॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Friday, 4 November 2022 IV.10, IV.11 - Dhruva's fierce battle with the Yakshas to avenge Uttama's killing, and his grandfather's advice to cease hostilities.
***
Quite often, we read of the lives of saintly persons, full of inspiration for us lesser mortals. But in many such stories, some inexplicable chink or defect causes a distortion of personality that leads to a great deal of misery and chaos in their lives. This makes us wonder, "How come...?"
This is a similar story about Dhruva.
***
Dhruva the king married Prajapati Shishumara's daughter Bhrami and begot two sons Kalpa and Vatsara. He had another queen by the name of Ila, who was the daughter of Vayu. She begot a son for him by the name of Utkala and a daughter too.
Uttama, Dhruva's younger brother and son of Suruchi met his end while he was still young and unmarried. Once he went on a hunting trip to the Himalayas. There a Yaksha killed him. When her son did not return, a distressed Suruchi went in search of Uttama in the Himalayas. She was killed in a forest fire.
Sometime later, King Dhruva came to know the way his brother had died. He was extremely angry with the Yakshas (also called Guhyakas), a variation of rakshasas who are full of magical tricks. Their king was Kubera, a friend of Lord Shiva, and he was called the Treasurer Lord of wealth. Kubera had his capital named Alakapuri near Kailasa.
***
Dhruva took his weapons, climbed onto his great chariot and went to destroy the Yakshas.
As soon as he arrived near Alakapuri, after observing Shivaganas (ghosts and gargoyles) enroute, Dhruva sounded his conch as a terrific battle cry. This badly rattled the wives of the Yakshas.
The Yakshas at once came forth from their city with weapons and attacked Dhruva. Dhruva was a great charioteer and certainly a great archer also, and immediately began to kill them by simultaneously discharging three arrows at a time. The Yakshas were struck in their heads and realised Dhruva's might but fought back. The battle escalated. The strong Yaksha army attacked Dhruva and his charioteer with a variety of deadly weapons.
Vyasa the poet does not fail to describe the macabre beauty of the Yakshas who were wounded by Dhruva's arrows and looked like decorated trees and so on. Dhruva's arrows were powerful like Indra's thunderbolt.
The Yakshas also attacked so fiercely that Dhruva was covered with arrows like a mountain covered by rain clouds. The Siddhas in heaven lamented that he would be destroyed.
Dhruva suddenly emerged, looking unscathed. He began to shoot incessant arrows, shattering all Yaksha's different weapons, just as a storm wind scatters the assembled clouds in the sky.
After many Yakshas were destroyed, the remaining ones fled. Dhruva hesitated to enter Alakapuri, knowing that Yakshas could unleash magical tricks on him. (In Sanskrit a magical trick is called Yakshini.)
Just as Dhruva was stepping toward his chariot, a sudden deluge of filth and dead bodies and all kinds of disgusting stuff rained from the heavens. This was the Yakshas' way of responding to Dhruva. Dhruva also saw many big serpents with angry eyes, vomiting forth fire and coming to devour him, along with groups of mad elephants, lions and tigers. Then, as if it were the time of dissolution of the whole world, a fierce sea with foaming waves and great roaring sounds came toward him.
The assembled sages in the skies advised Dhruva not to lose heart but to remember that he had been blessed by Bhagavan Vishnu himself and therefore could yet find a fitting response.
Dhruva prayed and picked up Narayanastra itself. This infallible weapon immediately dispelled the illusionist attack from the skies and all around that the Yakshas had mounted. The Narayanastra was so named because it was manifested by the Sage Narayana (of Nara- Narayana). It unleashed several weapons simultaneously at the Yakshas and started decimating them.
Vyasa says that its effect on the battle was the same as what happens when a person becomes self-realised. All his material pains and pleasures are vanquished instantly!
***
Svayambhuva Manu was witnessing this battle launched by his grandson Dhruva. He now came to him.
He said:
नन्वेकस्यापराधेन प्रसङ्गाद् बहवो हता: । भ्रातुर्वधाभितप्तेन त्वयाङ्ग भ्रातृवत्सल ॥
नायं मार्गो हि साधूनां हृषीकेशानुवर्तिनाम् । यदात्मानं पराग्गृह्य पशुवद्भूतवैशसम् ॥
सर्वभूतात्मभावेन भूतावासं हरिं भवान् । आराध्याप दुराराध्यं विष्णोस्तत्परमं पदम् ॥
T: "My dear Dhruva, it is amply clear to me how dearly you love your brother and want to avenge his killing by one Yaksha. But you should not kill so many others who are innocent. One should not mistake this body as being everything for one is the pure Self and this body is only a transient covering. So killing like this is not correct, especially for one who is on the path of Bhakti to Lord Narayana. In fact, you have been blessed by the Lord Himself, and you should therefore set an example by your conduct. Your abominable action is unworthy of a true devotee who can attain liberation from worldly bondage by the Lord's grace."
"This entire creation is a play of Maya, and the way men and women reproduce themselves and build their lives is simply a part of this Leela. Creation, sustenance and dissolution are the phases that are controlled by the three Gunas."
सोऽनन्तोऽन्तकर: कालोऽनादिरादिकृदव्यय: । जनं जनेन जनयन्मारयन्मृत्युनान्तकम् ॥
T: "The eternal Lord is also Kala or Time, which brings an end to everything. He makes people reproduce as well as kill each other in battle. The dispenser of Death is Himself birthless, deathless and actionless."
"The Lord is equal to all, neither anyone's ally nor enemy. Time ensures that everyone reaps pleasure and pain through their Karma. People's longevity is also a play of Karma (which is why Uttama died an untimely death)."
"None can understand fully why the Lord does what He does and what one goes through in life. The Yakshas, dear Dhruva, are ruled by the good Kubera. Know that it was not they who killed Uttama but Kala."
तमेव मृत्युममृतं तात दैवं सर्वात्मनोपेहि जगत्परायणम् ।
यस्मै बलिं विश्वसृजो हरन्ति गावो यथा वै नसि दामयन्त्रिता: ॥
T: "My dear boy, surrender totally to Him who is the ultimate goal in this world, under whose direction, from Brahma downwards, all the gods act, just as a bull moves being led with the nose-rope by his owner."
"When you were just five years old, you were grievously afflicted by the words of your stepmother, and boldly went to the forest for Tapas to realise the Lord. You succeeded and achieved the highest-ever position in the three worlds, of the Dhruva Kshiti. Therefore what is left for you is only to engage in total devotion to the Lord. You will then realise that all material differentiation in this world is merely a flickering unreality. Thus you will overcome feelings of "I" and "Mine"."
"My words are like medicine for your present incensed condition. Never yield to anger. It is the worst enemy on the path to realisation. Anger also makes others dread a person."
"By killing so many Yakshas in revenge, you have greatly upset Kubera, a close friend of Lord Shiva. You have thus committed an offence against Kubera and Lord Shiva. You should therefore immediately pray to Kubera and seek his forgiveness so that no further calamity befalls your family."
After giving this advice to Dhruva, Svayambhuva Manu received his obeisances and left, along with all the other great sages.
***
