26. The great sage Maitreya said: After being worshiped and honored by the boy, Dhruva Maharaja, and after offering him His abode, Lord Visnu, on the back of Garuda, returned to His abode, as Dhruva Maharaja looked on.
27. Despite having achieved the desired result of his determination by worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord, Dhruva Maharaja was not very pleased. Thus he returned to his home.
28. Sri Vidura inquired: My dear brahmana, the abode of the Lord is very difficult to attain. It can be attained only by pure devotional service, which alone pleases the most affectionate, merciful Lord. Dhruva Maharaja achieved this position even in one life, and he was very wise and conscientious. Why, then, was he not very pleased?
29. Maitreya answered: Dhruva Maharaja’s heart, which was pierced by the arrows of the harsh words of his stepmother, was greatly aggrieved, and thus when he fixed upon his goal of life he did not forget her misbehavior. He did not demand actual liberation from this material world, but at the end of his devotional service, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before him, he was simply ashamed of the material demands he had in his mind.
30. Dhruva Maharaja thought to himself: To endeavor to be situated in the shade of the lotus feet of the Lord is not an ordinary task because even the great brahmacaris headed by Sanandana, who practiced astanga-yoga in trance, attained the shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet only after many, many births. Within six months I achieved the same result, yet due to my thinking differently from the Lord, I fell down from my position.
31. Alas, just look at me! I am so unfortunate. I approached the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can immediately cut the chain of the repetition of birth and death, but still, out of my foolishness, I prayed for things which are perishable.
32. Since all the demigods who are situated in the higher planetary system will have to come down again, they are all envious of my being elevated to Vaikunthaloka by devotional service. These intolerant demigods have dissipated my intelligence, and only for this reason could I not accept the genuine benediction of the instructions of Sage Narada.
33. Dhruva Maharaja lamented: I was under the influence of the illusory energy; being ignorant of the actual facts, I was sleeping on her lap. Under a vision of duality, I saw my brother as my enemy, and falsely I lamented within my heart, thinking, “They are my enemies.”
34. It is very difficult to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in my case, although I have satisfied the Supersoul of the whole universe, I have prayed only for useless things. My activities were exactly like treatment given to a person who is already dead. Just see how unfortunate I am, for in spite of meeting the Supreme Lord, who can cut one’s link with birth and death, I have prayed for the same conditions again.
35. Because of my state of complete foolishness and paucity of pious activities, although the Lord offered me His personal service, I wanted material name, fame and prosperity. My case is just like that of the poor man who, when he satisfied a great emperor who wanted to give him anything he might ask, out of ignorance asked only a few broken grains of husked rice.
36. The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, persons like you, who are pure devotees of the lotus feet of Mukunda [the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can offer liberation] and who are always attached to the honey of His lotus feet, are always satisfied in serving at the lotus feet of the Lord. In any condition of life, such persons remain satisfied, and thus they never ask the Lord for material prosperity.
37. When King Uttanapada heard that his son Dhruva was coming back home, as if coming back to life after death, he could not put his faith in this message, for he was doubtful of how it could happen. He considered himself the most wretched, and therefore he thought that it was not possible for him to attain such good fortune.
38. Although he could not believe the words of the messenger, he had full faith in the word of the great sage Narada. Thus he was greatly overwhelmed by the news, and he immediately offered the messenger a highly valuable necklace in great satisfaction.
39-40. Then King Uttanapada, being very eager to see the face of his lost son, mounted a chariot drawn by excellent horses and bedecked with golden filigree. Taking with him many learned brahmanas, all the elderly personalities of his family, his officers, his ministers and his immediate friends, he immediately left the city. As he proceeded in this parade, there were auspicious sounds of conchshells, kettledrums, flutes, and the chanting of Vedic mantras to indicate all good fortune.
41. Both the queens of King Uttanapada, namely Suniti and Suruci, along with his other son, Uttama, appeared in the procession. The queens were seated on a palanquin.
42-43. Upon seeing Dhruva Maharaja approaching the neighboring small forest, King Uttanapada with great haste got down from his chariot. He had been very anxious for a long time to see his son Dhruva, and therefore with great love and affection he went forward to embrace his long-lost boy. Breathing very heavily, the King embraced him with both arms. But Dhruva Maharaja was not the same as before; he was completely sanctified by spiritual advancement due to having been touched by the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
44. Reunion with Dhruva Maharaja fulfilled King Uttanapada’s long-cherished desire, and for this reason he smelled Dhruva’s head again and again and bathed him with torrents of very cold tears.
45. Then Dhruva Maharaja, the foremost of all nobles, first of all offered his obeisances at the feet of his father and was honored by his father with various questions. He then bowed his head at the feet of his two mothers.
46. Suruci, the younger mother of Dhruva Maharaja, seeing that the innocent boy had fallen at her feet, immediately picked him up, embracing him with her hands, and with tears of feeling she blessed him with the words, “My dear boy, long may you live!”
47. Unto one who has transcendental qualities due to friendly behavior with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all living entities offer honor, just as water automatically flows down by nature.
48. The two brothers Uttama and Dhruva Maharaja also exchanged their tears. They were overwhelmed by the ecstasy of love and affection, and when they embraced one another, the hair on their bodies stood up.
49. Suniti, the real mother of Dhruva Maharaja, embraced the tender body of her son, who was dearer to her than her own life, and thus forgot all material grief, for she was very pleased.
50. My dear Vidura, Suniti was the mother of a great hero. Her tears, together with the milk flowing from her breasts, wet the whole body of Dhruva Maharaja. This was a great, auspicious sign.
51. The residents of the palace praised the Queen: Dear Queen, your beloved son was lost a long time ago, and it is your great fortune that he now has come back. It appears, therefore, that your son will be able to protect you for a very long time and will put an end to all your material pangs.
52. Dear Queen, you must have worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who delivers His devotees from the greatest danger. Persons who constantly meditate upon Him surpass the course of birth and death. This perfection is very difficult to achieve.
53. The sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when everyone was thus praising Dhruva Maharaja, the King was very happy, and he had Dhruva and his brother seated on the back of a she-elephant. Thus he returned to his capital, where he was praised by all classes of men.
54. The whole city was decorated with columns of banana trees containing bunches of fruits and flowers, and betel nut trees with leaves and branches were seen here and there. There were also many gates set up which were structured to give the appearance of sharks.
55. At each and every gate there were burning lamps and big waterpots decorated with differently colored cloth, strings of pearls, flower garlands and hanging mango leaves.
56. In the capital city there were many palaces, city gates and surrounding walls, which were already very, very beautiful, and on this occasion all of them were decorated with golden ornaments. The domes of the city palaces glittered, as did the domes of the beautiful airplanes which hovered over the city.
57. All the quadrangles, lanes and streets in the city, and the raised sitting places at the crossings, were thoroughly cleansed and sprinkled with sandalwood water; and auspicious grains such as rice and barley, and flowers, fruits and many other auspicious presentations were scattered all over the city.
58-59. Thus as Dhruva Maharaja passed on the road, from every place in the neighborhood all the gentle household ladies assembled to see him, and out of maternal affection they offered their blessings, showering him with white mustard seed, barley, curd, water, newly grown grass, fruits and flowers. In this way Dhruva Maharaja, while hearing the pleasing songs sung by the ladies, entered the palace of his father.
60. Dhruva Maharaja thereafter lived in his father’s palace, which had walls bedecked with highly valuable jewels. His affectionate father took particular care of him, and he dwelled in that house just as the demigods live in their palaces in the higher planetary systems.
61. The bedding in the palace was as white as the foam of milk and was very soft. The bedsteads were made of ivory with embellishments of gold, and the chairs, benches and other sitting places and furniture were made of gold.
62. The palace of the King was surrounded by walls made of marble with many engravings made of valuable jewels like sapphires, which depicted beautiful women with shining jewel lamps in their hands.
63. The King’s residence was surrounded by gardens wherein there were varieties of trees brought from the heavenly planets. In those trees there were pairs of sweetly singing birds and almost-mad bumblebees, which made a very relishable buzzing sound.
64. There were emerald staircases which led to lakes full of variously colored lotus flowers and lilies, and swans, karandavas, cakravakas, cranes and similar other valuable birds were visible in those lakes.
65. The saintly King Uttanapada, hearing of the glorious deeds of Dhruva Maharaja and personally seeing also how influential and great he was, felt very satisfied, for Dhruva’s activities were wonderful to the supreme degree.
66. When, after concentration, King Uttanapada saw that Dhruva Maharaja was suitably mature to take charge of the kingdom and that his ministers were agreeable and the citizens were also very fond of him, he enthroned Dhruva as emperor of this planet.
67. After considering his advanced age and deliberating on the welfare of his spiritual self, King Uttanapada detached himself from worldly affairs and entered the forest.Shreemad Bhagavatam
