170
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 4]
atomic bomb released by Aśvatthāmā, but by the grace of the Lord he was saved from being burnt by the fiery weapon, and since then the King continually concentrated his mind upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, which made him perfectly chaste in devotional service. So by natural sequence he was a chaste devotee of the Lord, and when he further heard from Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that one should worship the Lord only and no one else, even though full of all desires or desireless, his natural affection for Kṛṣṇa was strengthened. We have already discussed these topics in this connection.
To become a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, two things are very much essential, namely having a chance of being born in the family of a devotee and having the blessings of a bona fide spiritual master. By the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Parīkṣit Mahārāja had both opportunities. He was born in a family of devotees like the Pāṇḍavas, and just to continue the dynasty of the Pāṇḍavas, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was specifically saved by the Lord just to show special favor to the Pāṇḍavas, and later on, by the arrangement of the Lord, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed by the boy of a  brāhmaṇa  and was able to get the association of a spiritual master like Śukadeva Gosvāmī. In the  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  it is said that a fortunate person, by the mercy of the spiritual master and Lord Kṛṣṇa, achieves the path of devotional service. This was perfectly applicable in the case of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. By way of being born in the family of devotees, he automatically came in touch with Kṛṣṇa, and after being so contacted he constantly remembered Him. Consequently Lord Kṛṣṇa gave the King a further chance of development in devotional service by introducing him to Śukadeva Gosvāmī, a stalwart devotee of the Lord with perfect knowledge in self-realization. And by hearing from a bona fide spiritual master, he was perfectly able to concentrate his chaste mind further upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, as a matter of course.
TEXT 2
आत्मजायासुतागारपशुद्रविणबन्धुषु । राज्ये चाविकले नित्यं विरूढां ममतां जहौ ॥ २ ॥
ātma-jāyā-sutāgāra- paśu-draviṇa-bandhuṣu rājye cāvikale nityam virūḍhām mamatām jahau
ātma—body; jāyā—wife; suta—son; āgāra—palace; paśu—horses and elephants; draviṇa—treasury house; bandhuṣu—unto friends and relatives;