The pastime of Dhruva Mahārāja is well-known and is a great source of inspiration for all devotees. As Srila Prabhupāda explains in his purport to text eight:
"The incidents in the life of Dhruva Mahārāja are very attractive for devotees. From his pious actions, one can learn how one can detach himself from material possessions and how one can enhance one’s devotional service by severe austerities and penances. By hearing the activities of pious Dhruva, one can enhance one’s faith in God and can directly connect with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus one can very soon be elevated to the transcendental platform of devotional service. The example of Dhruva Mahārāja’s austerities can immediately generate a feeling of devotional service in the hearts of the hearers."
Mahārāja Uttānapāda had two queens, Sunīti (the older queen, mother of Dhruva) and Suruci (the mother of Uttama, the younger son). The rule when a man has more than one wife is that he must treat all equally since any special preference will lead to envy and dissatisfaction, which can create havoc. Unfortunately, although highly qualified, Uttānapāda developed a special preference for Sunīti, who used this to her advantage, planning to deprive Dhruva of his right to the throne in favor of her son. Once, when Dhruva was trying to get up into the lap of his father, she spoke very enviously towards him, although he was at the time a small child, only five years old.
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