In the Bhagavata Purana, during the battle between Indra and Vritrasura, the latter impresses Indra as much by his valour as by his wisdom. Indra is wonderstruck and amazed at the realised state of Vritrasura. He wonders how Vritrasura, though an asura by nature, displays Satva tendencies. He has such a clear vision of things and seems to exude Jnana. He has great devotion to God and is not affected by Maya that envelops all beings including those established in Satva guna. He sees the Lord as Time or Kala guiding the destiny of all jivatmas. Such staunch bhakti is not attained even by those who lead pious lives. Parikshit, listening to Sage Suka’s narration, is equally astonished and wishes to know how Vritrasura has attained such realisation, said Swami Paramasukananda in a discourse. Suka explains Vritrasura’s previous birth as king Chitraketu who underwent a personal sorrow and was enlightened by Sages Angirasa and Narada. As a result, in his next birth he has evolved into a jnani endowed with atma jnana. Such realised souls are rare since it may take many births for a jivatma to evolve into a jnani. Krishna says in the Gita that that people seek Him for different purposes. Sorrow is inseparable from life and there is none who can avoid it and it is natural to turn to the Lord for relief from sorrow. Others who wish for wealth and prosperity in life also seek the Lord. There are some others who are in search of jnana and desire to know about the Paramatma. Not many are motivated by such a desire. Krishna states that a jnani or a realised soul is dear to Him since he seeks Him with steadfast jnana and devotion. He alone is eligible to tread the path to salvation. Such a jivatma is a mahatma and is an exceptional devotee who realises that “All is Vasudeva swaroopa.”
