Stories From The Bhagawatham - A Child's Resolve To Meet Narayana!

 

There was a king named Uttanapada who had two wives – Sunithi and Suruchi. Sunithi had a son named Dhruv and Suruchi’s son was named Uttama.

For some reason, the king favoured Suruchi more. He spent more time with her and Uttama.

One day Dhruv saw the king playing with Uttama in the garden. The boy sat on the king’s lap and was being pampered by the king. Dhruv too wanted to sit on his father’s lap. He approached the king and was about to sit on his lap when he was rudely pulled away by Suruchi. She said to him nastily. “You might be the son of a king, but you are clearly not his favoured son. Only my Uttama has the right to sit on his father’s lap. If you so desire, then pray to the Lord to make you my son in your next birth. Now go away from here!”

Dhruv, totally heart-broken, looked at his father for some kind of intervention. When the king remained silent, the child ran to his mother and cried in her lap.

Sunithi consoled the weeping Dhruva. “Do not cry, child. As Suruchi said, pray to Lord Narayana. Only He can take away all your unhappiness and grant you your heart’s desire. Meditate on Him, pray to Him and He will help you attain the highest state of being.”

Taking his mother’s words to his heart, the child left the palace and wandered off in the search of Lord Narayana. The sage Sri Narada, who ever wanders in the world, came to know of the child’s resolve. Perhaps the child’s search for enlightenment reminded the sage of his own search in his previous birth. The sage decided to assist the child.

As Dhruv wandered aimlessly but with purpose, he met the sage.

“What is a five-year old child doing, searching for the Lord in this way? It is not yet time for you! You deserve to play, and to stay safe with your parents in your palace. I know what happened to you, and I know that you now seek the Lord. I would like to help you but I need to warn you first. It is not an easy way, the road to enlightenment. You need patience, dispassion and total concentration. All your senses need to be withdrawn from the mundane world and need to be focused only on the Lord. Many, much elder and stronger than you, have walked on this path. Some succeeded, many failed. There is still time for you to go back to your palace and enjoy your childhood with your parents. Retreat, and leave this difficult path, child.”

Dhruv respectfully folded his hands before the sage. “I am blessed to meet you, oh great sage. But I have no other desires left now. I only want to attain the Lord; this is my only wish. Won’t you help me, Son of Brahma?”

Sri Narada was immensely pleased with the child. “At the banks of the river Yamuna, where the Lord is ever present, there is a holy spot called Madhuvana. Here, you can do your penance. Bathe in the river three times a day, do pranayama and meditate on the Lord’s form. I will teach you a Mantra by which you will be able to attain the Lord. The mantra is ‘ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय’. Constantly repeating this Mantra and meditating on the Lord will help you to get a vision of the Lord and will satisfy your deepest desires.”

Accordingly, the child started his penance at the banks of the holy Yamuna. For the first month, the child lived only on fruits. The second month, the child ate only grass and dried leaves. The third month, he lived only on water. And in the fourth month, the child let go of even water and sustained himself only on air. Nothing existed in the world around him except his Mantra and Lord Narayana.

Overwhelmed by the child’s intense tapas, the Devas tried to break his penance. They sent wild animals, serpents and sometimes spirits too. But nothing made the boy leave his penance. His meditation never wavered and with single minded devotion, the boy kept his focus on Lord Narayana.

All the three worlds trembled under the intensity of the child’s tapas. The Devas appealed to Lord Narayana to grace the child and stop his penance. The Lord was only too eager to visit the child whom He already accepted as his Bhakta.

And thus one day, when five months had gone by in tapas, the child suddenly found that the vision of Lord Narayana had disappeared from his mind during meditation. In a state of despair, the child opened his eyes and what did he see?! Lord Narayana, in person, standing in front of him! Ecstasy came over, and the child hungrily took in the divine sight of the Lord. But being a child, he was at a loss to speak anything. Realising this, the Lord smiled and gently touched the child’s cheek, thereby gifting to him, the speech of the enlightened.

“I salute you, the Parama Purusha, the cause of this Universe!” The child said, and eloquently praised the Lord on his glories.

Pleased with his youngest ever devotee, Lord Narayana took him in his lap and said – “I am pleased with your devotion. I am assigning you, the highest and most exalted place in the whole Universe. You will be very near to Me, and will be the only Constant amidst revolving Cosmic Bodies.”

Lord Narayana then disappeared, and the child reached his kingdom safely, where he was received with much love and warmth by the king and both of his wives.

Time passed, the child grew up and became a much-loved king who ruled his kingdom wisely. Even after he became the king, his heart always was centered around Lord Narayana.

When his time on earth reached the end, the king Dhruv renounced his kingdom and installed his son on the throne. As he waited for his end, he saw heavenly beings arriving in a glowing chariot. They saluted him respectfully and said – “At the age of five, you attained the divine vision of the Lord and were promised an exalted state in the Universe. We have come to take you there, where you will be closest to Lord Narayana.” Dhruv willingly embraced Death and left the mortal world.

Ages have passed and still the Dhruv star shines the brightest in the sky, guiding beings who find themselves lost both physically and mentally. He stands as the epitome of unwavering faith and staunch devotion, the Being who never moves from his place, and stays nearest to Lord Narayana. The heavens rotate, but He always stays constant, the star pointing to North, the route to Uttarayana, the realm of the Supreme!

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaaya!