628 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 12

tasmat—therefore; nadmna—by the name; visnu-ratah—protected by
Visnu, the Personality of Godhead; iti-thus; loke—in all the planets;
bhavisyati—shall become well known; mahabhaga—most fortunate; na—no:
sandehah—doubts; maha-bhagavatah—the first-class devotee of the Lord;
mahan—qualified by all good qualities.

TRANSLATION
For this reason this child will be well known in the world as one who
is protected by the Personality of Godhead. O most fortunate one, there
is no doubt that this child will become a first-class devotee and will be
qualified with all good qualities.
PURPORT

The Lord gives protection to all living beings because He is their supreme
leader. The Vedic hymns confirm that the Lord is the Supreme Person
amongst all personalities. The difference between the two living beings is
that the one, the Personality of Godhead, provides for all other living
beings, and by knowing Him one can achieve eternal peace (Katha
Upanisad). Such protection is given by His different potencies to different
grades of living beings. But as far as His unalloyed devotees are concerned,
He gives the protection personally. Therefore, Maharaja Pariksit is pro-
tected from the very beginning of his appearance in the womb of his
mother. And because he is especially given protection by the Lord, the
indication must be concluded that the child would be a first-grade devotee
of the Lord with all good qualities. There are three grades of devotees,
namely the mahabhagavata, madhyam-adhikari and the kanisthadhikari.
Those who go to the temples of the Lord and offer worshipful respect to
the Deity without sufficient knowledge in the theological science and
therefore without any respect for the devotees of the Lord are called
materialistic devotees, or kanisthadhikari, or the third-grade devotees.
Secondly, the devotees who have developed genuine service mentality for
the Lord and thus make friendships with similar devotees only, show favor
to the neophytes and avoid the atheists are called the second-grade
devotees. But those who see everything in the Lord or everything of the
Lord and also see in everything an eternal relation of the Lord, so that
there is nothing within their purview of sight except the Lord, are called
the mahabhagavatas, or the first-grade devotees of the Lord. Such first-
grade devotees of the Lord are perfect in all respects. A devotee who may ~
