Skandapurana 4.20

The two gaṇas said:

Having departed from that forest, O twice-born, the son of Uttānapāda

reached the delightful, great Madhuvana on the bank of the Yamunā,

the primal, holy place of the Lord Harimedhas;

even a sinful creature, having reached it, surely becomes sinless.

Repeating [the name of] the supreme, untainted Brahman called Vāsudeva,

with eyes motionless in meditation, he saw the universe filled with him.

Hari was in all directions; Hari was in the rays of the sun;

Hari went through the forest in the forms of jackals, deer, lions, and the like.

In the water, the Lord Hari was present in the form of frogs, turtles, and so on;

Hari was in the stables of kings in the form of horses and the like.

He has infinite form in Pātāla, and in the sky he is named Ananta;

though one, he has attained infinitude through endless variations of form.

He who always dwells among the gods, and who indeed is the dwelling place of the gods,

he is Vāsudeva, because he shines everywhere through his pervasive presence.

Where this root viṣḷ, meaning 'pervasion', attains its full meaning,

those [qualities] are indeed in the name and true nature of Viṣṇu, whose character is to pervade all.

And because he governs all the sense faculties, the Supreme Lord

is renowned as Hṛṣīkeśa, he who is situated everywhere.

Since his devotees never fall away even when the great dissolution occurs,

he alone in the entire universe is the infallible, omnipresent, imperishable one.

He who maintained this moving and unmoving universe by his mere play,

by the abundance of his nature as its sustainer, is here the all-nourishing Viśvambhara.

His two eyes looked at nothing except the abode of Viṣṇu;

the lotus-eyed one was to be beheld, none other by his vow, hence [he looked nowhere else].

His two ears also became receptive to no other words

than 'Mukunda, Govinda, Dāmodara, Four-armed One!'

Except for the worship of Govinda's feet and actions pleasing to him,

his two hands, marked with conch and discus, performed no other work.

His mind contemplated the pair of feet of Hari, which are free from duality;

abandoning all other contemplation, it indeed attained unshakeable stillness.

His feet, having taken refuge in Viṣṇu, never wandered anywhere else

outside the courtyard of Nārāyaṇa as he performed vast austerity.

His speech was employed as an authority in describing the qualities of Govinda,

while he remained sitting silently, performing austerity of great essence.

Relishing the sweet nectar of the name of the beloved of Kamalā [Lakṣmī],

his tongue had no desire for any other taste.

Delighted by the lotus-fragrance of glorious Mukuṃda’s pair of feet,

his unhasty nose smelled no other scent.

Touching the two feet of the enemy of Madhu, the sense of touch

of that king’s son attained the joy of all tactile sensations.

Reaching Damodara, the supreme reality and the foundation of sensory objects like sound,

Dhruva’s senses were then fulfilled.

All the radiances of the moon, the sun, fire, and the stars

were eclipsed upon the rising of the sun of his austerity, which illuminated the three worlds.

Indra, Candra, Agni, Varuṇa, Samīraṇa [Vāyu], the lord of wealth [Kubera],

Yama, and the chief of the Nairṛtas became anxious about their own positions.

So too the other dwellers of heaven who ride in aerial chariots, headed by the Vasus,

were terrified of Dhruva, their anxieties increasing on account of their offices.

Wherever Dhruva planted his foot upon the surface of the earth,

there indeed the earth bent down, oppressed by his weight.

Ah, even the waters in contact with his limbs abandoned their sluggishness

and, flavorful and standing in place, flashed elsewhere out of fear of him!

Whatever radiances were scattered all around, endowed with the qualities of perfection,

all of them became guests to his eyes by the power of his austerity.

Ah, the touch of its own quality was constantly brought within range of his skin

by the wind, even though it stood in distant regions!

Even space, possessing the quality of sound, with an intention to worship Dhruva,

made the entire collection of sounds take refuge in his ear.

Worshiped daily even by the five elements,

he, whose mind was offered to Govinda, regarded only austerity as supreme.

Through meditation on the one whose chest is illuminated by the Kaustubha jewel and who wears yellow silk garments,

the prince beheld the universe as filled with light.

Indra was seized by an immense worry out of fear of his austerity:

“If he desires my position, Dhruva will certainly take it away.

The host of apsarases is able to restrain the restraints of self-controlled ascetics;

but that prevails over a youth. What can I do here regarding a child?

Desire and anger are my two helpers

in destroying the austerity of ascetics; they cannot prevail over this child Dhruva.

Indeed, only one means will prevail for me over the child:

I will send here a horde of spirits of terrifying form to frighten him.

Frightened by the spirits because of his childhood, he will certainly abandon his austerity.”

Having so resolved, Indra dispatched a horde of spirits.

One, whose whole body had the form of a bear, with a neck long like a camel’s

and with frightful teeth, rushed at the boy.

Another, tiger-faced, opening his hideous mouth,

with a body as tall as an elephant, approached roaring repeatedly.

Another, with hideous fangs, devouring raw flesh in haste,

rushed toward him in fury, seeming to threaten him upon seeing him.

Tearing high banks with the very sharp tips of his horns

and breaking the ground with his hooftips, a great bull roared at him.

Another, having become a serpent terrifying with the expansion of its hood

and its excessively darting double tongue, hissed near him, covered in blackness.

Another, shaped like a buffalo, hurling mountains from the tips of his horns,

striking the earth with his tail and snorting, reached him swiftly.

Another, having two thighs resembling date palm trees

scorched by a forest fire, a ghost with an open mouth, terrified him.

Another, brushing the clouds with the hairs on his head, tall and with a sunken belly,

with deep-set, tawny eyes, terrified him.

Holding a sword in his hand, with a broken mouth, holding a skull in his left hand,

emitting a fierce battle roar, another rushed at the child.

Taking a huge sāl tree, shouting with shrill cries,

someone approached him from all sides like Death wielding a staff. // 46

Bearing a vast tiger-like maw, an abode of gathering darkness,

fashioned like the cavern of the god of death, someone rushed towards him. // 47

Assuming the form of an owl, with most dreadful hootings

that caused the heart to tremble, someone terrified Dhruva. // 48

A certain yakṣiṇī, bringing the crying child of someone,

drank blood from its belly and devoured its bones like lotus stalks. // 49

“I am thirsty today, and I will drink your blood, O Dhruva,

just as that of this boy!” so she said while crunching the bones. // 50

Having brought grass and wood and scattered them all around,

a woman kindled a forest fire magnified by a gale. // 51

Assuming the form of a vetālī, shattering trees and mountains,

a woman blocked the path of the sky, making him tremble violently. // 52

Another, in the form of Sunīti, beholding him from afar,

wept, exceedingly afflicted with grief, beating her breast again and again, // 53

and uttered flattering words wrought with great illusion,

exhibiting an exceedingly intense maternal affection filled with compassion: // 54

“Alas, my child, death seeks to slay me, who have no refuge but you!

Save me, save me, whose life is departing, O you who are affectionate to those seeking refuge! // 55

From village to village, city to city, road to road, forest to forest,

hermitage to hermitage, mountain to mountain, I wander exhausted, desperate to see you. // 56

From the time, O child, that you set forth for austerity,

starting from that very day, I have set out in search of you. // 57

Just as you were pained, O child, by those harsh words of your co-wife [mother],

so too am I deeply burned by the fire of those words. // 58

I do not sleep, I do not wake, I do not eat, nor do I drink;

I meditate on you alone, like an ascetic woman separated [from her beloved]. // 59

With eyes impoverished of sleep, not even in a dream do I,

unfortunate as I am, behold your joyful face that brings me delight in every way. // 60

Though the moon, the substitute for your face, has risen, it has not been looked upon

by me, distressed and wishing to abandon my torment. // 61

Even the cuckoo, sounding a sweet note resembling your conversation,

has not been heard by me, whose ears are strewn with disheveled hair. // 62

Pleasant like the touch of your limbs, not even the breeze

has been embraced anywhere by me, scorched by grief, resting exceedingly. // 63

What lands, what rivers, and what mountains, O Dhruva,

have not been crossed on foot for your sake by me, a king's wife? // 64

Seeing all this to be impermanent, I have been blinded;

protect me, your nurse and mother, O son, by becoming a blind person's staff for me! // 65

Where are these tender limbs of yours, and where is this austerity?

It is harsh, to be accomplished by mature men with hardy limbs, O best of men! // 66

What is to be attained by you, sinless child, through this austerity

that is greater than being the son of the ruler of the earth? Tell me that now! // 67

At this age, O boy, you should be playing constantly

with children's toys together with other youngsters of the same age. // 68

Then, having attained the age of youth, constantly intent on contemplation,

you should become one who has mastered all the branches of knowledge. // 69

Then, having attained skillful youth, fulfilling the objects of the senses,

you will enjoy many pleasures: women, garlands, sandalwood paste, and the like. // 70

Having then fathered many virtuous sons devoted to righteousness,

having transferred your royal fortune to them, then perform austerity! // 71

Why this exertion in austerity just now in childhood?

When will the fire of dried cow-dung on the great toe reach the crown of the head? // 72

Austerity should be performed by someone defeated by enemies, robbed of honor,

or fallen from fortune; which of these are you? // 73

Hearing this speech, ‘Austerity should be performed by one robbed of honor,’ Dhruva,

sighing a long, hot sigh, again meditated upon Hari in his heart. // 74

Without replying to his mother, and abandoning all fear of beings,

Dhruva once again became intent on meditating upon Acyuta. // 75

And that host of spirits, adorned with many terrifying ornaments,

displaying terror, saw around him the Sudarśana discus,

flashing with intense radiance all around, resembling a solar halo,

and created by Adhokṣaja to protect him from evil spirits.

Beholding that Sudarśana discus flashing,

terrific, filled with garlands of flames, protecting Dhruva on all sides,

and [Dhruva] whose heart was utterly unshaken, his mind surrendered to Govinda,

rising up like a sprout of austerity that had broken through the earth,

that host, conversely filled with fear, bowed down to Dhruva,

who was steadfast in his resolve, and departed just as they had come, their purpose thwarted.

Just as a bank of roaring clouds gathered agitatedly in the sky

becomes scattered in vain upon meeting the slightest gust of wind, [so did they].

Then all the gods, frightened, together with Indra,

took counsel and swiftly went to Brahmā for refuge, O twice-born.

Having bowed down and praised the Grandfather,

and seeing an opportunity to speak when asked the reason for their coming,

The gods said:

“O Creator, by the radiant son of Uttānapāda

who is practicing austerities, all the dwellers of the three worlds are tormented.

O Father, we do not clearly know Dhruva's desire:

whose position among us does that boy of great austerity wish to seize?”

Thus addressed by the gods, the Four-Faced One smiled,

and then replied to all of them whose minds were frightened of Dhruva:

Brahmā said:

“O gods, you must not fear Dhruva, who seeks a permanent abode;

go, all of you, free from anxiety: he does not desire your position.

No one, anywhere, need ever fear that devotee of the Lord;

certainly those who are devotees of Viṣṇu never afflict others.

Having worshipped Viṣṇu, the Lord of gods, and obtained his own desire from him,

he will indeed make stable the positions of all of you as well.”

Having heard this speech uttered by Brahmā, the gods

bowed down and, greatly delighted, returned to their respective abodes.

Then the lord Nārāyaṇa, seeing that steadfast-minded boy

who had no other refuge, went on his chariot drawn by Garuḍa and spoke:

Glorious Viṣṇu said:

“I am pleased, O fortunate one of noble vows; choose a boon!

Desist from this austerity, O boy; you have been exhausted for a long time.”

Having heard that nectar of speech, opening both his eyes,

he beheld an expanse of radiance like sapphire gems,

as if heaven and earth were a lake blossoming all around

with clusters of freshly blooming blue lotuses,

and as if the whole universe were surveyed by the streams of glances of the goddess Lakṣmī;

Dhruva then saw that space between heaven and earth.

Resplendent like a streak of lightning in the midst of a rising bank of clouds,

Kṛṣṇa, clad in yellow garments, was received by him as a guest to his eyes.

As if the sky were a touchstone marked with a line of gold from Meru,

even so was the one whose vehicle is Garuḍa beheld then by Dhruva.

Just as the deep-blue sky is adorned by the moon,

even so he saw Hari then, adorned with yellow garments.