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Birth of Emperor Parīkṣit
623
Pāñcarātric  system acts on the  śūdra  class of men, supposedly the population of the Kali-yuga, and it is the prescribed purificatory process suitable to the age and time. Such a purificatory process is allowed only for spiritual upliftment and not for any other purpose. Spiritual upliftment is never conditioned by higher or lower parentage.
After the  Garbhādhana  purificatory process, there are certain other  saṁskāras  like  Sīmantonnayana ,  Sadhabhakṣaṇam , etc., during the period of pregnancy, and when the child is born the first purificatory process is  jātakarman . This was performed duly by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira with the help of good and learned  brāhmaṇas  like Dhaumya, the royal priest, and Kṛpācārya, who was not only a priest but also a great general. Both these learned and perfect priests assisted by other good  brāhmaṇas  were employed by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira to perform the ceremony. Therefore all the  saṁskāras  or purificatory processes are not mere formalities or social functions only, but they are all for practical purposes and can be successfully performed by expert  brāhmaṇas  like Dhaumya and Kṛpa. Such  brāhmaṇas  are not only rare but also not available in this age, and therefore, for the purpose of spiritual upliftment in this fallen age, the Go-svāmīs prefer the purificatory processes under  Pāñcarātrika  formulas to the Vedic rites.
Kṛpācārya is the son of the great Rṣi Sardban and was born in the family of Gautama. The birth is said to be accidental. By chance, the great Rṣi Sardban met  Janapadī , a famous society girl of heaven, and the Rṣi Sardban discharged semina in two parts. By one part immediately a male child and by the other part a female child were born as twins. The male child was later on known as Kṛpa, and the female child was known as Kṛpī. Mahārāja Śantanu, while engaged in chase in the jungle, picked up the children and brought them up to the brahminical status by the proper purificatory process. Kṛpācārya later on became a great general like Droṇācārya, and his sister was married to Droṇācārya. Kṛpācārya later on took part in the Battle of Kurukṣetra and joined the party of Duryodhana. Kṛpācārya helped kill Abhimanyu, the father of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, but he was still held in esteem by the family of the Pāṇḍavas due to his becoming as great a  brāhmaṇa  as Droṇācārya. When the Pāṇḍavas were sent to the forest after being defeated in the gambling game with Duryodhana, Dhṛtarāṣṭra entrusted the Pāṇḍavas to Kṛpācārya for guidance. After the end of the battle, Kṛpācārya again became a member of the royal assembly, and he was called during the birth of Mahārāja Parīkṣit for recitation of auspicious Vedic hymns to make the ceremony successful. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, while quitting the palace for his great departure to the