sacrifices ; dvāpare — in the age of Dvāpara ; paricaryāyām — by worshiping the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa ; kalau — in the Age of Kali ; tat — that same result (can be achieved) ; hari — kīrtanāt — simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. .

Translation

Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by deity worship, can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting about the Lord. Thus ends the commentary on the Third Chapter of the Twelfth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas. Chapter Four Four Types of Destruction

Purport

A similar verse is found in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.2.17), and also in the Padma Purāṇa ( Uttara-khaṇḍa 72.25) and the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa (38.97): dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajṣais tretāyāṁ dvāpare ’rcayan yad āpnoti tad āpnoti kalau saṅkīrtya keśavam “Whatever is achieved by meditation in Satya-yuga, by the performance of sacrifice in Tretā-yuga, and by the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in Dvāpara-yuga is obtained in the Age of Kali simply by glorifying the name of Lord Keśava.” Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has further quoted from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa concerning the degraded condition of people in Kali-yuga: ataḥ kalau tapo-yoga- vidyā-yajṣādikāḥ kriyāḥ sāṅgā bhavanti na kṛtāḥ kuśalair api dehibhiḥ “Thus in the Age of Kali the practices of austerity, yoga meditation, Deity worship, sacrifice and so on, along with their various subsidiary functions, are not properly carried out, even by the most expert embodied souls.” Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has also cited the Cāturmāsya-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa concerning the necessity of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in this age: tathā caivottamaṁ loke tapaḥ śrī-hari-kīrtanam kalau yuge viśeṣeṇa viṣṇu-prītyai samācaret “In this way the most perfect penance to be executed in this world is the chanting of the name of Lord Śrī Hari. Especially in the Age of Kali, one can satisfy the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu by performing saṅkīrtana. ” In conclusion, massive propaganda should be made all over the world to induce people to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, by which human society can be rescued from the dangerous ocean of the Age of Kali. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Twelfth Canto, Third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Bhūmi-gītā.”