Shloka 5
Dhruva Uses the Nārāyaṇāstra; Manu Checks His Wrath and Teaches Dharma
स तान् पृषत्कैरभिधावतो मृधे निकृत्तबाहूरुशिरोधरोदरान् । निनाय लोकं परमर्कमण्डलं व्रजन्ति निर्भिद्य यमूर्ध्वरेतस: ॥ ५ ॥
sa tān pṛṣatkair abhidhāvato mṛdhe nikṛtta-bāhūru-śirodharodarān nināya lokaṁ param arka-maṇḍalaṁ vrajanti nirbhidya yam ūrdhva-retasaḥ
When Dhruva Mahārāja saw the Yakṣas coming forward, he immediately took his arrows and cut the enemies to pieces. Separating their arms, legs, heads and bellies from their bodies, he delivered the Yakṣas to the planetary system which is situated above the sun globe and which is attainable only by first-class brahmacārīs, who have never discharged their semen.
To be killed by the Lord or by His devotees is auspicious for nondevotees. The Yakṣas were killed indiscriminately by Dhruva Mahārāja, but they attained the planetary system attainable only for brahmacārīs who never discharged their semen. As the impersonalist jñānīs or the demons killed by the Lord attain Brahmaloka, or Satyaloka, persons killed by a devotee of the Lord also attain Satyaloka. To reach the Satyaloka planetary system described here, one has to be elevated above the sun globe. Killing, therefore, is not always bad. If the killing is done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee or in great sacrifices, it is for the benefit of the entity killed in that way. Material so-called nonviolence is very insignificant in comparison to killing done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotees. Even when a king or the state government kills a person who is a murderer, that killing is for the benefit of the murderer, for thus he may become cleared of all sinful reactions.
FAQs
This verse indicates that some attain higher realms by “piercing beyond” Yama’s jurisdiction—symbolizing rising beyond ordinary karmic death through spiritual elevation (ūrdhva-retasaḥ).
In the narrative, Dhruva fights the Yakṣas in a kṣatriya context; Śukadeva describes the intensity of the battle and the immediate karmic result—sending the fallen to their destined realm.
Channel one’s energies upward through disciplined living, devotion, and meditation—redirecting impulses toward spiritual goals rather than being driven by lower habits.