Dhruva

Dhruva was the son of King Uttānapāda and his queen Sunīti, and a descendant of Svāyambhuva Manu, the first Manu of this kalpa (age of the world). When he was five, his stepmother Suruci humiliated him. On his mother’s advice he went to Madhuvana on the Yamunā and did great tapas (austerity) to Śrī Hari, until Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him.

Śrī Hari gave Dhruva the Dhruvaloka, a place above the saptarshi-maṇḍala (the circle of the seven ṛshis). All the nakshatras (stars) and grahas (planets) go around it for the length of the kalpa. Dhruva ruled for 36,000 years, fought the Yakshas, and at the end rose in a divine vimāna (flying chariot) to Śrī Hari’s eternal dhāma (abode). His mother Sunīti’s vimāna rose beside him. The Bhavishya Purāṇa adds that Sunīti’s Govatsa Dvādaśī vrata (vow) protected the child even from death.

His parents and the household conflict

The Bhavishya Purāṇa (Uttara Parva, Chapter 69) says King Uttānapāda had two queens, Suruci and Sunīti. Sunīti cared deeply for her husband and the kingdom. She spent her days in pūjā, in service to her husband (pati-sevā) and in quiet practice. The care of the children fell mostly to Suruci. In time Suruci, moved by sāpatnya-dvesha (rivalry with a co-wife), turned against Sunīti’s son Dhruva.

The power of Sunīti’s vrata

Sunīti had earlier kept the Govatsa Dvādaśī vrata on Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī. By its power she received a vara (a boon): as long as she lived and remembered her son’s name, no harm could come to Dhruva, not even death. Whatever was done to him, he would return unhurt.

Suruci, full of jealousy, attacked the infant Dhruva. He died, and in the next moment he was alive again, sitting happily in Suruci’s own lap. This happened again and again. Suruci attacked, Dhruva died, and Dhruva came back to life the moment Sunīti called his name in her mind.

Suruci could not understand this. She went to Sunīti and asked what was happening. Sunīti told her plainly that she had kept the Govatsa vrata on Kārtika Dvādaśī, and that by its power Dhruva could not die for good while she lived and remembered him. Shaken, Suruci herself took up the Govatsa vrata. By its power she gained a son, wealth and every happiness. Brahmā even gave her a place in the star-realm.

Dhruva’s tapas and the pole star in the Bhavishya Purāṇa

The Bhavishya Purāṇa says Dhruva did tapas as a very young child in the northern forests. Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased with his steady devotion and appeared before him. By Vishṇu’s grace, Brahmā then set Dhruva in place as the Dhruva-nakshatra, the unmoving pole star. Brahmā declared that as long as the universe lasts, all the constellations and celestial bodies will go around him.

The Govatsa vrata chapter says that whoever looks at the Dhruva-maṇḍala, the ten-star group with Dhruva at its centre, has all their pāpa (sin) destroyed.

Śambhu-tīrtha

The same chapter mentions a second holy place. Bhagavān Śiva, in the form of a tiger, was testing the munis who had been given charge of the divine cow Pārvatī, who had come as a goat-cow. The cow leapt in fear onto a rock. To this day the four hoofprints of the cow can be seen on a rock at Śambhu-tīrtha on the bank of the Narmadā, along with a Śivaliṅga. Touching that liṅga with devotion destroys even great pāpa.

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa account

Lineage and family

Dhruva was the son of Uttānapāda, who was the son of Svāyambhuva Manu. So Dhruva was the grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu. Uttānapāda had two queens, Sunīti, whom the king loved less, and Suruci, his favourite. Sunīti bore Dhruva. Suruci bore Uttama. (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 8)

The insult and the resolve

One day Uttānapāda sat with Uttama on his lap. The five-year-old Dhruva tried to climb up beside his brother. The king, weak with love for Suruci, turned away. Suruci shamed Dhruva in public: “Child, you were not born from my womb. If you want the king’s throne, do tapas, please Parameśvara, and pray to be born from my womb. Only then will you be worthy.”

Dhruva, stung like a snake that has been trodden on, wept and ran to his mother Sunīti. She held him, in pain herself like a forest creeper scorched by fire, and told him the truth: “What Suruci said has some truth in it. I am unlucky. But hold no ill will toward her. If you want greatness beyond even svarga (heaven), worship the lotus feet of Śrī Hari, as your grandfather Svāyambhuva Manu did. He gained everything through it.” Dhruva decided to act at once and left the city. (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 8)

Nārada’s guidance

Nārada met Dhruva on the road and first tested his resolve: “You are only a child. This tapas is too hard even for maharshis. Accept what Parameśvara gives you.” Dhruva answered: “The arrow-words of Suruci have pierced my heart. I want a loka higher than any my ancestors have held. Tell me how.”

Nārada was very pleased and gave him full upadeśa (teaching). Dhruva was to go to Madhuvana on the Yamunā, which is sacred to Śrī Hari, and bathe three times a day. He was to sit in yogāsana, practise prāṇāyāma with Oṃkāra, and meditate on the form of Śrī Hari. That form has four arms holding the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and padma (lotus), the Śrīvatsa mark, the Kaustubha gem, a dark complexion and a smiling face. He was to worship with tulasī and forest flowers, and chant the mantra below. (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 8)

oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

This means: I bow to Bhagavān Vāsudeva.

The five months of tapas

Dhruva went to Madhuvana and practised with great force over five months.

• First month: he ate velaga and regu fruits once every three days.
• Second month: he ate dry grass and leaves once every six days.
• Third month: he drank only water, once every nine days.
• Fourth month: he lived on air alone, once every twelve days.
• Fifth month: he stood motionless on one toe, with all the prāṇavāyus (life-breaths) held still and his mind fully merged in Parabrahma.

While Dhruva stood with his breath held, every creature in the cosmos felt its own breath stop. The devas ran to Śrī Hari in alarm. Śrī Hari calmed them: “Dhruva has joined his prāṇas with me. This effect on all of you will end when I appear before him.” (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 8)

Darśana and the Dhruva Stuti

Śrī Hari came down to Madhuvana on Garuḍa. Dhruva had been holding the form of Bhagavān Vishṇu in his heart in samādhi. That inner form suddenly vanished. He opened his eyes and saw the same form standing before him, and he fell flat on the ground.

Dhruva was a child and had not learned to compose stutis (hymns of praise). Śrī Hari touched his cheek with the Pāñcajanya conch. At once Dhruva gained the power of speech and composed the famous Dhruva Stuti. In it he praised Śrī Hari as the caitanya (consciousness) who entered and woke all his senses, as the Antaryāmin (inner ruler) who fills all the tattvas (principles) without being touched by māyā, and as the Kalpavṛksha (wish-giving tree) of all blessings. He ended: “I seek refuge in you alone, as a newborn calf runs to its mother.” (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 9)

The grant of Dhruvaloka

Śrī Hari promised Dhruva: “I will give you the most peerless loka. All the grahas, nakshatras and tārakās (stars) will go around it, as oxen go round a post. It will last a full kalpa. After 36,000 years of righteous rule you will rise to my dhāma above the saptarshi-maṇḍala, from which there is no return.”

As Śrī Hari left, Dhruva felt sudden remorse: “I stood before the giver of moksha (liberation) and asked only for a throne. I am like a man who is given the philosopher’s stone and asks only for iron.” (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 9)

Reign, marriage and the war with the Yakshas

Dhruva came back to Madhupura with great honour. His father rode out to meet him, both queens wept for joy, and the city was hung with toraṇas (festive gates) and lamps. In time Uttānapāda gave up the throne and Dhruva became king.

Dhruva married Bhrami, daughter of Śiśumāra Prajāpati, and they had sons Kalpu and Vatsara. He also married Ilā, daughter of Vāyu, and they had a son Utkala.

His brother Uttama was killed by a Yaksha while hunting on the Hemavat mountain. Suruci died in a forest fire while looking for him. Grieving, Dhruva marched north with his army to Alakāpuri, blew his conch, and killed Yakshas by the hundred with his ardhacandra-bāṇas (crescent-headed arrows). The Yakshas then used māyāyuddha (war by illusion): a rain of blood, falling mountains and fire-breathing serpents. The maharshis who watched told him to use the Nārāyaṇāstra. The moment he set it to the bow, all the Yaksha māyā melted away. (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 10)

Svāyambhuva Manu’s teaching and Kubera’s blessing

His grandfather Svāyambhuva Manu came and stopped him: “Child, the Yakshas who died were blameless. One Yaksha killed Uttama. A devotee of Śrī Hari, who sees Bhagavān Vishṇu in every creature, must stay calm. It was not the Yakshas who killed Uttama. It was Kāla (time), the very Ātman within you. Bow to Kubera with humility.” Dhruva obeyed.

Kubera appeared and said: “Neither you nor the Yakshas truly cause birth or death. Only Kāla does. Ask for a vara.” Dhruva asked for one thing only: unbroken remembrance (smāraṇa) of Śrī Hari in all his future births. Kubera gladly gave it. (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapters 11–12)

Renunciation and ascent

Dhruva ruled righteously for 36,000 years. He performed great yajñas, cared for the brahma-vettas (knowers of Brahman) and protected all beings. Then he saw that his body, wife, children, army and treasury would all be swallowed by Kāla. He gave the kingdom to his son Utkala and went to Badarīkāśrama, where he entered nirvikalpa samādhi.

A blazing vimāna came down. Two four-armed beings, Sunanda and Nanda, said: “Bhagavān Vishṇu has sent this vimāna. Go up to the dhāma that the saptarshis can only see from far away.” Dhruva put his foot on Kāla’s head and climbed in. As he rose through all the divine realms and the saptarshi-maṇḍala, he thought of his mother Sunīti. The attendants at once showed him Sunīti’s vimāna, already rising ahead of him on the same divine path. He reached Śrī Hari’s eternal dhāma.

Nārada saw the ascent from the satra (long yajña) of the Pracetasas and said: “No one has ever done what this five-year-old kshatriya did in five months.” (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapter 12)

Dhruva’s line

Through his son Vatsara, born of Bhrami, Dhruva’s line went on for several generations down to Ulmuka. Ulmuka’s son was Aṅga, the rājarshi whose grief over his wicked son Vena led him to give up the world. This led to the birth of Pṛthu. At the great satra-yajña, Pṛthu said: “Our grandfather Aṅga was among those who knew Śrī Hari as the ruling principle of all dharma.” (Bhāgavata, 4th Skanda, Chapters 13 and 21)

The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa account

The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa (Poorva Bhāga, Chapter 36) tells the story of Dhruva’s tapas and the grant of Dhruvaloka in a shorter form.

Lineage

In this account Dhruva is the son of Uttānapāda and his queen Sunṛtā, who is described as the daughter of Dharma, born of Lakshmī. Svāyambhuva Manu gave his son Uttānapāda in adoption to Prajāpati Atri. So Dhruva is the grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu by lineage, and is also linked to Atri’s line.

The tapas

Dhruva did his tapas at the start of the first Tretāyuga (Prathamā Tretāyuga), the age that follows the Kṛtayuga, when dharma had just begun to decline. As the grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu, he was mahāvīryavān (very powerful). He kept nirāhāra (fasting, with no food) for ten full years. He practised yoga-kriyās, namely prāṇāyāma, dhyāna and fixed concentration, only for the sake of great fame (mahāyaśas). Brahmā, not Vishṇu, was moved by this tapas and came to Dhruva.

The Dhruva-sthāna

Brahmā gave Dhruva the highest place among all the jyotisha-gaṇas (hosts of stars). This Dhruva-sthāna has four marks.

1. It is divya, of divine nature.
2. It is udayāstamana-varjita, without sunrise or sunset. The pole does not rise or set like other stars.
3. It is śāśvata, lasting even through the universal dissolution (pralaya).
4. It is above the saptarshi-maṇḍala. The seven great ṛshis go round below Dhruva.

The poet-ṛshi Uśanas (Śukrācārya, teacher of the asuras) was moved to make up a verse of praise on the spot when he saw this great gift.

Aho’sya tapasovīryam — ahotrutam ahovratam

It means: How wonderful is the power of his tapas! How remarkable is his learning! How spotless is his vow!

Dhruva’s descendants

Dhruva’s wife was Bhūmi, the earth devī in one of her forms. They had two sons, Pṛthu and Sṛshṭi. Pṛthu later became the first cakravartī (universal ruler). Sṛshṭi made a woman from his own shadow (chāyā), and she became his wife by the power of his tejas. She bore him five sons: Prācīnagarbha, Vṛshabha, Vṛka, Vṛkala and Dhṛti. The line went on through Sṛshṭi, not Pṛthu, to the royal house of the Cākshusha Manvantara.

The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa account

The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa (Pradhamāṃśa, Chapters 10–12) tells the story of Dhruva through Parāśara’s teaching to Maitreya. It follows the same course: Uttānapāda’s household, Suruci’s insult, Dhruva’s tapas, and Vishṇu’s grant of the pole-star place.

In this text Dhruva meets a group of seven ṛshis as he goes to the forest. They give him the method of tapas and this mantra.

Hiraṇyagarbha-purusha-pradhāna-avyakta-rūpiṇe, Oṃ namo Vāsudevāya

The mantra names Vāsudeva as Hiraṇyagarbha (cosmic intelligence, Brahmā), as the Purusha (the supreme witness) and as Pradhāna-Avyakta (the unmanifest Prakṛti), the three foundations of Sāṃkhya.

After intense tapas on the Yamunā, Vishṇu appeared before Dhruva and touched his cheek with the śaṅkha. He gave Dhruva the lasting place of the pole star, the unmoving centre around which all celestial lights, nakshatras and planets turn for the length of the kalpa.

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa account

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa (Hari Vaṃśa Parva, Chapter 2) places Dhruva in the line of Svāyambhuva Manu.

Mother and brothers

Uttānapāda’s wife Sūnṛtā, the daughter of Dharma, gave birth to Dhruva and four brothers: Kīrtimanta, Śiva, Śānta and Ayaspati.

Length of the tapas and who gave the grant

Dhruva did 3,000 divine years of tapas without food. In this text too, Brahmā is moved by the tapas. He appears before Dhruva and gives him the highest place among the stars, above the saptarshi-maṇḍala.

Sons and line

The Hari Vaṃśa names Dhruva’s sons as Ślishṭi, Bhavya and Śambhu. The line goes on through Ślishṭi to the Cākshusha Manvantara. It runs Ślishṭi, Ripu, Cākshusha (who became Cākshusha Manu), Ūru, Aṅga, Vena and Pṛthu.

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa account

The thirty-first chapter of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa dwells on the talks between the seven ṛshis and Dhruva, and on the hymn Dhruva offers to Mahā-Vishṇu.

When Dhruva began his tapas, each of the seven ṛshis came to him in turn and advised him.

• Marīci warned him against the pride of tapas.
• Atri told him that mastery of the senses leads to the highest Purusha.
• Aṅgiras spoke of the four āśramas (stages of life).
• Pulastya spoke of the worth of knowledge.
• Pulaha urged him toward detachment.
• Kratu taught the path of dharma and moksha.
• Vasishṭha said that Bhagavān Vishṇu alone is the highest abode, and that single-pointed meditation on Vishṇu alone would bring liberation.

After Dhruva’s tapas, Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him and touched his cheek with the Pāñcajanya śaṅkha. Knowledge of all the Vedas rose in Dhruva at once. He then offered the Mahā-Vishṇu Stotra, a Sanskrit hymn praising Bhagavān Vishṇu as the unborn, the one beyond the three guṇas, the witness of all, and the ātman of all in whom all creation rests. After this praise, Bhagavān Vishṇu gave him Dhruvaloka, a place above the saptarshi-maṇḍala, as the eternal pole of the universe. All the nakshatras, grahas and stars go around it.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 4th Skanda, Chapters 8–12, 13 and 21
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 69
• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Poorva Bhāga, Chapter 36
• Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Pradhamāṃśa, Chapters 10–12
• Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Hari Vaṃśa Parva, Chapter 2
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 31