Shloka 8
Dhruva’s Benediction from Kuvera and His Ascension to Viṣṇuloka
Dhruvaloka
मैत्रेय उवाच स राजराजेन वराय चोदितो ध्रुवो महाभागवतो महामति: । हरौ स वव्रेऽचलितां स्मृतिं यया तरत्ययत्नेन दुरत्ययं तम: ॥ ८ ॥
maitreya uvāca sa rāja-rājena varāya codito dhruvo mahā-bhāgavato mahā-matiḥ harau sa vavre ’calitāṁ smṛtiṁ yayā taraty ayatnena duratyayaṁ tamaḥ
Maitreya dijo: Oh Vidura, cuando Kuvera, rey de los Yakṣas, le pidió que eligiera una bendición, Dhruva Mahārāja, gran mahā-bhāgavata y rey de elevada inteligencia, rogó por un recuerdo y una fe inquebrantables en Hari; así se cruza con facilidad la oscuridad de la ignorancia, tan difícil de atravesar para otros.
According to the opinion of expert followers of Vedic rites, there are different types of benedictions in terms of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. These four principles are known as catur-vargas. Of all the catur-vargas, the benediction of liberation is considered to be the highest in this material world. To be enabled to cross over material nescience is known as the highest puruṣārtha, or benediction for the human being. But Dhruva Mahārāja wanted a benediction which surpasses even the highest puruṣārtha, liberation. He wanted the benediction that he might constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord. This stage of life is called pañcama-puruṣārtha. When a devotee comes to the platform of pañcama-puruṣārtha, simply engaging in devotional service to the Lord, the fourth puruṣārtha, liberation, becomes very insignificant in his eyes. Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī has stated in this connection that for a devotee liberation is a hellish condition of life; as for sense gratification, which is available in the heavenly planets, the devotee considers it to be a will-o’-the-wisp, having no value in life. Yogīs endeavor to control the senses, but for a devotee, controlling the senses is no difficulty at all. The senses are compared to serpents, but for a devotee the serpents’ poison teeth are broken. Thus Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī has analyzed all kinds of benedictions available in this world, and he has clearly declared that for a pure devotee they are all of no significance. Dhruva Mahārāja was also a mahā-bhāgavata, or a first-class pure devotee, and his intelligence was very great ( mahā-matiḥ ). Unless one is very intelligent, one cannot take to devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Naturally, anyone who is a first-class devotee must be a first-class intelligent person and therefore not interested in any kind of benediction within this material world. Dhruva Mahārāja was offered a benediction by the king of the kings. Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods, whose only business is to supply immense riches to persons within this materialistic world, is described as the king of kings because unless one is blessed by Kuvera one cannot become a king. The king of kings personally offered Dhruva Mahārāja any amount of riches, but he declined to accept them. Therefore he is described here as mahā-matiḥ — very thoughtful, or highly intellectual.
FAQs
This verse says Dhruva chose acalitā smṛti—steady remembrance of Lord Hari—and that such remembrance enables one to cross the otherwise insurmountable darkness of ignorance.
Because Dhruva is described as a mahā-bhāgavata and mahāmati—an exalted devotee with higher spiritual intelligence—he valued devotion to Hari over temporary gains.
Build daily habits that keep the Lord in mind—japa, kīrtana, reading Bhagavatam, and offering work as service—so remembrance becomes steady and reduces the pull of ignorance and anxiety.