Sage Karabhajana describes to King Nimi about the different forms of the Lord in different periods of time and the different types of worship. In the iron age called Kali Yuga when time takes an ebbing and downward trend, the form of the Lord will be black, lustrous in complexion, with perfect limbs and a beautiful frame and adorned with shining jewels and weapons too. There will be many servants and attendants waiting upon him in this age. The main form of worship in this age will be by chanting and singing the names in praise of the Lord.
The Sage also gives a beautiful meditative verse in praise of this form. “That Lord is to be worshipped always, whose feet are like the cool and compassionate lotus flowers. They have the power to destroy our attachment to this illusory world of movement and change and can help us cross over this Samsara. They are the feet towards which even the destroyer and creator of this universe have taken refuge in. I salute and prostrate to your lotus-feet O great Lord who instantly dispels the difficulties of your servants and protects those who surrender to you from drowning in this ocean of existence. I surrender to you who gave up the royal wealth, palace, name and fame, coveted even by the gods and went with Sita to the forest and chased a magic deer to bring it to her and fulfil her wishes!”
In this way the Lord is worshipped by people according to their desires in different periods of time, says the sage Karabhajana. Though the Kali Yuga or the present age may seem a trying period to live in, actually it is in this age that the wise people find it easier to reach the Lord by merely chanting his name and remembering him all the while. It is by this means they achieve all that they wish to, which in other yugas it may take cultivating many noble qualities and performing many austerities and sacrifices.
By mere chanting of the names of the Lord, a person’s mind attains supreme peace and they reach that state of mind which is so pure that there is no need to be born again on earth. It is for this reason that the people born in the Krita, Treta and Dwapara Yugas, seek to be born in Kali Yuga. The Bhagavatam gives interesting details about the geography of this country. Through the Rishi Karabhajana, the Bhagavatam says that in the Dravida country, where rivers such as Tamraparani, Kritamala, Payasvini, Kaveri, Pratichi and Mahanadi flow, those who drink their waters will have a pure and one-pointed mind and will generally be devotees of Vasudeva.
The discussions of the nine great devotees of the Lord with king Nimi ends with this last one who extols the greatness of the devotee who renounces everything to surrender at the feet of the Lord.
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