Shloka 1
मैत्रेय उवाच निशम्य गदतामेवमृषीणां धनुषि ध्रुव: । सन्दधेऽस्त्रमुपस्पृश्य यन्नारायणनिर्मितम् ॥ १ ॥
maitreya uvāca niśamya gadatām evam ṛṣīṇāṁ dhanuṣi dhruvaḥ sandadhe ’stram upaspṛśya yan nārāyaṇa-nirmitam
Śrī Maitreya said: “O Vidura, hearing the sages’ heartening words, Dhruva Mahārāja touched water to perform ācamana, then took the arrow-weapon fashioned by Lord Nārāyaṇa and set it upon his bow.”
Dhruva Mahārāja was given a specific arrow made by Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself, and he now fixed it upon his bow to finish the illusory atmosphere created by the Yakṣas. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) , mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Without Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one is able to overcome the action of the illusory energy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has also given us a nice weapon for this age, as stated in the Bhāgavatam: sāṅgopāṅgāstra — in this age, the nārāyaṇāstra, or weapon to drive away māyā, is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in pursuance of the associates of Lord Caitanya, such as Advaita Prabhu, Nityānanda, Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa.
FAQs
This verse shows Dhruva purifying himself (upaspṛśya) before deploying Nārāyaṇa’s weapon, indicating sacred power should be invoked with cleanliness, discipline, and reverence.
Because the sages’ counsel guided his next step; after hearing them, Dhruva readied the Nārāyaṇa-made astra, showing obedience to saintly instruction in moments of conflict.
Before acting in anger or crisis, pause, become inwardly clean (calm, prayerful, disciplined), and act under guidance—using power responsibly rather than impulsively.