Text 21]
Questions by the Sages
79
TEXT 21
कलिमागतमाज्ञाय क्षेत्रेऽस्मिन् वैष्णवे वयम् । आसीना दीर्घसत्रेण कथायां सक्षणा हरेः ॥२१॥
kalim āgatam ājñāya kṣetre 'smin vaiṣṇave vayam āsīnā dīrgha-satreṇa kathāyām sakṣaṇā hareḥ
kalim —the age of Kali (iron age of quarrel);  āgatam —having arrived;  ājñāya —knowing this;  kṣetre —in this tract of land;  asmin —in this:  vaiṣṇave —specially meant for the devotee of the Lord;  vayam —we;  āsīnā —seated;  dīrgha —prolonged;  satreṇa —for performance of sacrifices;  kathāyām —in the words of;  sakṣaṇā —with time at our disposal;  hareḥ —of the Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
Knowing well that the Age of Kali has already begun, we are assembled here in this holy place to hear at great length the transcendental message of God and in this way perform sacrifice.
PURPORT
This age of Kali is not at all suitable for self-realization as was  Satya-yuga , the golden age, or  Tretā  or  Dvāpara yuga , the silver and copper ages. For self-realization, the people in  Satya-yuga , living a lifetime of a hundred thousand years, were able to perform prolonged meditation. And in  Tretā-yuga , when the duration of life was ten thousand years, self-realization was attained by performance of great sacrifice. And in the  Dvāpara-yuga  when the duration of life was for one thousand years, self-realization was attained by worshipping the Lord. But in the  Kali-yuga , the maximum duration of life being one hundred years only and that combined with various difficulties, the process of self-realization is recommended by hearing and chanting of the holy name, fame, and pastimes of the Lord. The sages of Naimiṣāraṇya began this process for the devotees of the Lord. So they prepared themselves to hear the pastimes of the Lord over a period