Dhruva Charitra in the Narasiṃha Purāṇa

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa tells the story of Dhruva in Chapter 31. A small prince is shamed by his father’s favourite queen. He goes to find Bhagavān Vishṇu, meets the seven ṛshis one by one, and does hard tapas (austerity) at Madhuvana on the Yamunā. Bhagavān Vishṇu appears, Dhruva sings a long hymn, and Bhagavān Vishṇu gives him a place above the Saptarshi circle. The chapter then lists the order of the spheres of the sky up to Dhruva’s station.

Uttānapāda’s court and the insult

King Uttānapāda had two wives. Surucī was his favourite and greatly loved. Sunīti was less favoured. Surucī had a son named Uttama, and Sunīti had a son named Dhruva.

One day the young prince Dhruva came to his father’s court and wanted to sit on the king’s lap beside his half-brother Uttama. Surucī was jealous and proud, and she stopped Dhruva with sharp words: “Child, the king’s lap belongs to Uttama. If you wish to sit there, you should first have been born from my womb. Go and do tapas. Perhaps Vishṇu will give you what you want in another birth.”

These words cut Dhruva deeply. He went to his mother Sunīti. She was sad, but she told him not to keep hatred in his heart. She told him instead to seek Bhagavān Vishṇu, who alone has the power to give what no one else can give.

Dhruva meets the Saptarshis

Dhruva set out to find Bhagavān Vishṇu with a fierce resolve, though he was only a child. On the way he met each of the seven Saptarshis (the seven great ṛshis) in turn. Each came to him alone, saw the brightness of his purpose for tapas, and advised him:

1. Marīci Maharshi told him to worship Vishṇu with devotion and study.
2. Atri Maharshi advised him to meditate on Bhagavān Vishṇu’s form.
3. Aṅgiras Maharshi taught him that Vishṇu alone is the supreme Purusha.
4. Pulastya Maharshi urged firm renunciation and worship of Vishṇu alone, with a one-pointed mind.
5. Pulaha Maharshi urged him to do tapas with control of mind and senses.
6. Kratu Maharshi sent him to the holy Madhuvana on the Yamunā.
7. Vasishṭha Maharshi told him that Madhuvana was the most auspicious place for tapas and that Vishṇu would surely appear there.

Every one of the Saptarshis gave the same teaching: Bhagavān Vishṇu, and only Vishṇu, is the highest goal and the one who can give Dhruva what he seeks. Their guidance gave the child both direction and firmness.

Tapas at Madhuvana

Dhruva went to Madhuvana, the forest of madhuka trees on the bank of the holy Yamunā. It was a place made holy by Bhagavān Vishṇu’s own presence. There he did tapas of great intensity. He lived first on fallen leaves, then on water alone, and finally on air alone. He meditated without a break on the four-armed form of Bhagavān Vishṇu. His tapas gave off so much heat that it troubled even the worlds of the devas.

Dhruva’s Mahā Vishṇu Stotra

When his tapas was complete, Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before Dhruva in his divine form. He carried the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and padma (lotus). He shone with the glow of ten thousand suns. He wore the Kaustubha gem and the śrīvatsa mark, was dressed in yellow silk (pītāmbara), and sat on Garuḍa.

Dhruva was overcome with devotion. He composed and recited a Mahā Vishṇu Stotra in Sanskrit, a long hymn of praise. It praised Bhagavān Vishṇu as the eternal, all-pervading Purusha without beginning, and as the maker, keeper and ender of all worlds. It praised him as the one whose lotus feet are the refuge of all beings, and as the highest Brahman beyond all the guṇas. This stotra is kept in Chapter 31 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa and is credited to Dhruva himself.

Bhagavān Vishṇu gives Dhruvaloka

Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased with the great tapas and with the Mahā Vishṇu Stotra. He spoke to Dhruva: “What you seek is more than mortals usually ask for, but your tapas is greater than any hope. I give you a place beyond the Saptarshi circle, the Dhruva-pada. From there you will be the cosmic axis around which all the planets, stars and nakshatras turn for the length of a kalpa. Even the sun, moon and planets will circle you, tied to you by the wind-cords (vāyu-pāśas) of my will.”

The spheres up to Dhruvaloka

After giving Dhruvaloka, the Narasiṃha Purāṇa describes the order of the spheres of the sky. From the earth upward the order is:

Dhruva’s loka stands at the top of this order. All the planets from Sūrya to Śani, and all the nakshatras, turn round Dhruva as the fixed centre of the sky. They are bound by the wind-cords (vāyu-pāśas) of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. The whole globe of the sky turns like a wheel on the axle that is Dhruvaloka.

Sources

• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 31