Dhruva-Kṛta Mahā Vishṇu Stotra

This is the stotra (hymn of praise) sung by the child Dhruva at Madhuvana on the banks of the Yamunā, after Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him and touched his lips with the Pāñcajanya conch. It is found in the Narasimha Purāṇa, Chapter 31.

The stotra praises the qualities, forms and deeds of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, including his deeds at Gokula and Dvārakā. It ends with four Sanskrit verses in which Dhruva says that, having seen Bhagavān Vishṇu’s lotus feet, he wants only steady bhakti (devotion) and nothing else.

The setting

The child Dhruva, son of Uttānapāda and Sunīti, had been shamed in his father’s court by his stepmother Suruci. He decided to win a place greater than the throne of Indra through the grace of Vishṇu. He left home and took the counsel of each of the seven Saptarshis one by one, and each of them pointed him to Vishṇu alone. He then went to Madhuvana on the banks of the Yamunā and practised tapas (austerity), repeating the twelve-syllable mantra of Vāsudeva.

His tapas was so strong that every obstacle sent by the devas was driven back. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa was pleased with Dhruva’s power of dhyāna (meditation), his self-control and his single-minded devotion. He came down from Vaikuṇṭha on Garuḍa to give Dhruva darśana (sight of him).

Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared in his full splendour, dark as a monsoon cloud, wearing the Kaustubha jewel and shining like a young sun. He said to Dhruva, “Your tapas has pleased me. I am moved by your dhyāna, your control of the senses and your mastery of the mind. Ask whatever vara (boon) you wish.”

Dhruva opened his eyes and saw standing before him the four-armed Brahmasvarūpa on whom he had been meditating. He was overcome with joy. Tears of ānanda (bliss) filled his eyes and the hair of his body stood up. He fell down flat in sāshṭāṅga namaskāra (the prostration with all eight limbs).

Being a child, the prince could not find words to offer a stotra. He asked Bhagavān Vishṇu for the power to praise him. Bhagavān Vishṇu, the bearer of the Cakra, touched Dhruva’s lips with his divine Pāñcajanya conch. By this touch the light of jñāna (knowledge) filled Dhruva’s mind, like the moon’s rays shining through the wisdom gathered by Marīci and the other divine ṛshis. The sun of knowledge rose within him. Full of light and joy, Dhruva began his stotra.

The stotra: praise of Bhagavān Vishṇu’s qualities and deeds

Dhruva’s stotra opens with a garland of names, each naming Bhagavān Vishṇu by a quality or a deed.

  • Akhila muni jana nivaha namitacaraṇaḥ: “whose feet are bowed to by all the crowds of great munis”.
  • Khara kadana karaḥ: “destroyer of fierce asuras”.
  • Capala caritaḥ: “whose deeds are wonderfully lively”.
  • Devārādhita pādajalaḥ: “whose foot-water (the Gaṅgā) is honoured by the devas”.
  • Sajala jaladha-śyāmaḥ: “dark blue as rain-filled clouds”.
  • Śamita-Saubhapati-Śālvadhāmā: “destroyer of Śālva, king of Saubha”.
  • Abhirāma: “supremely beautiful”.
  • Gopikājanāśrama-apahaḥ: “remover of the tiredness of the gopīs”.
  • Anādinidhanaḥ: “without beginning and without end”.
  • Adīna nijadvijamitroddharaṇa dhīraḥ: “the steady one who lifted up his humble brāhmaṇa friend Sudāmā”.
  • Ṛksarāja bilapraiveśāpahṛtasya śyamantaka āpamārjita nija apavāda durīta hṛtatrailokyabhāraḥ: “he who took back the Śyamantaka gem from the cave of the bear-king, cleared himself of the false charge, and removed the burden of the three worlds”.
  • Dvārakāvāsanirataḥ: “ever living in Dvārakā”.
  • Svarita madhura veṇuvādana śravaṇāmṛta prakaṭitātīndriya jñānaḥ: “whose sweet flute-music, when heard, brings knowledge beyond the senses”.
  • Yamunā taṭacaraḥ: “the one who walks on the banks of the Yamunā”.
  • Dvijadhenubhṛṅgagaṇais tyakta nijaāhāraḥ: “at whose flute-song the brāhmaṇas, the cows and the bees all give up their own food”.
  • Saṃsāra dustāra pārāvāra samutrraṇāṅghri potaḥ: “whose feet are the boat for crossing the uncrossable ocean of saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death)”.
  • Sva-pratāpānala huta Kāla-yavanaḥ: “by whose blazing power Kāla-yavana was burnt up (in the fire of Mucukunda)”.

The stotra goes on in the same way. It addresses Bhagavān Vishṇu as Vanamāladhara, who wears the finest jewelled earrings. It calls him Pītāmbaradhārī, who bears the mark of Bhṛgu and the Kaustubha. It calls him the Devakī-born one, bowed to by Śiva and Brahmā, and the player at Bṛndāvana who took away the tiredness of the gopīs. It calls him the eternal fulfiller of his devotees’ wishes.

The four closing verses

After the long eulogy, Dhruva ends with four Sanskrit verses.

Verse 1

Sthānābhikāmī tapasi sthito’haṃ tvāṃ dṛshṭavān sādhu munīndra guhyam
Kācaṃ vicivvan iva divyaratnaṃ svāmin kṛtārtho’smi varān na yāce

I sat in tapas wishing to gain a high station. I have seen you, the secret known only to the great munis. I am like one who, searching for glass, finds a divine jewel. O Svāmin, I am fulfilled. I ask for no vara.

Verse 2

Apūrvadṛshṭe tava pādapadme dṛshṭyā dṛḍhaṃ nātha na hi tyajāmi
Kāmān na yāce sahi ko’pi mūḍho yaḥ kalpavṛkshāt tusham ātram icchet

I have now seen your lotus feet, which I had never seen before. I hold them fast with my gaze and will never let go. I do not ask for worldly desires. Who but a fool would ask a kalpavṛksha (wish-fulfilling tree) for only husks?

Verse 3

Tvāṃ mokshabījaḥ śaraṇaṃ prapannaḥ śaknomi bhoktum na bahiḥ sukhāni
Ratnākare deva sati svānādhe vibhūshaṇaṃ kācamayaṃ na yuktam

You are the seed of moksha, and I have taken refuge in you. I can no longer enjoy outer pleasures. O Deva, when the ocean of gems is itself one’s master, it is not right to wear ornaments of glass.

Verse 4

Ata na yāce varam īśa yushmat pādābja bhaktiḥ satataṃ mamāstu
Imaṃ varaṃ deva vara prayaccha punaḥ punaḥ tvām idam eva yāce

So I ask for no vara, O Īśa. May I always have unfailing bhakti at your lotus feet. This alone I ask. O best of givers, give me this vara. Again and again I ask only this of you.

Bhagavān Vishṇu’s answer

Bhagavān Vishṇu heard Dhruva say that he wanted only bhakti and asked for no worldly vara. He told the prince that the world must not say, “Dhruva worshipped Vishṇu and received nothing.” So he gave him the highest station, the highest of all the positions among the stars.

By Bhagavān Vishṇu’s grace, Dhruva would become the one on whom all the planets and the lights of the sky depend. He would be like a kalpavṛksha, fit to be honoured by all. His mother Sunīti would live with Bhagavān Vishṇu himself.

With this vara given, Bhagavān Vishṇu went back to Vaikuṇṭha. The devas and siddhas rained down divine flowers and praised Dhruva.

Sources

  • Narasimha Purāṇa, Chapter 31