Uttānapāda

Uttānapāda · uttāna-pāda, “the one whose feet are stretched out”

Uttānapāda was a king of the first manvantara, the son of Svāyambhuva Manu and Śatarūpā and the brother of Priyavrata. With Priyavrata he ruled the earth of seven khaṇḍas without going against dharma, and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa says that both brothers bore an aṃśa of Śrī Hari and firmly protected the world. He had two wives, Sunīti, the mother of Dhruva, and Suruci, the mother of Uttama, and he loved Suruci more. When he turned the child Dhruva away from his lap, Dhruva went to the forest, won the darśana of Śrī Hari by tapas, and came back to his father. Uttānapāda grieved for what he had done, welcomed his son with tears of joy, made him king when he came of age, and went to the forest in vairāgya to seek the truth of the ātmā. Brahmā names him among those who have known the māyā of Śrī Hari.

His birth and family

To Svāyambhuva Manu, by Śatarūpā, were born two sons, Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, and three daughters, Ākūti, Devahūti and Prasūti: five children in all. Manu, giving Devahūti to Kardama Prajāpati, called her the sister of Priyavrata and Uttānapāda. Though Manu had these two sons, he gave Ākūti to Ruci Prajāpati on the condition of the putrikā-dharma, that her first son would be given to her father. The manvantara of Svāyambhuva was filled and ruled by the sons, daughters and descendants of Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, and Vidura speaks of the two brothers as kings who ruled the earth of seven khaṇḍas without going against dharma.

Maitreya Maharshi, telling Vidura the line of Svāyambhuva Manu, says that Manu was born from the body of Brahmā, an aṃśa of Śrī Hari, and that his two sons, having an aṃśa of Śrī Hari, firmly carried out the protection of the world. Uttānapāda had two wives, Sunīti and Suruci. He loved Suruci greatly and Sunīti less. Sunīti’s son was Dhruva and Suruci’s son was Uttama.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapters 12, 21–22; Skandha 4, Chapters 1, 8

Dhruva turned away

One day King Uttānapāda had Uttama on his lap and was fondling him. Dhruva too tried to sit on his father’s lap, but the king did not allow it. As Dhruva kept trying, Suruci, proud and heedless even of the king’s presence, wounded him with harsh words: he was not born of her womb, and if he wanted the king’s seat he must worship Parameśvara and be born of her in his next birth. The father saw all of it and kept his silence. Dhruva went weeping to his mother, and from her to the forest.

When Dhruva had gone to Madhuvana for tapas, Nārada Maharshi came to the king’s antaḥpura. The king welcomed and honoured him, and Nārada asked: “O Mahārāja, your face is withered and you brood long. Surely no lack has come to you in dharma, artha or kāma?” The king said: “O Maharshi, my son is a boy of five years, but wise and of great qualities. Under the sway of a woman I pushed him away; there was no compassion in my heart, and I neglected his mother too. Wandering in the forest without a protector, he will be tired and hungry, his lotus face withered; perhaps the wolves have devoured him. Alas, I am the first among the wicked: when Dhruva lovingly tried to sit on my lap, I did not welcome him or kiss him.” Nārada answered: “Do not grieve for your son. Śrī Hari has protected him. You do not know his power; his fame is spreading through the whole world. He will do a deed impossible even for the lokapālas and will soon return and spread your fame.” The king listened, gave up attending to the kingdom, and thought only of his son.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 7; Skandha 4, Chapter 8

Dhruva’s return

Śrī Hari, granting Dhruva his vara, foretold that after his father had handed him the kingdom and gone to vānaprastha, Dhruva would protect it for thirty-six thousand years. When the news came that his son was returning, Uttānapāda did not believe it, as one does not believe that a dead man has come back: “Where is such good fortune for an unfortunate one like me?” Then he remembered the word of Devarshi Nārada and believed it, and, shaken with joy, he gave the messenger a very costly necklace.

Eager to see his son’s face, he set out at once in a chariot adorned with gold and yoked with fine horses, surrounded by brāhmaṇas, the elders of the family, ministers and relatives, with conches, dundubhis and flutes sounding and Vedic scholars reciting the mantras aloud. His queens Sunīti and Suruci, adorned with gold, went out in a palanquin with Uttama. Seeing his son near the garden, the king got down quickly from the chariot, went swiftly to him and, sighing, embraced him. He smelt his son’s head again and again and drenched him with cool tears of joy. Dhruva, foremost among the good, bowed at his father’s feet; the father blessed him and asked of his welfare, and Dhruva bowed to both his mothers. Filled with joy, the king seated Dhruva with his younger brother Uttama on an elephant and entered the city, and the people praised the king too. In the palace built of precious gems, with his father fondling him greatly, Dhruva lived like the devas in svarga.

The rājarshi Uttānapāda had heard of his son’s wonderful greatness from Nārada; now, seeing it with his own eyes, he was filled with wonder. When Dhruva came of age, the ministers and high officers agreed that he should be king and the people loved him, and Uttānapāda made him lord of the empire. Seeing that age had come upon him, he was filled with vairāgya and went to the forest to spend his days in enquiry into the truth of the ātmā, taking up the life of vānaprastha.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 9

His place among the bhaktas

Brahmā tells Nārada Maharshi of those who have known the māyā of Śrī Hari, the Supreme Person: Brahmā himself, Nārada, the Sanaka brothers, Bhagavān Śiva, Prahlāda, Svāyambhuva Manu and Śatarūpā, their sons Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, their daughter Devahūti, Prācīnabarhis, the siddha Ṛbhu, Aṅga, Dhruva, Mahārāja Ikshvāku, Purūravā and others. King Pṛthu, teaching his subjects that Śrī Hari who bears the gadā is the one controller who grants dharma, artha, kāma, the puṇya-lokas and moksha, says that this was accepted by Svāyambhuva Manu, Uttānapāda, Dhruva Mahārāja, the rājarshi Priyavrata, Aṅga and other cakravartīs, and by Brahmā, Śiva, Prahlāda and Bali.

Śuka Maharshi, ending the account of Dhruva and his descendants, says to Parīkshit: “Up to now I have described to you the line of Uttānapāda, son of Svāyambhuva Manu; learn also of the line of Priyavrata.” Parīkshit later recalls that Śuka told the line of Priyavrata and Uttānapāda and their deeds. Dhruva, the son of Uttānapāda, firm of resolve and a great bhagavad-bhakta, dwells in Dhruvaloka, the Dhruva-maṇḍala.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 7; Skandha 3, Chapter 14; Skandha 4, Chapters 21, 31; Skandha 5, Chapters 17, 23; Skandha 6, Chapter 1

Sources

• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 7; Skandha 3, Chapters 12, 14, 21–22; Skandha 4, Chapters 1, 8–9, 21, 31; Skandha 5, Chapters 17, 23; Skandha 6, Chapter 1