Dhruva: Epic Characters of Puranas

By Dr. A.S. Venugopal

Dhruva, a bright star right in the middle of a large constellation (Dhruva mandala), was a great devotee of Lord Narayana at the tender age of five. Son of King Uttanapada and Queen Suneethi, he left home and went to the forest in search of the Lord after his step-mother forbade him from sitting on his father's lap and told him to make himself worthy of his father's love. Narada met him on the way and tried to persuade the child to return home but Dhruva was bent upon achieving what his father and grandfather had not. He performed very severe penance and meditated on the Dwadashakshara  manthra into which Narada had initiated him. The young devotee not only got the Lord's darshan but also experienced His presence within himself. After this, the Lord granted him immortal status but not until he had performed his duties  to his kingdom and his people. Dhruva went on to becoming the emperor after his father became too old for state duties. He avenged the death of his brother at the hands of a Yaksha by killing thousands of yakshas. Only his grandfather, Swayambhu Manu, was able to convince him to stop the bloodshed. This pleased Kubera as Dhruva had renounced anger and hatred. By and by,Dhruva handed over the reins of his kingdom to his son and sat in deep meditation of Lord SriHari.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana
• Release date: May 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9789389020519

Book preview

EPIC CHARACTERS OF PURĀNAS

Dhruva

Written by

Dr. A.S. Venugopal

Kannada writer and retired professor,

Kamala Nehru College, Shimoga

Translated by

Prof. G. S. Mudambadithaya

© Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana, Bengaluru. All rights reserved.

Published by:

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C/o. Bharatha Darshana,

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ll Sri Ranga Sadguruve Namah ll

We joyfully invoke the blessings of the Lord, Purana Purusha to the sacred fourth blossom of Sri Bharatha Darsana and Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana.

The two pioneer publishing organizations have so far brought out the Epic Characters of the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha and the ten Great Maharshis the makers our immortal culture, in the form of ten small books each with the sole object of introducing our young boys and girls to veritable storehouse of Indian cultural heritage and by doing so the publishers have endeared themselves to the reading public. Now they have taken up the laudable task of introducing great characters from another branch of literature relating to our culture, called the Puranas.

A purana is a form of literature which delineates vedic principles in the form of history, stories, examples, plays and images, in a simple but interesting style so that even common men can understand and enjoy them. The principles are not presented in a mandatory form, but in a simple form just like the advice given by a friend and that is why it is called Mithrasammitha. Great men are of the opinion that a thorough knowledge of the Puranas is essential to explain the meaning of the Vedas. Ithihasa puranabhyam. Vedam samupa Brhmayeth ॥

The puranic literature besides telling us about the original creation, the later subsidiary creation, family history, it also describes the evolution of our great culture.

We get references to puranas in the vedas. We also see parts of some of these puranas in the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha. Though they were written at different times, they were collected and edited by sage Vedavyasa and this collected work come to be called Purana Samhita. There are eighteen puranas and the same number of upapuranas. The Purana literature is as wide