Dhruva and Parashara are familiar entities. But why does Vallabhacharya mention these two names specifically in the fourth verse of the Shree Yamunashtakam? Do they have something in common? Let’s read the details of their stories and find out…
Dhruva
We know the story of Dhruva. King Uttanapada has two wives Suniti and Suruchi. Dhruva and Uttama are the sons of Suniti and Suruchi respectively. But Uttanapada favours Suruchi, his junior wife.
One day, Dhruva wishes to sit on his father’s lap. But Suruchi says, “Stop right there O Dhruva. Only my son Uttama has the right to sit on his father’s lap because I am the king’s favourite wife.” Dhruva feels deeply hurt when he hears Suruchi’s words. He knows he is the rightful heir to the throne. Yet he respectfully says, “O mother, kindly tell me where my rightful place is.” Suruchi knows the king will surely crown Uttama as the king instead of Dhruva. So she sneers at Dhruva and says, “Why don’t you go and ask God about it? He will have the answers to all your silly questions.”
So Dhruva goes to the forest to perform severe austerities and get the answer to the question that sears through his soul. He is determined to become the ruler of a kingdom that is vaster than his father’s. That is when sage Narada appears before him and asks him to meditate on the mantra, ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’. Dhruva follows his advice and soon is deeply engrossed in his penance.
When Lord Vishnu finally appears before Dhruva He says, “Ask for any boon Dhruva and it is yours.” Dhruva had been waiting for this moment for several years now. He had given up all the comforts of his life because he had a dream to fulfil.
But Dhruva has forgotten everything about his past by now. He realizes that he cannot utter even a single word though his Ishta Devata was before him. Vishnu understands Dhruva’s predicament. So He touches Dhruva’s right cheek with his conch. And the very next instant Dhruva extols the virtues of Vishnu through some splendid verses (Dhruva Stuti) that he creates spontaneously.
Dhruva says, “O Lord, I don’t remember the reason for doing this penance anymore. But I know one thing for sure. I wish to spend the rest of my life only singing hymns in your praise.” Vishnu says, “O Dhruva, you have renounced all your worldly desires at such a young age. So you deserve the most revered seat of all. You will reside as a celestial body in the seat of the Pole star. And you will remain untouched even by the Maha Pralaya when there is a complete dissolution of the entire cosmos. But you will have to live through your mortal life first.”
Dhruva knows he has no choice. He has to follow lord Vishnu’s path after all. So he goes back to his kingdom. Uttanapada crowns Dhruva as the king. Dhruva rules over his kingdom wisely for several years after which He becomes the Dhruvatara, the immovable star which symbolises stillness.
Parashara
We know the second half of rishi Parashar’s story – in which rishi Parashar and Satyavati sire a son called Krishna Dvaipayana in the middle of an island – and also that it is Krishna Dvaipayana ( a.k.a Vyasa) who composed the Vedas. But we get the details on rishi Parashara’s early life from the Mahabharata (and other religious texts).
Rishi Vasishtha and Arundhati have 100 sons. One of them is a rishi named Sakti. One day, Kalmashapada, a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty (Lord Rama’s ancestor) goes hunting in a forest. He meets rishi Sakti on a narrow path. As a Kshatriya, Kalmashapada has to make way for rishi Sakti, who is a Brahmin. But Kalmashapada arrogantly asks the rishi to move out of his way. When rishi Sakti insists that Kalmashapada make way for him first, Kalmashapada loses his temper and whips him. So rishi Sakti curses Kalmashapada saying, “O proud king, I curse you. You will live the life of a nomad in forests for 12 years.”
When Vishwamitra (the arch-enemy of Vashishtha) gets this news, he sends a Rakshasa called Kinkara to possess Kalmashapada’s body because he wants to destroy all the sons of Vashishtha. So, Kalmashapada, under the influence of the Rakshasa Kinkara, devours all the sons of Vashishtha to fulfil Vishwamitra’s wishes.
Vashishtha is grief-struck when he hears the news. He is unable to bear the loss of all his sons. So he leaves his ashram and tries to commit suicide. But fails. Crestfallen, he returns to his ashram, only to hear Vedic chants coming from the womb of Adrsyanti, rishi Sakti’s wife. Within a short span of time, Adrsyanti gives birth to a son called Parashara.
Vashishtha names the child Parashara because Parashara means ‘giving life to someone who is about to end it.’ 12 years later, when Vashishtha meets Kalmashapada, he frees the king from rishi Sakti’s curse and rids his body of the rakshasa, Kinkara.
But when Parashara grows up into a young man and learns about his father’s untimely and violent death, anger overwhelms him. He performs a yagna with the sole intention of destroying all the rakshasas. Hundreds of rakshasas are reduced to ashes in no time in his yagna.
That is when his grandfather Vashishtha, a pragmatic soul counsels him and says, “Enough, my son. Your father died because he was destined to die. Wise men never succumb to anger. Only passionate fools become angry.
No one kills anyone. Every man reaps the consequences of his own actions. Anger wreaks havoc in several lives. And destroys all the merit you have earned through your noble actions and austerities. Anger prevents you from attaining Moksha too. So shed your anger and focus on loftier goals. For you are a learned man and have more fruitful things to do with your life.” Rishi Parashar calms down when he hears the wise counsel of his grandfather and decides not to go ahead with his yagna.
Dhruva, Parashara and Yamunaji
We can make the connection immediately now. Both Dhruva and Parashara were deeply affected by the unfair treatment of others, had to live through their lives without getting the affection of their fathers and yearn to set things right in their lives by seeking divine help. Eventually, things don’t work out the way they want it to in their lives either. But they get something that is extremely precious – the most special blessings from Lord Vishnu and Vashishtha.
Like Dhruva and Parashara, let’s learn to conquer our anger and channelize it in the right direction, for even righteous anger is harmful. Life is usually unfair. For all of us. But we do not have the ability to set things right in anyone else’s life – let alone ours. For all said and done, we all have to live through the karma that we have accrued in our lives.
So like Dhruva and Parashara, let’s seek refuge in a higher force. And listen to the counsel of our seniors. Because, more often than not, they know what they are saying and have our best interests at heart.
Perhaps that is why Vallabhacharya specifically mentions Dhruva and Parashara in the Shree Yamunashtakam and urges us to chant it with utmost faith. Because he too knows that Yamunaji alone can help us detach ourselves from our petty worldly issues, dispel the clouds of our illusion and lead us towards Krishna.
First photo given by Shri. Krishna Akhileshji
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