sÅ«ta uvÄca
evaá¹ niÅ›amya bhá¹›gu-nandana sÄdhu-vÄdaá¹
vaiyÄsakiḥ sa bhagavÄn atha viṣṇu-rÄtam
pratyarcya kṛṣṇa-caritaá¹ kali-kalmaá¹£a-ghnaá¹
vyÄhartum Ärabhata bhÄgavata-pradhÄnaḥ
sÅ«taḥ uvÄca - SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« said; evam - thus; niÅ›amya - hearing; bhá¹›gu-nandana - O son of the Bhá¹›gu dynasty, Åšaunaka; sÄdhu-vÄdam - pious questions; vaiyÄsakiḥ - Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, the son of VyÄsadeva; saḥ - he; bhagavÄn - the most powerful; atha - thus; viṣṇu-rÄtam - unto ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja, who was always protected by Viṣṇu; pratyarcya - offering him respectful obeisances; kṛṣṇa-caritam - topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa; kali-kalmaá¹£a-ghnam - which diminish the troubles of this age of Kali; vyÄhartum - to describe; Ärabhata - began; bhÄgavata-pradhÄnaḥ - Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, the chief among the pure devotees.
SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« said: O son of Bhá¹›gu, after Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, the most respectable devotee, the son of VyÄsadeva, heard the pious questions of MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it, he thanked the King with great respect. Then he began to discourse on topics concerning Kṛṣṇa, which are the remedy for all sufferings in this Age of Kali.
In this verse the words kṛṣṇa-caritaá¹ kali-kalmaá¹£a-ghnam indicate that the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa are certainly the greatest panacea for all miseries, especially in this Age of Kali. It is said that in Kali-yuga people have only short lives, and they have no culture of spiritual consciousness. If anyone is at all interested in spiritual culture, he is misled by many bogus svÄmÄ«s and yogÄ«s who do not refer to kṛṣṇa-kathÄ. Therefore most people are unfortunate and disturbed by many calamities. ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva prepared ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam at the request of NÄrada Muni in order to give relief to the suffering people of this age (kali-kalmaá¹£a-ghnam). The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is seriously engaged in enlightening people through the pleasing topics of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. All over the world, the message of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam and Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ is being accepted in all spheres of life, especially in advanced, educated circles.
ÅšrÄ«la Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« is described in this verse as bhÄgavata-pradhÄnaḥ, whereas MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it is described as viṣṇu-rÄtam. Both words bear the same meaning; that is, MahÄrÄja ParÄ«ká¹£it was a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« was also a great saintly person and a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Combined together to present kṛṣṇa-kathÄ, they give great relief to suffering humanity.
anarthopaÅ›amaá¹ sÄká¹£Äd
bhakti-yogam adhoká¹£aje
lokasyÄjÄnato vidvÄá¹Å›
cakre sÄtvata-saá¹hitÄm
“The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned VyÄsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.†(BhÄg. 1.7.6) People in general are unaware that the message of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam can give all of human society relief from the pangs of Kali-yuga (kali-kalmaá¹£a-ghnam).
