Linga Purana (Great Epics of India: Puranas Book 11) by Bibek Debroy & Dipavali Debroy

Author:Bibek Debroy & Dipavali Debroy [Debroy, Bibek]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Books For All (An Imprint of Low Price Publications)
Published: 2016-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

Dhruva

Svayambhuva Manu had a son named Uttanapada. Uttanapada had two wives, Suniti and Suruchi. Dhruva was Suniti's son.

King Uttanapada was once seated on his throne. Dhruva happened to come there and clambered up onto his father’s lap. He was a mere child then, being only seven years old.

But Dhruva's stepmother, Suruchi, objected to this.

“How dare you sit on the king's lap?" she demanded. "That is a place that is reserved for my son. Get down at once.”

Although Uttanapada did love Dhruva, he dared not object. He loved Suruchi much more than he loved Suniti and he did not have the courage to go against Suruchi's wishes.

Dhruva began to cry and went running to his mother. Suniti did her best to console her son. “Don't cry, my son." she said. “The king loves Suruchi more than me and so loves her son more than you. There is nothing that can be done. We are unlucky. We must have committed many sins in our earlier lives and this is the punishment that is being meted out to us. There is nothing to be gained by crying. One must try to perform good deeds in this life so that, in the next life, we are more fortunate. Forget about the king’s lap. Why don’t you instead try to attain a place that would be impossible for Suruchi’s son to achieve?"

Dhruva resolved that he would do this. He went away to the forest to meditate.

In the forest, he happened to come upon the sage Vishvamitra’s hermitage. He told the sage the story of his misfortunes and about his mission. “Please tell me how I can attain the highest place of all,” he said.

“The solution is to pray to Vishnu." replied Vishvamitra. The sage also taught Dhruva a powerful mantra (incantation) that he could use for praying to Vishnu.

Dhruva started to pray to Vishnu. He faced the east and began to chant the mantra. For an entire year he continued to do only this. He lived only on fruits and roots. Demons and wild animals roamed all around him, but he paid no attention to them. One particular ogress adopted the disguise of Dhruva's mother and came to dissuade Dhruva from his meditation. But Dhruva saw through this disguise and would not be distracted.

Finally, Vishnu appeared before Dhruva. “I am pleased with your prayers." said Vishnu. “What boon do you desire?"

“Please grant me the boon that I may attain the highest place of all." replied Dhruva.

Vishnu earmarked a place for Dhruva in the sky. Dhruva became the Pole Star. All the other stars revolve around Dhruva.

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