Sridharāya namah

The citizens praised the Queen Suneeti, “O queen, from a long time your son was not to be seen. Due to God’s grace he has returned. It is truly great fortune. He will alleviate all our sufferings. He will safeguard earth.

Abhyarcitas tvayā nūnaṁ bhagavān praṇatārti-hā

Yad-anudhyāyino dhīrā mṛtyuṁ jigyuḥ sudurjayam

You sincerely worshipped the Lord who dispels the distress of those who have surrendered to Him. This is undoubtedly true. Devotees who are eternally devoted towards His worship conquer even death, which otherwise is impossible to conquer”.

In various ways the citizens praised Dhruva. Hearing these wonderful praises King Uttānapāda was overjoyed. He had Dhruva and his brother Uttama seated on an elephant and then the procession returned to the city. Citizens also glorified their King.

The city was decorated with many crocodile-shaped doorways. Each of these doorways was decorated with banana plants laden with bunches of ripe bananas and areca palm trees laden with areca nuts.

Burning lamps placed in huge water pots were positioned at each gate. These water pots were decorated with tender mango leaves, flower garlands and pearl chains.

The entire city was enclosed by boundary walls. There were many gate towers. Huge domes decorated these towers. There were many palaces within the city. All the domes of the palaces glittered like domes of airplanes.

The citizens cleaned all pathways, main roads as well as the streets and sprinkled them with sandalwood water. They arranged auspicious items such as fried grain, fruits, akshata, rice, flowers. As Dhruva passed by, married women greeted him by singing melodious welcoming songs and showered motherly love upon him. They blessed him profusely with many auspicious items such as curd, white gingely, akshata (colored rice), water, tender grass, fruits and flowers. While listening to these melodious songs, Dhruva entered his father’s palace.

That palace was made up of many precious gems and stones. Enjoying his father’s love and affection, Dhruva lived in that palace just as Devatas live in heaven. The place had beds made of ivory which were white like milk cream. All vessels and plates were made of gold. Costly, valuable furniture could be seen throughout the palace.

The walls of that palace were made of marble and were engraved with many carvings made of sapphire. Many oil lamps were burning on these walls. In the inner apartments of the palace, ladies moved about wearing costly jewellery that glittered brightly.

The gardens attached to this palace were replete with many fragrant, auspicious trees which brought joy to the mind. Bird-couples seated on the many branches of this garden chirped melodiously. Bees that were intoxicated due to drinking excessive nectar moved about buzzing melodiously.

The steps leading to the ponds and wells were made of marbles, emeralds and precious stones. These ponds were decorated with many black lilies, white lilies and lotuses. Flocks of swans, cranes and birds such as kārandavās, jakkava, rāyanca could be seen throughout the lakes. They flew about freely everywhere.

King Uttānapāda, who was of a saintly nature, had previously heard from Maharishi Narada the supreme accomplishment of his son Dhruva. He could now see directly the magnanimity of that accomplishment. It left him wonder-struck.

Time passed and Dhruva entered into his youth. The ministers and the elderly members of the country thought it appropriate for him to be crowned the King. Uttānapāda also realized that the citizens loved him dearly. He therefore crowned Dhruva as the king.

Uttānapāda had attained dispassion. Being old he now wanted to spend time in contemplating about the Self. Accepting vanaprastha ashrama, he left for the forests.

With this the ninth chapter of the fourth canto comes to an end.

Fourth Canto Chapter Ten

Dhruva’s marriage, the death of his brother Uttama and infuriated Dhruva fighting with the Yakshas who killed his brother, are covered in this chapter.

Maitreya Maharishi continued the story of Dhruva, “Śiśumāra Prajāpati had a daughter named Bhrami. Dhruva married Bhrami. This couple had two sons named Kalpa and Vatsara.

Dhruva was a very powerful emperor. He also married Ila, the daughter of wind. Through her he begot a son named Utkala and a very beautiful daughter who was also very virtuous.

His younger brother Uttama however was unmarried. One day he went hunting into the deep Himalayas. There while fighting a powerful Yaksha, he died. His mother Suruci, who was deeply attached to her son, went searching for him into the forests. She was caught in a terrible forest fire and she died.

This happened exactly as Sri Mahavishnu had earlier prophesized.

When Dhruva came to know that his brother Uttama had been killed by a Yaksha he was overwhelmed with grief. His fury knew no bounds. Immediately he mounted his chariot and set out for Alakāpuri, the abode of Yakshas.

This city is located in the northern direction. Attendants of Rudra wander about in these places. Dhruva travelled in that direction and reached a vast field located amidst the huge Himalayan valleys. From there he spotted Alakāpuri, the city of Yakshas.

Instantly Dhruva blew his conch so loudly that it reverberated in all directions.

Sridharāya namah