nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam |
praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṁ namāmi hariṁ param ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.23)
“I offer obeisance unto him, Hari, the Supreme, the chanting of whose name destroys all sin, and offering obeisance unto whom quells all suffering.”
sal-lakṣaṇaṁ prema-bharasya kṛṣṇe
kaiścid rasajñair uta kathyate tat |
premṇo bhareṇaiva nijeṣṭa-nāma-
saṅkīrtanaṁ hi sphurati sphuṭārtyā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.166)
“It [i.e., nāma-saṅkīrtana] is even said by some knowers of rasa to be the foremost characteristic of a profusion of prema for Kṛṣṇa, as saṅkīrtana of the names of one’s own Iṣṭa with pronounced heartache certainly manifests with a profusion of prema.”
syāc ced īśa-didṛkṣā nāmni śraddhāṁ dṛḍhāṁ sadā kuruta |
satyāsatya-vivekaṁ nityaṁ cānena tattva-vijñānam ||
(Sūkti-muktāvalī)
“One who desires to see the Lord should always have firm śraddhā in the name [of the Lord] and always discriminate between truth and falsity. By this realization of the reality manifests.”
tad eva manyate bhakteḥ phalaṁ tad-rasikair janaiḥ |
bhagavat-prema-sampattau sadaivāvyabhicārataḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.165)
“It [i.e., nāma-saṅkīrtana] itself is [also] considered the fruit of bhakti [i.e., of prema] by persons who are connoisseurs of it because of its being always unfailing in manifesting prema for Bhagavān.”
nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ proktaṁ kṛṣṇasya prema-sampadi |
baliṣṭhaṁ sādhanaṁ śreṣṭhaṁ paramākarṣa-mantra-vat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.164)
“Nāma-saṅkīrtana is said to be the most powerful and excellent sādhana for [attaining] the fortune of prema as it is like an extraordinary attraction mantra [i.e., as an extraordinary mantra can attract even very difficult to attain objects from afar and thereby cause acquisition of them, so nāma-saṅkīrtana can attract and bring about the attainment of Kṛṣṇa-prema].”
prabhu kahe—ihā haite yāha vṛndāvana |
nirantara kara kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana ||
eka nāmābhāse tomāra pāpa-doṣa yābe |
āra nāma haite kṛṣṇa-caraṇa pāibe ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.25.198–199)
“Prabhu said [to Subuddhi Rāya], ‘Go from here to Vṛndāvana, and always engage in saṅkīrtana of Kṛṣṇa’s name. By one [instance of] nāmābhāsa, the plight of your pāpa will go away, and through the name you will attain Kṛṣṇa’s feet.’”
para-vakra-gatañ cāpi viṣṇor nāma śrutaṁ mayā |
kṛta-dveṣasya viprāṇāṁ pratyakṣo’bhavad acyutaḥ ||
(Varāha Purāṇa: 37.33)
[Upon being liberated from the body of a tiger he received as a result of being cursed by brāhmaṇas for disrespecting them, Mahārāja Dīrghabāhu marvels at how he receives such fortune just by hearing the name Nārāyaṇa recited by a brāhmaṇa whom he (in the form of a tiger) was in the process of attacking as the brāhmaṇa was bathing in a river:] “And even though Viṣṇu’s name has [only] been heard by me from another’s mouth [i.e., even though I myself did not even chant Viṣṇu’s name], Acyuta has appeared before my eyes, I who have committed malice towards brāhmaṇas.”
sarveṣām apy aghavatām idam eva suniṣkṛtam |
nāma-vyāharaṇaṁ viṣṇor yatas tad-viṣayā matiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 6.2.10)
“This utterance of the name of Viṣṇu is the best means of atonement even for all [types of] sinners because one [i.e., anyone who utters his name] becomes an object of his attention.”
nāmāparādha-yuktānāṁ nāmāny eva haranty agham |
aviśrānti-prayuktāni tāny evārthakarāṇi ca ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 3.48.23 or 4.25.23; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.526; Bhakti Sandarbha: 265)
“The names [of Hari] certainly destroy the sins of those who have committed offense to the name; uttered incessantly, they are certainly effective.”
madhura-madhuram etan maṅgalaṁ maṅgalānāṁ
sakala-nigama-vallī-sat-phalaṁ cit-svarūpam |
sakṛd api parigītaṁ śraddhayā helayā vā
bhṛgu-vara nara-mātraṁ tārayet kṛṣṇa-nāma ||
(Skanda Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.451; Tattva Sandarbha: 15; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 35; Bhakti Sandarbha: 172)
“O best of the Bhṛgus, the name of Kṛṣṇa, the sweetest of the sweet, the most auspicious of the auspicious, the eternal [alt., true] spiritual fruit of the vine of all the Nigamas [i.e., Vedas], can deliver any human being when chanted even once, faithfully or negligently.”
