Srimadh Bagawatham - Dhruva Charitram

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/06/srimadh-bagawatham-daksha-yagnam.html

Dhurva Charitram.

King Uttanapadan was the son of Swayambhuva Manu. He had two wives named as Suniti and Suruchi. Suniti was very wise and righteous whereas Suruchi was the king’s favourite consort. Suniti’s son was Dhurvan and Suruchi’s son was called as Uttaman.

One day five year old Dhurvan ran into the king’s court. He saw Uttaman playing on the king’s lap. Queen Suruchi stood next to the king admiring her son Uttaman. Dhurvan yearned to sit on his father’s lap as well. He rushed eagerly and climbed on to his father’s lap.

‘Let me sit on your lap too!’ said the child as he climbed on to his father’s lap.

‘Get down!’ commanded queen Suruchi. ‘You do not have the qualification to sit on the king’s lap!’ she said as she dragged Dhruvan down. 

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The king looked at the hurt on Dhruvan’s face but still refrained from supporting him as he did not want to argue with his wife.

‘You can only sit on the king’s lap if you are my son! Go to the forest, meditate upon the Lord and seek a boon to take birth as my son.’

Dhruvan felt angry and humiliated. He felt sad that even his father hadn’t defended him. He ran to see his mother Suniti with tears in his eyes. Suniti lifted Dhruvan on to her lap and consoled him.

‘Your stepmother is correct,’ she said as she rocked the child in her arms. ‘You should go to the forest to meditate upon the Lord but ignore the second part of her advice. If the Lord is pleased with you and appears before you, you can play on the Lord’s lap then where would be the need to take birth as Suruchi’s son in order to play on the lap of the king? When you have obtained the Lord Himself, there would be no need for you to seek the affection of your father.’

Thus, Suniti sent her son to the forest. The five year old Dhruvan walked to the forest with determination. The king was worried when he heard about his son’s journey to the forest but yet he did not stop him.

Lord Vishnu saw Dhruvan walking towards the forest. The Lord looked at Dhruvan with compassion and sent Sage Naradar to teach Dhruvan the art of meditating upon the Lord.

Dhruvan was met by Sage Narada.

‘Where are you off to my child? Is everyone okay at home? How are your parents? Why are you upset?’

Dhruvan had met the sage when he visited the palace to deliver some lectures.

‘Please accept my obeisance,’ said Dhruvan. ‘It is unnecessary for me to inform you about anything as you are already aware about everything.’

‘I am aware about everything as you say,’ said Sage Naradar. ‘Return home. I will speak with your father and ask him to treat you properly. Your mother will make yummy treats for you as she would be very happy that you are home safe and sound.’ The sage wanted to test Dhruvan’s determination to obtain the Lord.

‘I am no longer interested in toys or food. All I want is to obtain the Lord’s grace.’

‘I agree with you but it is wrong to leave home without the consent of your parents.’

‘My step-mother instructed me to meditate upon the Lord. My own mother agreed with her and my father didn’t object. I do have their permission to proceed along this path!’

‘Child, forget about your anger and humiliation. Go back to your father. You are a child and you shouldn’t feel ashamed. Children and Yogis are alike for they do not feel humiliation,’ said the Sage.

Dhruvan offerred his obeisance to the sage and said, ‘please don’t ask me to go back! I wish to see the Lord. Please instruct me on the way to obtain the Lord’s grace. I can only obtain the Lord easily if you bless me. Please don’t abandon me but show me the way to attain the Lod’s feet with ease.’

Pleased with Dhruvan’s determination, the Sage instructed Dhruvan on the Dwadakshari manthram. ‘Find a peaceful spot in the forest and meditate upon the Lord by chanting “Om namo Bhagavate vâsudevâya'”. The Lord will appear before you wearing a tall crown decked with the most precious gems, dressed in yellow silk, He will wear a huge garland made up of fresh jasmine, rose petals, lotus petals, Spanish Cherry (Magizham poo), Screwpine (Thazham poo), Ylang Ylang (manoranjitham), Indian Magnolia (shenbagappoo) and holy basil (tulasi ), He will be wearing beautiful ornaments , necklaces, golden belt,bracelets and anklets. The yellow garment will compliment his beautiful black complexion. He will hold the Sudarsana chakra, His conch, mace and a lotus in each of His four hands as ornaments. Meditate upon this form of the Lord by chanting the manthram. Chanting Manthram is better than performing Yagnam.’

Sage Naradar then left to see King Uttanapadan to make sure that the king did not send his men to take Dhruvan back to the palace. The Sage wanted Dhruvan to succeed with his meditation.

King Uttanapadan welcomed the sage.

‘Is everything okay? You seem distressed?’ asked Sage Naradar.

‘My five year old son is missing. His mother tells me that he has gone to the forest. I am feeling worried. The only thing Dhruvan wanted was to sit on my lap but Queen Suruchi wouldn’t allow him. You should have seen the hurt on Dhruvan’s face when I didn’t defend him. That’s the last time I saw my son! Will I ever see my son again? Where should I look for him?’

‘Please don’t worry. You didn’t appreciate Dhruvan when he was here but you miss him now that he has left home. Don’t be concerned about his safety. You think that you as a parent protect him but his actual protector is the Lord who also protected Dhruvan while Dhruvan was in his mother’s womb. He will soon return home; hence, don’t worry about Dhruvan.’

After taking leave of Sage Narada, Dhruvan found a peaceful spot in the forest. He settled down under a tree. He stood on one foot while meditaing upon the Lord. Dhruvan’s penance was so severe that the Earth tilted in the direction of Dhruvan’s feet touching the ground. And when Dhruvan switched his feet, the Earth reversed its tilt in the direction of Dhruvan’s other feet now placed on the ground. During the first month he ate fruits every three days. The second month he decreased his intake further and ate leaves every six days. The third month he had a drop of water every nine days. The fourth month he lived only on air. By the fifth month he had controlled hunger completely. During the sixth month the heat produced by the intensity of his penance hurt the Devas. Devendran approached Perumal afraid that Dhruvan was meditating to become the next Indra.

‘Please help us stop his meditation,’the Devas begged.

‘You can do that yourself. You have ruined the meditative concentration of even great rishis why do you need my help now?’ asked Perumal.

‘We are unable to do anything with this boy!’

‘Do you know why your efforts are unsuccessful?’

‘no,’ they said with bowed heads.

‘It is because; I am meditating from within Dhruvan’s heart. You can never ruin my concentration,’ declared Perumal.

‘Why are you meditating?’

‘If it is more important for Dhruvan to see me then he should meditate upon me but as I yearn to see Dhruvan, I am meditating from within his heart! My dear devotee is only a child and doesn’t know how to meditate upon me. Like a mother guiding a child’s hand while teaching him how to write, I am guiding Dhruvan from within and am teaching him the art of meditation. You have no need to worry,’ replied Perumal, ‘even if you go and offer your post to Dhruvan, he will not take it. He is undergoing severe penance in order to obtain me! I was waiting for you to come to me so that I can reveal Dhruvan’s qualities to you!’

Perumal decided to grant dharshan to Dhruvan. As Dhruvan was engrossed in meditation with his mind fixed on the beautiful form of the Lord residing in his heart, Perumal concealed His form in Dhruvan’s heart. Immediately Dhruvan opened his eyes and saw the Lord on top of Garudazhwar standing in front of him. The Lord came on Garudazhwar to show His love for Dhruvan. He could have manifested from a tree, grass or even Dhruvan’s heart but such manifestations will not reveal the Lord’s love for Dhruvan or show Dhruvan the fact that the Lord rushed to see Dhruvan.

Since Sage Naradar had not mentioned to Dhruvan that the Lord would come on top of Garudazhwar, Dhruvan closed his eyes thinking that it was someone else standing in front of him to ruin his penance. The lord understanding Dhruvan’s confusion requested Garudazhwar to stand aside and once again gave dharshan to Dhruvan.

The child’s eyes were filled with tears of joy. He felt overwhelmed with love for the Lord and wished that he had knowledge to compose slokas to sing the glory of the Lord. The Lord touched Dhruvan’s cheek with His conch Panchajanyam. The conch Panchajanyam is the seat of Supreme Knowledge (Vedam); it even looks like the alphabet “Om”. As soon as the Lord touched Dhruvan’s cheek, Dhruvan obtained knowledge and started to sing the praise of the Lord.

‘The one who is in me woke me up and has made me speak. To the one who controls my senses and directs me, to Him I pay my obeisance! I realize that everything happened because of your sankalpam. You directed my step mother to instruct me to meditate upon you. Your grace made my parents to let me come here to meditate upon you as otherwise they would have never allowed me out of their sight! Normally I can’t even bear hunger for a few minutes but I could control my hunger for six months not because of my efforts but because you were the one who was meditating from within me! You did all this to make me seek your divine feet!Even yogis and rishis are unable to see you even after performing penance for thousands of years but because of your compassion I have obtained your darshan very easily!’

‘I know what you want,’ said the Lord. ‘You wish to come with me but I cannot grant you your wish. If I do, people will say that I took a five year old child away from this world. Instead, I will grant you your earlier wish so that everyone who hears about your history will be motivated to be as devoted as you and thus approach me. You will become a great emperor. After your life here, you will attain Dhurvasthanam along with your mother and the Saptha Rishis will circumbulate you. After staying there for a while you will come to me. Your stepmother Suruchi will be very affectionate to you. Your brother uttaman will die while hunting in the forest. He will be killed by a servant of Kubera. You will wage war against Kubera but will stop fighting when adviced by your grandfather Swayambhuva Manu.’

The Lord blessed Dhruvan and asked him to return home.

‘Your father is looking for you. You will be welcomed with love by your parents including your step mother. You will rule your father’s kingdom. After completing your time on Earth, you will reach the planet called Dhruva padam and stay fixed there for many years. Once you have completed your term there, you will ultimately reach my abode.’

The Lord vanished from Dhruvan’s view. The child returned home. Dhruvan was not happy since the Lord had cheated him by giving him material wealth instead of himself. As prophesized y the Lord was welcomed by his parents as well as step mother with love and affection. After completing his time on earth, he went to the planet taken by Vishnu Dhutas Nandan and Sunandan mentioned by the Lord and stayed there as the pole star.

Just before Dhruvan boarded the vimanam to go to Dhruvasthanam a man approached him and said, ‘please place your feet on my head.’

‘Who are you?’ enquired Dhruvan.

‘I am Yama the Lord of death; you have defeated me.’

Even after seeing the Lord as Dhruvan had not asked for Moksham, he did not receive Mukthi immediately. Thus we are cautioned to surrender at the Lord’s feet and seek only Him in order to obtain Moksham at the end of our life.

Esoteric Meaning:

Uttanapadan refers to the  “Exalted place” which is “Vishnu Padam”. Such a place is only available to realized souls. Uttaman means “enlightened” and he is eligible to stay at Vishnu Padam. Dhruvan means steady. Dhruvan is determined to obtain Vishnu Padam and tries to sit on the lap of Uttanapadan. His stepmother Suruchi asks him to leave because he is not qualified to sit on the lap of the king. Suruchi means “good taste” and also means “the one who utters good words” or “the one who shows the right way”. Thus Suruchi points Dhruvan on to the right path to obtain Vishnu padam as she is the first person who instructs Dhruvan to meditate upon the Lord. Suniti means “Good Knowledge”; she advices Dhruvan to follow Suruchi’s advice and to meditate upon the Lord. Dhruvan is met by sage Narada. Thus we come to know about the importance of an Acharyan who gives us mantropadesam.Per the advice of Sage Narada, Dhruvan selected a peaceful location in the forest and by chanting the manthram properly he obtaind the Lord. Dhruvan is welcomed by Uttanapadan as he has become qualified; enlightened. Dhruvan is shown to shine in the sky as the pole star to show that he has obtained permanence in Vishnu Padam.

 Phala Shruthi:

Anyone who listens to this narration will obtain fame, long life, purity, good quality of life, will always be safe, and will be a great personality. As this is the history of Perumal as well as His devotee, by listening to this narration a person will stay calm, lead a happy life with all of his/her sins destroyed. The person by listening/reading this narration with shradhai will develop devotion.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/06/srimadh-bagawatham-prithu-maharaj.html