Dhruva Mahārāja meets the Lord (Srimad Bhagavatam #52)

After reassuring the demigods, the Lord went to see Dhruva, mounted on Garuḍa. At this moment, Dhruva was absorbed in his meditation, seeing the Lord inside his heart. Then, suddenly, He disappeared.

After reassuring the demigods that He would protect them, the Lord went to the Madhuvana Forest to see Dhruva, mounted on Garuḍa. Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu is described as Sahasraśīrṣā in this verse because He is non-different from Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu. All the incarnations of the Lord (except Krsna and Balarāma) manifest from Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu, and since He is non-different from Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu, sometimes it is said that the incarnations originate from Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu.

In his Laghu-Bhāgavatāmṛta, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains that Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu expanded into the Pṛśnigarbha incarnation to meet Dhruva. At this point, Dhruvaloka was manifested inside of the universe. Being a Vaikuṇṭha planet, Dhruvaloka is an eternal abode, but it described as being "created" in the same sense Lakṣmī Devī and the Kaustubha jewel appear from the churning of the milk ocean, or that Lord Shiva appear from Brahma. They are all eternal, but when they manifest inside of this particular universe sometimes it is said the are created. Pṛśnigarbha is also the same incarnation who appears as the son of Pṛśni and Sutapā.

At this moment, Dhruva was absorbed in his meditation, seeing the Lord inside his heart, when the form suddenly disappeared. This broke his meditation. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Lord personally present before him. Seeing the Lord, Dhruva developed all symptoms of ecstasy, looking at the Lord, embracing Him, kissing his feet, etc. He wanted to offer beautiful prayers to the Lord, but being just a boy he couldn't speak very eloquently. The Lord however touched Dhruva with his conch, and in this way he was blessed with all transcendental knowledge. He could thus glorify the Lord with beautiful prayers, as he wanted. This shows us how the potency to perform any king of service or to glorify the Lord in any capacity can be bestowed upon us by the Lord if we are eager to serve Him.

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After reassuring the demigods that He would protect them, the Lord went to the Madhuvana Forest to see Dhruva, mounted on Garuḍa. Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu is described as Sahasraśīrṣā in this verse because He is non-different from Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu. All the incarnations of the Lord (except Krsna and Balarāma) manifest from Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu, and since He is non-different from Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu, sometimes it is said that the incarnations originate from Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu.

In his Laghu-Bhāgavatāmṛta, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains that Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu expanded into the Pṛśnigarbha incarnation to meet Dhruva. Being a Vaikuṇṭha planet, Dhruvaloka is an eternal abode, but it described as being "created" in the same sense Lakṣmī Devī and the Kaustubha jewel appear from the churning of the milk ocean, or that Lord Shiva appear from Brahma. They are all eternal, but when they manifest inside of this particular universe sometimes it is said the are created. Pṛśnigarbha is also the same incarnation who appears as the son of Pṛśni and Sutapā.

At this moment, Dhruva was absorbed in his meditation, seeing the Lord inside his heart, when the form suddenly disappeared. This broke his meditation. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Lord personally present before him. Seeing the Lord, Dhruva developed all symptoms of ecstasy, looking at the Lord, embracing Him, kissing his feet, etc. He wanted to offer beautiful prayers to the Lord, but being just a boy he couldn't speak very eloquently. The Lord however touched Dhruva with his conch, and in this way he was blessed with all transcendental knowledge. He could thus glorify the Lord with beautiful prayers, as he wanted. This shows us how the potency to perform any king of service or to glorify the Lord in any capacity can be bestowed upon us by the Lord if we are eager to serve Him.

Another important point is that a pure devotee is empowered to speak directly by the Lord, and this inspiration is called brahma-maya, because a devotee so inspired speaks words that exactly represent Vedic knowledge in it's pure form. As Srila Madhvācārya mentions in his commentary of the Mundaka Upaniṣad, Vedic knowledge can be understood in two levels: pāra-vidya (transcendental knowledge) and apāra-vidya (mundane, superficial knowledge). Mundane persons as well as neophyte devotees still under the three modes are not capable of understanding the real meaning of the Vedas just by studying the text. The proper understanding can be revealed only by pure devotees. The words of a pure devotee such as Srila Prabhupāda have thus much more weight than the words of a mundane scholar, who will probably not be able to reach the proper concussions of the text, despite his grammatical knowledge. Literal translation of Vedic texts have very little value, the knowledge have always to be interpreted in some way. It all depends on the qualification of the person explaining it, and his connection with the proper Paramparā.

"At that time Dhruva Mahārāja became perfectly aware of the Vedic conclusion and understood the Absolute Truth and His relationship with all living entities. In accordance with the line of devotional service to the Supreme Lord, whose fame is widespread, Dhruva, who in the future would receive a planet which would never be annihilated, even during the time of dissolution, offered his deliberate and conclusive prayers." (SB 4.9.5)

Having received all Vedic knowledge from the Lord, Dhruva offers his prayers from verse 4.9.6 to 4.9.17. These are the main points:

a) The real body of the living entity is his dormant spiritual body, which includes spiritual senses, mind, intelligence and ego. In material life, the soul is sleeping, performing illusory activities under illusion using the illusory material body. When the soul is finally awakened to spiritual realization, our real activities begin. When he was touched by the conch of the Lord, Dhruva fully awakened to spiritual realization, understanding his original position as a servitor of the Supreme Lord. The Lord is a person and we are separate persons, therefore our constitutional position is in an eternal loving relationship with Him. The process to attain the same spiritual realization Dhruva attained is to engage our current body, mind and senses in the service of the Lord. In the beginning we may engage our senses mechanically following the rules and regulations and the instructions of the spiritual master, but after attaining spiritual realization we can be engaged in full spiritual understanding. When the Lord becomes satisfied with us, He can reveal to us our original spiritual senses, and using them we can fully glorify the Lord, just as Dhruva.

b) The Lord acts through His different energies, creating, maintaining and finally destroying the material creation. The Lord is fully spiritual, and thus all His energies, being part of Him are also spiritual. The internal potency is spiritual, the jīvas are spiritual particles and the external potency, used by the Lord to create this material world is also spiritual. Pure devotees can thus see this material world as ultimately spiritual and connected to the Lord. Everyone else, due to their desire of lording over the material creation, is covered by māyā, the illusory energy, that makes them see the material world as separate from the Lord. Māyā (or Mahāmāyā) is a feature of the external potency, or bahiraṅga-śakti. It is also ultimately spiritual, but it has a specific function, that is to make rebellious souls forget their original spiritual nature and become engaged in this material world. Just as Yogamāyā is the deluding potency that creates the scenarios for the transcendental platforms of the Lord and inspire the inhabitants of the spiritual planets in their service, Mahāmāyā is the illusory potency that creates the conditions for material enjoyment and pushes us in the direction of sense gratification. As long as we want to enjoy separately from the Lord we remain under the influence of Mahāmāyā, and when we desire to serve the Lord we come under the influence of Yogamāyā. When this happens we suddenly realize the Lord was always with us.

c) The Lord is called ārta-bandhu, the friend of the distressed. All conditioned souls suffer in this material world, but when one finally surrenders to the Lord, he is saved from the material ocean. When the Lord sees one constantly engaged in devotional service, He gives him intelligence from within so he can make further progress. The devotee then feels obliged to the Lord for this transcendental reciprocation and his devotion increases, to the point he can't forget the Lord even for a moment. This process of spiritual elevation is compared by Dhruva Mahārāja to the process of someone awakening from sleep. He uses the example of his gran-grandfather Brahma, who received knowledge from the Lord and became capable of perform his wonderful activities.

d) Conditioned souls are very anxious for material enjoyment, but when one comes to a platform of knowledge he can understand that this material enjoyment so sought over is not valuable at all. Not only it is temporary, but it is also illusory. Sense enjoyment is more or less like trying to get pleasure by touching something with tick rubber gloves or tasting honey by liking a bottle. Real enjoyment can be taste only in the spiritual platform using our spiritual senses, and not through the dull material body that covers our real self. The Lord is the very source of this unlimited spiritual pleasure, therefore to approach Him to ask for sense gratification is like approaching a billionaire to ask for fake money. Dhruva thus regrets having approached the Lord hankering for a material kingdom.

e) The transcendental bliss of serving the Lord in a personal relationship can't be compared to the pleasure of impersonal liberation. What to say then about temporary enjoyment in the celestial planets? Even if one can attain the celestial planets by acting like a pious person, his staying there is temporary and thus ultimately valueless. All other positions apart from the original position of service of the soul are ultimately temporary, and this original nature can be uncovered by the mercy of the Lord.

f) Devotional service to the Lord can't be complete and relishable without the association of devotees. Dhruva Maharaja therefore in anxious for the association of great devotees who are fixed in the transcendental service of the Lord and situated in an uncontaminated state of life. Once we obtain such association devotional service flows naturally, just like the waves of an incessantly flowing river and becomes the cause of the development of further devotional service. The reason Srila Prabhupāda, as well as his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura and his great-grand spiritual master, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thākura strived so hard to establish spiritual institutions was to offer such opportunity of association. Conversely, if one tries to practice alone, his devotional service may not mature and become distinct from material activities, unless he is already able to practice in a high level, like in the case of Dhruva Maharaja.

g) Although the scriptures repeat that we are not the body over and over again, it is not easy for a conditioned soul to effectively realize he is not the body and lose interest in it. Even great yogis remain interested in regulating their breath, which is nothing more than a bodily performance. By associating with pure devotees, however, one experiences a higher taste and becomes thus naturally detached from his material body, bodily relationships, offspring, friends, home, wealth, spouse, etc. which are so dear to materialistic persons. By this simple process of association with saintly persons a devotee becomes more advanced in spiritual consciousness than even the greatest yogis.

i) Before becoming self-realized and seeing the Supreme Lord, Dhruva had experienced material live and seem different species of plants, animals, etc. In verse 13 he emphasizes the difference between these two states of consciousness. He is now fully Krsna conscious and engaged in the service of the Lord, while different living entities are simply serving their senses. Every living entity, be in the conditioned or liberated stat has to serve, because this is is the eternal nature of the soul. The question is who we want to serve. When we decide to serve Krsna and become Krsna conscious, we can appreciate the transcendental form of the Lord, instead of being attracted to different material objects.

j) The Lord appears in innumerable forms, such as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu, Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu, Mahā-Vishnu and so on. However, a pure devotee understands that in all these forms the Lord is the same, and that He is the creator and master of everything that exists. This perfect knowledge was also revealed to Dhruva by the Lord Himself.

k) All material activities are performed under the three modes of material nature. The Lord also performs activities, but His activities are transcendental. As the creator of the three modes, the Lord is not entangled by them, therefore He is called try-adhīśa, the master of the three modes. Even tough the Lord gives all living entities the means and sanction to perform material actions as they please, He remains aloof. Even tough He is the enjoyer of all sacrifices, He is unattached. The Lord has nothing to do with this material world and doesn't desire anything from here. However, He creates the whole material manifestation just to give an opportunity to the conditioned living entities to perform devotional service and return to their original spiritual consciousness.

l) The impersonal Brahman is the immediate cause of the material manifestation. From it all the material potencies emanates, as well as the material duality, composed of knowledge and ignorance, pious and impious, good and bad, etc. However, Krsna in the ultimate cause, because He stands behind this source of all material causes. Powerful as it may be, the impersonal Brahmajyoti is just the bodily effulgence of Krsna. A transcendentalist who is not very advanced may think that the impersonal Brahmajyoti is the ultimate source and destination of everything, but another more advanced can understand that the Lord has multiple energies and performs unlimited pastimes.

m) In the material world, people desire different types of benedictions, believing that such benedictions will make them happy. Dhruva for example desired to have a kingdom greater than his ancestors. However, as Dhruva understood, the greatest happiness is to be engaged in unmotivated service to the Lord, who is the pañcama-puruṣārtha, the ultimate goal of life, the very source of all pleasure. Pure devotional service includes not praying to the Lord for wealth, a husband or wife, etc. However, the Lord is so merciful that even if someone approaches Him desiring some material benefit, the Lord takes care of him, just as cow maintain her calf. The Lord satisfies the desires of such a devotee in ways that gradually elevate him to the position of pure devotional service, giving him intelligence to surpass all impediments. Dhruva however asks for the Lord to protect him from such desires, so his devotional service may not be hampered.

Dhruva is blessed by the Lord

In this way, Dhruva concluded his prayers. What was the answer from the Lord? He blessed him. Dhruva wanted a kingdom greater than his ancestors, and the Lord Himself told him this was very difficult to achieve. How someone can someone obtain a position higher than Brahma, who is the master of the whole universe? As an answer, the Lord decided to make Dhruva the ruler of the Polestar, a Vaikuṇṭha planet appearing inside of the universe, which serves as the central pivot for all the other planets and include the island of Śvetadvīpa, where Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu resides, surrounded by the milk ocean (there is another milk ocean that is part of Bhu-Mandala, but that's a different ocean). No conditioned soul can enter this transcendental abode. Even when the demigods desire to speak to the Lord, they can go only up to the border of the milk ocean from where they offer their prayers and wait for the answer of the Lord.

Modern astronomy, explains the movement of the stars and other celestial bodies in the sky by the model that the Earth arbitrates the Sun, and the Sun in turn arbitrates the center of the Galaxy. The Vedas offer an interesting alternative: The Earth, as part of the planetary system of Bhu-Mandala, is fixed in space and all the stars orbit around a central axis, which is the Polestar. It's described that all the stars as well as the sun orbit the Polestar once per day, moved at great speed by currents of subtle wind, while simultaneously having their individual movements on the opposite direction, as explained in more detail in the fifth canto. This daily orbit of the sun and stars is responsible for the passage of day and night, while the annual orbit of the sun around Mount Sumeru in the opposite direction is responsible for the passage of the seasons. One could question how is it possible that the whole sky may orbit the Polestar? The answer is simply because the Lord wanted it. He wanted to manifest a spiritual planet inside of the material universe as the center of all other planets and stars, so He could later give it to Dhruva.

"The Personality of Godhead said: My dear Dhruva, son of the King, you have executed pious vows, and I also know the desire within your heart. Although your desire is very ambitious and very difficult to fulfill, I shall favor you with its fulfillment. All good fortune unto you.

My dear Dhruva, I shall award you the glowing planet known as the polestar, which will continue to exist even after the dissolution at the end of the millennium. No one has ever ruled this planet, which is surrounded by all the solar systems, planets and stars. All the luminaries in the sky circumambulate this planet, just as bulls tread around a central pole for the purpose of crushing grains. Keeping the polestar to their right, all the stars inhabited by the great sages like Dharma, Agni, Kaśyapa and Śukra circumambulate this planet, which continues to exist even after the dissolution of all others. After your father goes to the forest and awards you the rule of his kingdom, you will rule continuously the entire world for thirty-six thousand years, and all your senses will continue to be as strong as they are now. You will never become old. Sometime in the future your brother, Uttama, will go hunting in the forest, and while absorbed in hunting, he will be killed. Your stepmother, Suruci, being maddened upon the death of her son, will go to search him out in the forest, but she will be devoured by a forest fire. I am the heart of all sacrifices. You will be able to perform many great sacrifices and also give great charities. In this way you will be able to enjoy the blessings of material happiness in this life, and at the time of your death you will be able to remember Me. My dear Dhruva, after your material life in this body, you will go to My planet, which is always offered obeisances by the residents of all other planetary systems. It is situated above the planets of the seven ṛṣis, and having gone there you will never have to come back again to this material world." (SB 4.9.19-25)

Since Dhruva had also the desire of assuming the throne of his father, the Lord organized that he would be the king for 36,000 years after the retirement of his father, and would be able to enjoy the full protection of the Lord. In other words, even while enjoying his senses as the king, he would remain fully protected from the influence of the material energy. After finishing this service, he would assume his eternal position as the ruler of the Polestar, also called Dhruvaloka in honor of him.

As Prabhupāda mentions, normally the Lord doesn't give material opulences to a pure devotee, preferring to bring him quickly back to Godhead, but the case of Dhruva was an exception. He understood that Dhruva was such a great devotee that he would never deviate from his love of Godhead, even when living in great opulence.

One could question how is it possible that the Lord could create a Vaikuṇṭha planet, since by definition all the planets of the spiritual sky are supposed to be eternal. As we learn in the Bhagavad-gita, everything that has a begin has also an end, and creation and destruction exist only as part of the material manifestation.

The answer is that there are many eternal personalities and objects that appear to be created in side of this material universe as part of different pastimes. Lord Varāha appeared from the nostril of Brahma, Laksmi Devi and the Kaustubha Gem appeared from the churning of the milk ocean, Krsna got His conch shell Pancajanya from killing the demon Pancajana, and so on. All of these are eternal forms, associates and paraphernalia of the Lord, but when they appear inside of this material universe, they appear as part of a pastime, and thus appear to have been created at some point. These are just lilas, just like Krsna appearing as the soon of Vāsudeva and Devakī, although He is the unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Srila Prabhupāda also mentions this point in his purport to verses 20-21: "Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments in this connection that Dhruvaloka is one of the lokas like Śvetadvīpa, Mathurā and Dvārakā. They are all eternal places in the kingdom of Godhead, which is described in the Bhagavad-gītā (tad dhāma paramam) and in the Vedas (oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ). The words parastāt kalpa-vāsinām, “transcendental to the planets inhabited after the dissolution,” refer to the Vaikuṇṭha planets."

The Lord Himself also confirms this on verse 4.9.25: "The Personality of Godhead continued: My dear Dhruva, after your material life in this body, you will go to My planet, which is always offered obeisances by the residents of all other planetary systems. It is situated above the planets of the seven ṛṣis, and having gone there you will never have to come back again to this material world."

Dhruvaloka appears inside of the material universe during the duration of the creation of Brahma and them remains as a fixed planet in the spiritual sky. After ruling Bhu-Mandala as a king, Dhruva would assume his eternal position in Dhruvaloka. In other words, his rule of Dhruvaloka is not a temporary position like that of a demigod ruling over a certain material planet, but already his eternal spiritual position.

Prabhupāda explains this point in his purport to verse 25: "In this verse the word nāvartate is very significant. The Lord says, “You will not come back to this material world, for you will reach mat-sthānam, My abode.” Therefore Dhruvaloka, or the polestar, is the abode of Lord Viṣṇu within this material world. Upon it there is an ocean of milk, and within that ocean there is an island known as Śvetadvīpa. It is clearly indicated that this planet is situated above the seven planetary systems of the ṛṣis, and because this planet is Viṣṇuloka, it is worshiped by all other planetary systems. It may be questioned here what will happen to the planet known as Dhruvaloka at the time of the dissolution of this universe. The answer is simple: Dhruvaloka remains, like other Vaikuṇṭhalokas beyond this universe. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has commented in this connection that the very word nāvartate indicates that this planet is eternal."

In the same way, Dhruvaloka is an eternal planet in the spiritual sky and Dhruva Maharaja is the eternal ruler of this spiritual planet. Just as other eternal associates of the Lord, like Nārada Muni, Dhruva appears in in different universes to perform his pastime and give his great example of determination for all conditioned souls. As Dhruva appears, his planet also appears, and the pastime of Dhruva becoming the eternal ruler of his own planet is played, just as Nārada Muni appearing as a human boy and practicing self-realization to become Nārada Muni.

It's interesting to note that different Purāṇas give different information about the location of Śvetadvīpa. According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa and other Purāṇas, Śvetadvīpa lies near the northern shore of the milk ocean in Bhu-Mandala, while the Padma Purāṇa mentions that Śvetadvīpa lies in the northern part of the ocean of pure water. In his commentary to the Laghu-Bhāgavatāmṛta (1.1.46), Srila Rūpa Gosvāmī mentions that "For different kalpas Lord Brahmā locates Śvetadvīpa on different sides of the Milk Ocean, or even in different oceans. Thus the various Purāṇas are not actually contradicting one another on this point."

Different Purāṇas as well as the Mahabharata often describe pastimes and details from previous days of Brahma, while the Srimad Bhāgavatam predominantly describes pastimes from the current day, and therefore they sometimes disagree in details, since the creation doesn't go exactly the same in every day. By these descriptions, it appears that in the previous days of Brahma, Śvetadvīpa was situated in the oceans of Bhu-Mandala, while in the current day, when the pastime of Dhruva Maharaja happens, it is situated in the Polestar.

Another question that could be asked is how can be Dhruva the ruler of a Vaikuṇṭha planet? Aren't all Vaikuṇṭha planets ruled by different expansions of Lord Vishnu? The answer is given by Srila Rūpa Gosvāmi in the Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta (ch. 1.5). Quoting from the Pādma Purana Uttara-khanda, he explains that many of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are ruled by different eternal associates of the Lord, such as Satya, Acyuta, Ananta, Durgā, Visvaksena, Ganesa, etc. There are also the archetypal demigods: Indra, Agni, Yama, Vayu, Varuna, Kuvera, Isana, etc. They are also eternal associates of the Lord, who also rule different different Vaikuṇṭha planets. The different material demigods that appear in this universe are just jīvas who inherit their names and are empowered by them to perform their functions. Similarly, its described that the different wives of the Lord, as well as His eternal potencies (in their personified forms) also rule different Vaikuṇṭha planets.

From this description, it is not difficult to understand how Dhruva Maharaja is also an eternal associate of the Lord, who eternally rules his own Vaikuṇṭha planet and simultaneously appear in different material universes to perform his pastimes just as Nārada Muni, Prahlāda Maharaja and others. In the third canto, the concept of eternal associates of the Lord coming to this material world to perform pastimes without becoming conditioned souls like us was already explained in the pastime of Jaya and Vijaya being cursed to become demons. Such eternal associates appear to take birth in this material world under the influence of illusion, but in their case everything happens under the influence of yoga-maya, and not mahā-maya (like in our case). In this way, they come to perform different roles in the pastimes of the Lord without factually leaving their eternal positions.

Dhruva returns home

We could imagine that after receiving such benedictions Dhruva was radiant, but in reality he wasn't. He became morose, regretting having approached the Lord with material desires instead of practicing pure devotional service from the start. Although Dhruva is an eternally perfect soul, he comes to play this pastime to teach us this lesson.

Vidura was astonished by the dejection of Dhruva and asked:

"My dear brāhmaṇa, the abode of the Lord is very difficult to attain. It can be attained only by pure devotional service, which alone pleases the most affectionate, merciful Lord. Dhruva Mahārāja achieved this position even in one life, and he was very wise and conscientious. Why, then, was he not very pleased?" (SB 4.9.28)

Maitreya answered that Dhruva started his devotional service to the Lord with material demands in mind instead of desiring liberation from material entanglement. In other words, Dhruva sought improving his material position instead of asking the Lord for pure devotional service, or for being freed from material contamination. When the Lord finally appeared, he was ashamed of his previous intentions.

Srila Prabhupāda explains it in his purport to verse 4.9.29: "Sense gratification means domination over material nature. The whole competition between conditioned souls is based upon domination of this material nature. Modern scientists are proud of their knowledge because they are discovering new methods to dominate the laws of material nature. They think that this is the advancement of human civilization — the more they can dominate the material laws, the more advanced they are. Dhruva Mahārāja’s propensity in the beginning was like that. He wanted to dominate this material world in a greater position than Lord Brahmā. Therefore elsewhere it is described that after the appearance of the Lord, when Dhruva Mahārāja thought and compared his determination to his final reward, he realized that he had wanted a few particles of broken glass but instead had received many diamonds. As soon as he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, he immediately became conscious of the unimportance of his demand from the Lord to have an exalted position better than Lord Brahmā’s."

However, Dhruva became purified due to his practice of devotional service, and when he finally saw the Lord face to face he became fully situated in the Vāsudeva platform, his original pure consciousness as a soul, or in other words, pure Krsna consciousness and did not want anything apart from serving the Lord. He realized that he had wanted a few particles of broken glass but instead had received many diamonds. Dhruva thus felt he had misused the blessings of his spiritual master Nārada Muni, and that he had thus fallen from his position. Sometimes demigods become envious of great yogis and sadhus and create hindrances in their path. Dhruva concluded they must have compromised his intelligence, making him to see his brother as an enemy, and maintain a vision of duality. Just as our minds create so many dreams at night, we create many friends and enemies in this world simply out of imagination. In the absolute plane, there are no friends and enemies, since everyone is part and parcel of the Lord.

As Prabhupāda explains: "He was very much ashamed to think that although he had gone to Madhuvana, giving up the kingdom of his father, and he had gotten a spiritual master like Nārada Muni, he was still thinking of revenge against his stepmother and wanted to occupy an exalted post within this material world. These were the causes for his moroseness even after he received all the desired benedictions from the Lord."

Thinking like this, Dhruva walked back home. When Maharaja Uttānapāda heard the news of the return of his son, he immediately departed to meet him on the way, accompanied by his whole royal entourage, including his family, ministers, soldiers, etc. When he saw Dhruva in a small forest not very far away, he ran to embrace him. However, now Dhruva was not the same as before. He was now completely purified, free from any sense of insult or false prestige. He offered obeisances not only to his father, but to both his mothers. Seeing this exemplary behavior, Suruci also forgot their enmity towards him and also embraced and blessed him, what to say of his mother Sunīti, his brother Uttama and other inhabitants of the palace.

As Maitreya mention on verse 47: "Unto one who has transcendental qualities due to friendly behavior with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all living entities offer honor, just as water automatically flows down by nature." A devotee, having pleased the Lord, automatically pleases everyone, and thus everyone offers him respect. Persons who are averse to the Lord may sometimes become inimical, but any person with a little piety will follow the Lord's inspiration, and thus a pure devotee receives so much respect from all classes of people.

The royal reception of Dhruva is described in verses 54 to 59. After a short time, his father decided to retire to the forest, passing the kingdom to Dhruva.

"Dhruva Mahārāja thereafter lived in his father’s palace, which had walls bedecked with highly valuable jewels. His affectionate father took particular care of him, and he dwelled in that house just as the demigods live in their palaces in the higher planetary systems.

When, after concentration, King Uttānapāda saw that Dhruva Mahārāja was suitably mature to take charge of the kingdom and that his ministers were agreeable and the citizens were also very fond of him, he enthroned Dhruva as emperor of this planet. After considering his advanced age and deliberating on the welfare of his spiritual self, King Uttānapāda detached himself from worldly affairs and entered the forest. "(SB 4.9.60,66-67)

Although Dhruva abandoned all material aspirations, the Lord however knew about his previous desires and thus gave him the opportunity of becoming a great kind executing many wonderful activities and sacrifices. The Lord thus desired to spread the fame of His pure devotee all over the world, giving the perfect example to all others.