The following is an excerpt from a śloka class given by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja on the North Shore, Hawaii, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Very good. [Taking the part of a materialist and challenging Vṛndā-
devī dāsī] We will practice bhakti-yoga in old age. We should enjoy the world. Why should we learn bhakti from the beginning? Why perform bhakti from childhood?
Vṛndā-devī dāsī: Because an old dog cannot learn new tricks.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Very good, thank you all.
You should remember the śloka of Vṛtāsura. Vṛtāsura was Citraketu Mahārāja in his previous birth. He was a big king with thousands upon thousands of wives but no children, no son, and he was worried about this. Aṅgirā Ṛṣi came and asked him, “Why are you so worried?” He replied, “I have no child. Please give me one child.” Aṅgirā Ṛṣi tried to make him understand that no one can be happy by having a child. One can be happy only by chanting and remembering and worshipping God. But Citraketu said, “Anyway, please give me a son. Can you give me one?” Angira Ṛṣi said “Yes.” He gave the king some fruit and told him, “Give this to your queen.” A very beautiful son soon came, who was beautiful as the moon, and gradually that son became five years old.
Now the king was always with his queen and son. He was ignoring all the other thousands of queens, and they became worried. They thought, “He does not speak with us, he does not give us oil, cloth, or anything, and the reason is that son.” So, they poisoned that boy and he died. When the king and queen saw what happened, they wept and fainted. All were weeping, and those who gave poison were also weeping to make a show.
At that time, Aṅgirā Ṛṣi arrived with Nārada Ṛṣi and asked, “Why is everyone weeping?” Someone replied, “They are weeping for their son.”
So they told the king, “Oh, he is there; he is sleeping.”
The king replied, “No, he has gone.”
“Where has he gone? I see he is here lying down.”
“Oh, his soul is gone.”
“What harm is there if the soul is gone? Your son is there – he whom you used to call son. If there is no soul present now, then how is he your son? Have you seen the soul?”
“No.”
“Then why are you weeping?”
Aṅgirā Ṛṣi and Nārada Ṛṣi then gave the king a mantra, and by this he became free from all material attachments and obtained spiritual realizations.
In the king’s next life he committed an offence at the lotus feet of Śaṅkara (Lord Siva). Actually Śaṅkara was his friend and he was only joking – it was not actually an offence – but Pārvatī-devī (the wife of Śaṅkara) could not realize this and thus cursed him to become a demon. He thus became a demon, but he also remained a pure devotee. He prayed while on the battlefield with Indra, when Indra was going to kill him:
ahaṁ hare tava pādaika-mūla-
dāsānudāso bhavitāsmi bhūyaḥ
manaḥ smaretāsu-pater guṇāṁs te
gṛṇīta vāk karma karotu kāyaḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.11.24)
[O Lord, please bestow such mercy upon me, that in my next birth I may obtain the opportunity to exclusively serve the servants who have taken shelter of Your lotus feet. May my mind always remember Your all-auspicious qualities, my speech always chant the glories of these qualities, and my body always remain engaged in Your service.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You should remember the four consecutive ślokas, beginning with this one.
Vrajanātha dāsa: Gurudeva, Nārada made the son come back to life?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, but the son said, “I cannot come back to you, I am better where I am now. Who is my father? In a previous life, my father may have been my son.* I don’t want to be here. Where I am now, I have a chance to do bhajana.”
Madhuvrata dāsa: Was the son actually Aṅgirā Ṛṣi himself?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Because he had no son to give to the king, he came himself. He kept his body somewhere and his soul manufactured a body and became that son.**
Bas. [That’s all for today.]
The following is an excerpt from a śloka class given by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja on the North Shore, Hawaii, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007
tat-prayāso na kartavyo
yata āyur-vyayaḥ param
na tathā vindate kṣemaṁ
mukunda-caraṇāmbujam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.6.4)
[Endeavours merely for sense gratification or material happiness through economic development are not to be performed, for they result only in a loss of time and energy, with no actual profit. If one’s endeavours are directed toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can surely attain the spiritual platform of self-realization. There is no such benefit from engaging oneself in economic development.]
ahaṁ hare tava pādaika-mūla-
dāsānudāso bhavitāsmi bhūyaḥ
manaḥ smaretāsu-pater guṇāṁs te
gṛṇīta vāk karma karotu kāyaḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.11.24)
[O Lord, please bestow such mercy upon me, that in my next birth I may obtain the opportunity to exclusively serve the servants who have taken shelter of Your lotus feet. May my mind always remember Your all-auspicious qualities, my speech always chant the glories of these qualities, and my body always remain engaged in Your service.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Who is praying?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Vṛtrāsura.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Who was Vṛtrāsura?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Vṛtrāsura was Citraketu Mahārāja in his previous life.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why did he become a demon?
Acyutānanda dāsa: I don’t know.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I told this yesterday. It was due to the curse of Pārvatī. He was joking with his friend Śaṅkara, but Pārvatī took his words very seriously. She took his words as an offence to Śaṅkara.
[Madhuvrata dāsa recites and explains the two verses.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why should we not do anything to maintain ourselves, like making money and all related activities?
Madhuvrata dāsa: Because everything is coming from our previous activities.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Without wanting it, suffering comes; and if happiness is meant to be there, it will certainly also come. So we need not try to do anything for our happiness. Rather, we should engage only in mukunda-caraṇāmbujam (worship of Krsna’s lotus feet). Try to do bhajana.
What does Mukunda mean here?
Madhuvrata dāsa: One who gives liberation.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. He gives liberation from all sufferings, and He also gives prema.
[To Vrajanātha dāsa] Can you utter the ślokas?
Vrajanātha dāsa: I have done only 50%.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What 50?
Vṛndā-devī dāsī: We learned the ślokas together, so he will speak.
Vrajanātha dāsa: Ahaṁ hare…[some difficulty]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: [To Vṛndā-devī dāsī] Help him.
There are three things: body, tongue, and mind. If whatever we do by body, think by mind, and tell by words is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then everything will be okay.
The following is an excerpt from a class on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Mathurā, India, 1994, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007
Many of us think that Citraketu Mahārāja had committed some offence and that is why he became a demon. This 
is not so. Citraketu Mahārāja is a completely liberated soul and is the disciple of Saṅkarṣaṇa. He performed his pastime as Vṛtāsura to teach the world. The story goes like this. Śaṅkara (Lord Śiva) was his friend and godbrother. This librated mahā-puruṣa once came to Kailāśa. At that time Śaṅkarajī was speaking hari-kathā. The beautiful Pārvatī was sitting on his lap and Lord Śiva had his arm around her neck. He was wearing a dor-kaupīn of snakes. He also ornaments himself with snakes.
… Citraketu Mahārāja came, and seeing his friend Śaṅkarajī like this, he laughed, “Why are you sitting with Pārvatī on your lap while speaking hari-kathā? Why are you doing this? Does anybody act like this? In front of this assembly of so many ṛṣis and munis you are making your wife look like a sense enjoyer. This is not proper.” Saying this, Citraketu Mahārāja laughed.
Śaṅkarajī also smiled but Pārvatī was perturbed. Unable to tolerate Citraketu’s words she cursed him, “You should become a demon. Are you trying to be the guru of Lord Śiva? Brahmā and so many other demigods accept his authority and now you are giving him instructions? By this you are insulting him.”
Śaṅkarajī did not feel affronted, but Pārvatī took Citraketu Mahārāja’s words as an insult. As Citraketu Mahārāja was his friend, Śivajī understood why he had spoken in that way. To show that one should not insult a Vaiṣṇava, Pārvatī cursed her husband’s friend. Citraketu Mahārāja was highly qualified and powerful enough that he could have counteracted her curse, if he had wanted. But to keep the word of Lord Śiva’s dearmost beloved Pārvatī-devī, he accepted her curse without any complaint. Śaṅkarajī then said to her, “O Pārvatī, what have you done? You don’t know that mahāpuruṣas like Citraketu Mahārāja may stay in hell or in heaven, they may become a demigod or a demon, they may accept any kind of form! For them it does not make any difference, because wherever they stay, they always perform harināma-saṅkīrtana and bhakti for the lotus feet of Śrī Hari. But by your giving this curse, now I can understand what your mentality is.”
The following is an excerpt from Mādhurya-kādambinī, Shower Three, Text 4d, Commentaries of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura and of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja
yas tu tatrāpi citraketau kādācitko mahad-aparādhaḥ sa prātītika eva na vāstavaḥ | satyāṁ prema-sampattau pārṣadatva-vṛtratvayor vaiśiṣṭyābhāva-siddhāntāt |
Bhāvānuvāda: We hear that once, Mahārāja Citraketu committed an offence to a pure devotee, even after receiving the audience of Bhagavān. His committing an offence was only apparent, however; it was not real. Since the same treasure of loving devotion to Bhagavān remained in his heart, both as an associate of the Lord and as Vṛtrāsura, there is no difference between these two distinctive features of his. This is the conclusion (siddhānta).
Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī-vṛtti: After attaining Bhagavān, the cessation of anarthas arising from aparādha is absolute (ātyantikī). This means that it is impossible to commit an offence to an exalted devotee (mahad-aparādha). Here a question may arise. If this is so, then how did Citraketu Mahārāja, even after attaining Bhagavān, develop the propensity to offend Śrīman Mahādeva? In response, the revered author says that although we hear that Citraketu Mahārāja committed aparādha to a great soul, this is not the reality; the offence was only apparent. It is said that the result of committing an offence to a pure devotee is that one’s bhakti diminishes or vanishes. Pārvatī cursed Citraketu Mahārāja and he became a demon, but still, his bhakti remained unaffected. “Phalena phala-kāraṇam anumīyate – we can infer the cause by the result alone.” Therefore, Citraketu Mahārāja did not actually commit mahad-aparādha.
The history of Śrī Citraketu Mahārāja is narrated in the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Chapters 14–16. He was the sovereign ruler of the land of Śūrasena. Despite possessing unmatched royal opulence, he remained downcast because he had no son. King Citraketu had accepted the hands of ten million beautiful women in the hope of having a son, but he remained without progeny.
One day, by the desire of Bhagavān, the great sage Aṅgirā Ṛṣi came to his royal palace. The king revealed his 
anguish and implored him repeatedly for a son. Maharṣi Aṅgirā prepared caru (a special sweet rice used in oblations) and offered it into a sacred sacrificial fire. He fed the remnants to the principal queen, Kṛtadyuti, saying, “May this produce a son who will give the king both happiness and distress.” He then left.
After eating the sweet rice, the queen became pregnant and in due course gave birth to a most beautiful baby boy. The child began to grow, just like a waxing crescent moon. Naturally, King Citraketu’s attachment to Queen Kṛtadyuti increased. Seeing this, the other queens became stricken with envy and hatred, and they killed the child by feeding him poison.
The great sage had previously stated that the king would have a child that would cause him happiness and distress. Upon hearing of his son’s death, Mahārāja Citraketu became overwhelmed with sorrow. At that time, the supremely merciful Śrī Nārada arrived, along with Śrī Aṅgirā Ṛṣi. Śrī Nārada gave the king much instruction and offered him solace. Nonetheless, it was extremely difficult for the king to understand his teachings. Finally, those great sages summoned the soul of the departed child and had the child pacify the king by imparting instructions about the unsubstantial nature of this material world and the fleeting nature of relationships between father and son, mother and father, and so forth.
Becoming detached from this world, the king engaged in bhajana under the direction of Śrī Nārada and achieved the direct audience of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, who, being pleased with him, instructed him on the fundamental truths of dharma and jñāna. The king ascended a divine aeroplane and became the ruler of the Vidyādharas***, wandering freely in the valleys of Mount Sumeru.
One day, Mahārāja Citraketu saw Bhagavān Śrī Śaṅkara in an assembly of great munis, siddhas and cāraṇas, with his arm around Pārvatī, who was seated on his lap. As Mahārāja Citraketu came closer, he laughed loudly in the presence of Pārvatī-devī. “Just see the situation of the great instructor of dharma, the guru of the whole world, Śrī Mahādeva!” he said. “In such a learned assembly, he has placed his wife on his lap? How shameless!”
Bhagavān Śrī Śaṅkara knew that Citraketu was a dear devotee of Bhagavān, so he simply smiled and said nothing. Pārvatī-devī, however, could not tolerate Citraketu’s behaviour – his ridicule and disrespect. She therefore immediately cursed him: “You will take birth in a most sinful, demoniac race. In that way, you will never be able to disrespect great souls [due to having no contact with them].”
King Citraketu was not even slightly distressed by this. To please Pārvatī, he glorified her, accepted the curse, 
offered obeisance and went on his way. He did not retaliate. His power was such that had he so desired, he could also have cursed Pārvatī, but he did not.
Having been damned by the goddess, Citraketu took birth as the son of Tvaṣṭā Ṛṣi and became known as Vṛtrāsura. His body was enormous and terrifying, and all the demigods feared him. During a great battle with the demigods, Indra, carrying a thunderbolt made from the bones of Dadhīci Ṛṣi, came to kill him. Ready to fight, Indra appeared before Vṛtrāsura, riding the elephant Airāvata. Śrī Bhagavān had instructed Indra to kill Vṛtrāsura with the thunderbolt weapon, but it fell from his hand. Vṛtrāsura picked up the weapon, but being greatly devoted to dharma, he personally returned it to Indra, saying, “Kill me with this. I am not afraid, not even of Time. Bhagavān Śrī Śyāmasundara is before me, and I consider it my great fortune to be able to relinquish this demoniac material body as I gaze upon Him.” While having direct realization of Bhagavān, he prayed (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.11.24–27):
ahaṁ hare tava pādaika-mūla-
dāsānudāso bhavitāsmi bhūyaḥ
manaḥ smaretāsu-pater guṇāṁs te
gṛṇīta vāk karma karotu kāyaḥ
O Lord, please bestow such mercy upon me that in my next birth I may obtain the opportunity to exclusively serve the servants who have taken shelter of Your lotus feet. O beloved of my life (Prāṇa-vallabha), may my mind always remember Your all-auspicious qualities, my speech always describes the glories of these qualities, and my body always remain engaged in Your service.
na nāka-pṛṣṭhaṁ na ca pārameṣṭhyaṁ
na sārva-bhaumaṁ na rasādhipatyam
na yoga-siddhīr apunar-bhavaṁ vā
samañjasa tvā virahayya kāṅkṣe
O source of all good fortune, I do not desire the heavenly planets, the realm of Brahmā, or rulership over the earth or lower planetary systems; nor do I desire any mystic perfection. I do not even want liberation if it means I would have to give You up.
ajāta-pakṣā iva mātaraṁ khagāḥ
stanyaṁ yathā vatsatarāḥ kṣudh-ārtāḥ
priyaṁ priyeva vyuṣitaṁ viṣaṇṇā
mano ’ravindākṣa didṛkṣate tvām
O lotus-eyed one, my heart is restless to have darśana of You, just as featherless chicks eagerly look out for their mother, as hungry calves are anxious to drink the milk of their mothers, or as a lover separated from her beloved because he is in a foreign land longs to meet him.
mamottamaśloka-janeṣu sakhyaṁ
saṁsāra-cakre bhramataḥ sva-karmabhiḥ
tvan-māyayātmātmaja-dāra-geheṣv
āsakta-cittasya na nātha bhūyāt
Lord, I do not want liberation. I am not concerned if I have to repeatedly wander throughout this vicious circle of birth and death as a result of my actions. But wherever I go and in whichever species I may take birth, please grant me the loving friendship of Your dear devotees. Master, I only wish that I may never have any relationship with those who are bewildered by Your illusory potency and attached to house, body, wife and sons.
Thus, despite being in the body of a demon, Citraketu (Vṛtrāsura) not only remained immersed in 
remembrance of Bhagavān, but also achieved direct darśana of Him.
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī has quoted these four verses in his Prīti-sandarbha (Anuccheda 72), and in conclusion writes:
tad etac chuddha-premodgāramayatvenaiva śrīmad-vṛtra-vadho ’sau vilakṣaṇatvāc chrī-bhāgavata-lakṣaṇeṣu purāṇāntareṣu gaṇyate, vṛtrāsura-vadhopetaṁ tad bhāgavatam iṣyate iti |
The meaning here is that Vṛtrāsura’s words reveal his immaculate prema for Bhagavān. This is why the account of the killing of Vṛtrāsura is regarded as special within Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Other Purāṇas also accept these prayers as uppermost among the features of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Matsya Purāṇa, also, states that the killing of Vṛtāsura has been described in the work entitled Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
* “By the mystic power of Nārada Muni, the living entity reentered his dead body for a short time and spoke in reply to Nārada Muni’s request. He said: According to the results of my fruitive activities, I, the living being, transmigrate from one body to another, sometimes going to the species of the demigods, sometimes to the species of lower animals, sometimes among the vegetables, and sometimes to the human species. Therefore, in which birth were these my mother and father? No one is actually my mother and father. How can I accept these two people as my parents?” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.16.4).
** Aṅgirā Ṛṣi is one of the seven Ṛṣis (great sages) and he has all mystic powers; thus he can do anything he desires, even keeping his body somewhere else and adopting the body of the son of Queen and King Citraketu. (Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja)
*** A race of celestial beings who are attendants of Lord Śiva and who possess material mystic knowledge.
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