The Servant's Son
In his previous birth, Narada was the son of a maidservant who worked for Brahmin sages during their retreat. The child spent his days listening to the sages' discussions of Vishnu — not by design, but by proximity.
As the sages left after the rainy season, they blessed the child and gave him a portion of their prasad — sanctified food remaining from their rituals.
The blessing and the prasad were enough. The child's mind became fixed on Vishnu.
His mother died of snakebite when he was still young. He walked alone into the forest and sat in meditation under a pippal tree, contemplating Vishnu.
Vishnu appeared — briefly, like lightning — and then withdrew.
A voice said: "You are not ready to see me fully in this life. But in your next birth, you will be my devotee, and you will sing my glories to all the worlds. You will never forget me."
The child died in his meditation.
The Rebirth
He was reborn as Narada, the son of Brahma. He remembered everything. He took up his veena — which produces only divine sound — and began wandering the three worlds, singing of Vishnu, instigating devotion wherever he went.
Brahma cursed him: for a small transgression in his youth (pride, in one telling; instigating discord among householders, in another), Narada would wander forever — never staying in one place, never settling, never resting.
Narada accepted it as a gift. To wander everywhere, forever singing, was not punishment — it was his purpose.