Text 21]
The History of the Life of Ajāmila
35
śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi- pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā aikāntikī harer bhaktir utpātāyaiva kalpate
“Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the  Upaniṣads ,  Purāṇas  and  Nārada-pañcarātra  is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society.” A devotee of Kṛṣṇa must refer not only to the  Vedas , but also to the  Purāṇas . One should not foolishly consider the  Purāṇas  mythological. If they were mythological, Śukadeva Gosvāmī would not have taken the trouble to recite the old historical incidents concerning the life of Ajāmila. Now the history begins as follows.
TEXT 21
कान्यकुब्जे द्विजः कश्चिद्दासीपतिरजामिलः ।
नाम्ना नष्टसदाचारो दास्याः संसर्गदूषितः ॥२१॥
kānyakubje dvijaḥ kaścid dāsī-patir ajāmilaḥ nāmnā naṣṭa-sadācāro dāsyāḥ saṁsarga-dūṣitaḥ
kānya-kubje —in the city of Kānyakubja (Kanauj, a town near Kanpur);  dvijaḥ — brāhmaṇa ;  kaścit —some;  dāsī-patiḥ —the husband of a low-class woman or prostitute;  ajāmilaḥ —Ajāmila;  nāmnā —by name;  naṣṭa-sat-ācāraḥ —who lost all brahminical qualities;  dāsyāḥ —of the prostitute or maidservant;  saṁsarga-dūṣitaḥ —contaminated by the association.
TRANSLATION
In the city known as Kānyakubja there was a brāhmaṇa named Ajāmila who married a prostitute maidservant and lost all his brahminical qualities because of the association of that low-class woman.