Text 13]
Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy
941
of any kind of sacrifice in this age of Kali is also uncertain. Unscrupulous greedy  brāhmaṇas  of the age of Kali induce the innocent public to such uncertain sacrificial shows without disclosing the scriptural injunction that in the age of Kali there is no fruitful sacrificial performance but the sacrifice of the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. Sūta Gosvāmī was narrating the transcendental activities of the Lord before the congregation of sages, and they were factually perceiving the result of hearing these transcendental activities. One can feel this practically, as one can feel the result of eating food. Spiritual realization acts in that way.
The sages of Naimiṣāraṇya were practically sufferers from the smoke of a sacrificial fire and were doubtful about the result, but by hearing from a realized person like Sūta Gosvāmī, they were fully satisfied. In the  Brahma-Vaivarta Purāṇa , Viṣṇu tells Śiva that in the age of Kali, men full of anxieties of various kinds can vainly labor in fruitive activity and philosophical speculations, but when they are engaged in devotional service, the result is sure and certain, and there is no loss of energy. In other words, nothing performed for spiritual realization or for material benefit can be successful without devotional service of the Lord.
TEXT 13
तुल्याम लवेनापि न खर्ग नापुनर्भवम् । मगवत्सङ्गिसङ्गस्य मत्यानां किञ्चताशिषः ॥१३॥
tulayāma lavenāpi na svargam nāpunar-bhavam bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānām kim-utāśiṣah
tulayāma —to be balanced with;  lavena —by a moment;  api —even;  na —never;  svargam —heavenly planets;  na —neither;  apunah-bhavam —liberation from matter;  bhagavat-saṅgi —devotee of the Lord;  saṅgasya —of the association;  martyānām —those who are meant for death;  kim —what is there;  uta —to speak of;  āśiṣah —worldly benediction.
TRANSLATION
The value of a moment's association with the devotee of the Lord cannot even be compared to the attainment of heavenly planets or libera-