So Arjuna, Bhīma and others, they took different types of services in the house, palace, of Mahārāja Virāṭa. So he was appointed as a dancing master, teacher, to the daughter Uttarā. Just see. Arjuna was a great warrior, and he was expert dancing master also. So when it was disclosed that "These servants, they are the Pāṇḍavas. They remained here as ordinary servant," so Mahārāja Virāṭa was very much pleased, that "Such exalted persons are living in my house incognito." So he offered Uttarā to Arjuna, that "You marry my daughter. You have taught her dancing." So Arjuna said, "How can I marry her? I am teacher, and she is my disciple. She is my daughter. How can I marry her?" Then Arjuna said that "If you want to keep this daughter in our family, I have got a grown-up son, sixteen years old." That means Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadrā, this Subhadrā, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Subhadrā. So Subhadrā was married to Arjuna, and the son was Abhimanyu. So Uttarā was married to Abhimanyu. And the son was Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Abhimanyu was just married and the war was declared.
So Abhimanyu had to go to fight, so he went in fight in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra on behalf of his father. But he never returned. He died there. So Uttarā was pregnant and Mahārāja Parīkṣit was within the womb. But the opposite party, they killed. Last killing was five sons of Pāṇḍavas. They were sleeping, and Aśvatthāmā, just to satisfy Duryodhana, he killed these sons while they were sleeping, most abominable, and brought the heads to Duryodhana: "Now I have finished the Kuru..." So Duryodhana could understand that "They are not the heads of the Pāṇḍavas, but their sons." So out of disappointment that "Our whole family is now finished," he died.
So only Mahārāja Parīkṣit was in the womb of his mother, and that was also attempted to be killed by brahmāstra. Brahmāstra is almost similar to the atomic weapon. And the brahmāstra, the specific function of brahmāstra is that when this weapon is released, it will kill the particular men wherever he is; it will go there and kill him. It doesn't matter whether he is in front or in somewhere. The weapon is so powerful that simply by mantra, you release it, and it will kill your enemy, wherever he is. So one brahmāstra was released to kill this child, baby within the womb, embryo, to kill. And at that time Uttarā felt that her pregnancy is going to be, what is called, discharged. So immediately she approached Kṛṣṇa, that "I am feeling like that, miscarrying. Please save me." So at that time Kṛṣṇa entered the womb of Uttarā and saved the child from the brahmāstra. So Mahārāja Parīkṣit is such a devotee that he was protected from the embryo by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī addressed, mahā-paurika(?): "You are great personality." So this Mahārāja Parīkṣit was again cursed by a brāhmaṇa. He could retaliate that, but he did not do so, just to offer respect to the brāhmaṇas. He considered himself offender. That is last stage. And because he was cursed by a brāhmaṇa at the last stage of his life, seven days, he heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore we have got this book. This is the story.
So here Mahārāja Parīkṣit, son of Uttarā, but he married his maternal uncle's daughter. That was permissible. Still it is permissible. This kind of marriage is considered very aristocratic, to marry the daughter of maternal uncle. So Arjuna also married the daughter of maternal uncle. Kuntī is the sister of Vasudeva, Kṛṣṇa's father, and Subhadrā is the daughter of Vasudeva. So he also married. Except in Southern India, this process is now no longer existing. In Bengal and other provinces of India, they do not marry the first cousin. So that is the marriage system. But in southern India, still, to marry the daughter of maternal uncle is considered as very aristocratic. So this system was current five thousand years ago also. So Mahārāja Parīkṣit married his uncle's daughter, uttarasya tanayām. Tanayā means daughter. Uttarasya tanayām upayema. And her name was Irāvatī, Irāvatī.
So in that, in the womb of Irāvatī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit begotten four sons. The first one's name is Janamejaya. Ādi. Ādi means "beginning with." He begotten four sons, beginning with Janamejaya. The history of Janamejaya is also very nice. (aside:) You can read the Janamejaya paragraph.