Shloka 30
Dhruva’s Benediction from Kuvera and His Ascension to Viṣṇuloka
Dhruvaloka
तदोत्तानपद: पुत्रो ददर्शान्तकमागतम् । मृत्योर्मूर्ध्नि पदं दत्त्वा आरुरोहाद्भुतं गृहम् ॥ ३० ॥
tadottānapadaḥ putro dadarśāntakam āgatam mṛtyor mūrdhni padaṁ dattvā ārurohādbhutaṁ gṛham
تب اُتّانپاد کے بیٹے دھرو نے موت کے مجسم، اَنتک کو قریب آتے دیکھا۔ موت کی پروا نہ کرتے ہوئے اُس نے اس کے سر پر قدم رکھا اور گھر جتنا بڑا الٰہی وِمان پر سوار ہو گیا۔
To take the passing away of a devotee and the passing away of a nondevotee as one and the same is completely misleading. While ascending the transcendental airplane, Dhruva Mahārāja suddenly saw death personified before him, but he was not afraid. Instead of death’s giving him trouble, Dhruva Mahārāja took advantage of death’s presence and put his feet on the head of death. People with a poor fund of knowledge do not know the difference between the death of a devotee and the death of a nondevotee. In this connection, an example can be given: A cat carries its kittens in its mouth, and it also catches a rat in its mouth. Superficially, the catching of the rat and the kitten appear to be one and the same, but actually they are not. When the cat catches the rat in its mouth it means death for the rat, whereas when the cat catches the kitten, the kitten enjoys it. When Dhruva Mahārāja boarded the airplane, he took advantage of the arrival of death personified, who came to offer him obeisances; putting his feet on the head of death, he got up on the unique airplane, which is described here to be as big as a house ( gṛham ).
FAQs
This verse shows Dhruva, empowered by pure devotion, treating Death as subordinate—symbolically placing his foot on Death’s head and ascending to a divine abode.
In the narrative, Death personified approaches, but Dhruva—protected by the Lord’s grace—passes beyond mortality, demonstrating the supremacy of devotional attainment over material fear.
By cultivating steady devotion and remembrance of God, one develops inner fearlessness and clarity, facing inevitable change and mortality with spiritual confidence.