Determination rewarded

King Uthanapada had two wives and each of them had a son. The first wife Suniti’s son was Dhruva and the second wife Surichi’s son was Uthama. Uthanapada, upon the urging of Surichi, ignored Dhruva.

One day, when Dhruva saw Uthama seated on his father’s lap, he ran up to his father wanting to sit on his lap too. But he was pushed away by Surichi, who said since he was not her son, he had no claims either to the throne or his father’s affection.

“Pray to Lord Vasudeva that you should be born as my son, if you want to enjoy these rights,” she told Dhruva. Suniti told her son not to despair, but to go to the forest and undertake penance, said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse.

In the forest, Narada at first tried to dissuade the boy from undertaking penance.

But Dhruva was determined to go ahead. Seeing his determination, Narada taught him the Dvadaskshara mantra, that is Vasudeva mantra.

For the first month of his penance, Dhruva ate fruits once in three days; in the second month he ate grass and leaves once in six days; in the third month, he consumed only water once in nine days. In the fourth month, he took in only air, once in twelve days.

In the fifth month, he meditated on the form of the Lord described to him by Narada. Dhruva was rewarded for his determination when the Lord appeared before him.

Upon seeing Lord Narayana on Garuda, Dhruva offered prayers to Lord, who touched his cheek and then his head with His conch. This is called sparsa deeksha, that is deeksha by touch. Dhruva praised the Lord, and in the Dhruva stuthi, we find the Lord extolled as the granter of everything, including moksha.