Mysteries of the Vedas (Caitanya Chandra Dasa)
Mysteries of the Vedas
The descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja (Srimad Bhagavatam #55)
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The descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja (Srimad Bhagavatam #55)

Vidura asks about the descendants of Dhruva Maharaja, leading to the description of his dynasty, up to the Pracetas, leading to the other pastimes described in the 5th canto.

The Pracetās are descendants of Dhruva Maharaja, who lived later. The younger son of Dhruva, Vatsara, is the origin of a dynasty of great kings, which includes Aṅga, Pṛthu, and Prācīnabarhi, the father of the Pracetās. Nārada Muni witnessed the activities of his disciple and later described them to the Pracetās, glorifying their grand-grandfather. The words "ślokān satre ’gāyat pracetasām" in text 4.12.40 indicate the future, that Narada Muni spoke verses glorifying Dhruva to the Pracetās after he ascended to Dhruvaloka, but it does not mean it happened immediately. This is similar to the usage of the past perfect in English. Dhruva went to Dhruvaloka, and after an unspecified period, Narada visited the Pracetās. Both events happened long ago, in the first manvantara. "After observing the glories of Dhruva Mahārāja, the great sage Nārada, playing his vīṇā, went to the sacrificial arena of the Pracetās and very happily chanted the following three verses."

At the beginning of chapter 4.13, Vidura asks about the descendants of Dhruva Maharaja, leading to the description of his dynasty, up to the Pracetas, leading to the other pastimes described in the 5th canto. Daksa, in his second birth, appears as their son. However, because Daksa doesn't have any descendants until the sixth Manvantara, the dynasty is broken, leading Priyavrata (the other son of Svāyambhuva Manu to assume the throne and start a new dynasty, which is described in the 5th canto.

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