God's Child | Mythological Stories | Dhurva & Markandeya Story | Magicbox Storiess

Long ago, there was a king called Uttamapada. He had two wives, Suniti and Suruchi. Suniti had a son called Dhruva, while Suruchi's son was called Uttama. Suruchi was the younger wife, full of charms. The king was therefore very much enamoured of her and always lived in her palace. He never visited Suniti's palace even once. One day, when Dhruva reached the palace, Uttama was sitting on his father's lap, singing something and mischievously laughing. Uttamapada was holding him tightly to his heart and saying endearing words. Dhruva rushed forward opening his arms wide to embrace his father and get on his lap. But Suruchi was on the watch. She pulled Dhruva by the shoulder and asked, Where are you going, Dhruva? Dhruva tried to wriggle himself out of her hold, but he could not. He replied, I want to sit on father's lap. Listen you brat, you are not my son and therefore you are not fit to sit in the king's lap, which is reserved for my son only. Pray to the lord that in your next birth you will be born to me, only then will you be able to sit in the king's lap. Hurt by her cruel words, Dhruva looked at his father with tearful eyes. But the king did not say a word for fear of earning displeasure of his favourite wife. Now get lost from here. Sobbing aloud, he turned back and ran to his mother. Suniti saw him from a distance and came out anxiously for Dhruva was a very good boy and he never wept for trifles. She held him close to her heart What happened my boy? Did anyone say anything to you? Have you been hurt? When consoled by his mother, Dhruva's grief increased. Why is my father so unloving mother? Everybody loves his own children. Why does my father neglect me? Mother, tell me, is there no way to gain my father's love? Can no one help at all? My dear, there is only one who helps all helpless people in the world. He is the Lord Narayana. If you can get a vision of the Lord, all your troubles will be at an end. Mother, where is this Lord Narayana? How can I meet him? Will he listen to me? Or will he show me what his father does? No my boy, he will never do like that. He will be very kind and considerate. And will grant you all that you ask. Dhruva then and there made up his mind to go in search of the Lord, and begged his mother very hard to allow him to do so. Poor Sunithi, with lot of hesitation, she removed the princely dress of Dhruva, and dressed him in clothes made of the bark of trees. My darling, leave the kingdom and go into the forest. Chant the Lord's name with all your mind. The Lord dearly loves those who love him. Forget everything else, and remember only him. Then, he will appear before you, and give you what all you desire. May God be with you, and protect you always. She embraced her son with tearful eyes, and bade him farewell. Dhruva bowed to her, and left for the forests. As Dhruva left the kingdom behind, and was slowly walking towards the forest, Narada accosted him and asked. Son, who are you? Why are you wearing clothes made of tree bark? The kingdom is behind you, and the path you are walking now, will only lead you to the forest. Don't you know that there will be fierce animals in the jungles? Come, I will take you back to your parents. Dhruva bowed at the feet of the sage, with great devotion, and told him. Oh Mahatma, I will do tapas in the forest, until Lord Narayana gives me a vision, and my father's love. My dear boy, is it only a man's love that you are in need of? Think of your mother. How lonely and forlorn she must be feeling. Go back to her. She will be most happy to see you. Don't go to the forest. Even grown-ups can't live there. It is not easy to do tapas. I am not afraid of the forest. My mother told me, that no harm will come to a person, who relies on the Lord. Of what use is the love of others to me, Oh Maharishi? If my own father scorns me, my mother herself, is very much neglected by my father. If I gain my father's love, she will also benefit by it. Seeing Dhruva thus firm in his purpose, Narada was very happy. He blessed the boy, and said, Dhruva, Verily, Lord Narayana himself is inspiring you. You go straight along this road, till you reach the sacred river Yamuna. On her banks is the forest called Madhuvana, which is very suitable for tapas. Take a bath in the river, and worship the Lord sitting under a tree in the forest. He then drew the boy near him, and whispered the Narayana mantra in his ears. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. As he heard the mantra, there was a thrill in Dhruva. Oh Dhruva, drive the thoughts of your parents, of your father's neglect, your aunt's cruelty, and your mother's sorrow. Concentrate on the Lord alone. He will surely appear before you soon. Dhruva respectfully prostrated before the sage, and went towards the Yamuna river. In Madhuvana, Dhruva carried on severe austerities. He gave up food, and immersed himself in japa throughout the day. In the first month, he ate one or two fruits once in three days. In the second month, he ate only a few leaves once in six days. In the third month, he drank a little water once in nine days. In the fourth month, he opened his mouth once in twelve days, and swallowed only a little air. In the fifth month, he stopped even that, and stood on one foot, and continued japa with all his mind set on Lord Narayana. Such a terrible austerity on so small a child, moved the three worlds. The intensity of the tapas, created such a heat, that even the gods in heaven, could not withstand it. They all went in a deputation to Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha, and said, O Lord, we are being burnt up by the intensity of Dhruva's tapas. Please rescue us from it. Yes, I know. Dhruva's tapas has reached the culmination. I will give him a vision now. So saying, he got up. Seated upon the eagle chariot, Sri Vishnu flew faster than the wind, and reached Madhuvana in no time. Dhruva was standing on one foot, with eyes closed, and doing japa intensely. Lord Narayana stood before Dhruva, and called aloud. My child Dhruva, I am very much pleased with your tapas. I give you whatever you pray for. Open your eyes, and see me. O great God, excuse me if I don't obey your orders immediately. During these five months, I heard such voices many times, and thinking that you have come, I opened my eyes, but I found that it was only a trick of my mind. My mother said that you are everywhere, within and without of all beings. If you have really come, please appear before my mind, so that I can be sure that you have really come. The Lord smiled at Dhruva's words, and he appeared before his mind's eye. In his effulgent form, Dhruva hastily opened his eyes. In front of him was the Lord's form, same as that which appeared in his mind. Dhruva hurriedly prostrated to Sri Mahadishnu. He wanted to praise the Lord, but as he was only a small boy, he did not know what to speak. Knowing his predicament, Sri Mahadishnu touched him with his conch shell, and Dhruva suddenly found that words were flowing out of him. O Madhava, Mukunda, Govinda, Narayana, even the creator with his four faces, cannot describe your glory. Can I, a mere child, describe you? Your father and all others will love you dearly hereafter. Go back to your kingdom. You will become a great king, and rule over the kingdom for a long time. You will perpetuate your name on earth. After your life on the earth is over, you will become the Dhruva star, that will shine brightly in the sky. All the great planets, and even the seven great rishis, will whirl around you. The whole world will look up to you, for guidance in the night. Soon seeing, Lord Narayana blessed Dhruva and vanished. Dhruva was happy beyond words, and quickly returned to the kingdom. Then as he approached the kingdom, he could see his father, mother, auntie, Uttama, waiting for him on the outskirts of the city. Uttanapada rushed forward to take Dhruva into his arms, and shed tears of joy and repentance. After his life on earth was completed, he flew to the sky. As he was filmed in his tapas, so is he in the sky. These videos will give your child a good vocabulary before facing the world and entering the educational stage in their life. You can teach your toddlers visually about So, share these interesting and informative videos with your little ones, and teach them the basic words with eye-catching animations. Teaching them to spell and identify the words with these videos is very easy and interesting. Once upon a time, there lived a sage called Mrikandu with his wife Marudhavati. They were childless for a long time. Mrikandu performed intense tapas in order to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, in all his splendor, appeared before him. I am pleased by your devotion. Ask from me any boon you desire. Oh Lord, I am childless. Grant me a son. Do you desire to have a vicious, wise and pious son who will live up to only 16 years, or a dull-witted, evil-natured son who will live long? Grant me the child who is intelligent with short life, than one who is not intelligent enough to make use of it for the right purpose. As you wish, Mrikandu. You shall have him. An accomplished sage, early in his childhood, he was especially devoted to Shiva. His pleasing ways endeared him to his teachers. The boy was liked by one and all. He was thus spending his days very happily, delighting everyone by his charming looks and pleasant behavior. Sixteenth year was fast approaching. Mrikandu and his wife started becoming apprehensive, fearing that they would soon lose the son whom they loved so much. Father, why do you look so sad? Oh my son, according to Lord Shiva's boon, you are destined to live only for 16 years. How can we withstand this? We are helpless and do not know what to do. Father, you have taught me the Vedas, the Puranas and the Shastras. You have taught me that the Lord always listens to the sincere prayers of his devotees. It is Lord Shiva who has decreed that I should live for 16 years. I shall pray to him and ask him to extend my life span. He will surely answer to my sincere prayers. The parents blessed him heartily and sent him for balance. Markandeya walked through a dense forest and reached the river banks. There, he made a Shiva Lingam with sand and started performing severe penance. He was soon engrossed in deep meditation. Days and nights passed. In Yamaloka, Yama ordered his servants to collect Markandeya's soul. On reaching Markandeya's place, they saw Markandeya meditating before the Shiva Lingam. Markandeya was so deep in meditation that a strange fierce light emerged from him. The light from him was burning so brightly that the servants of Yama could not get close to him. Why can't we reach him? If we go empty hand, our master will punish us. What should we do now? I guess he is no ordinary boy. Look over there. That Shiva Lingam is protecting him from us. Facing failure for the first time, the servants returned to their master. Master, we could not approach him. There was something coming from him. Something very bright that is protecting the boy. We are very sorry for our failure. Oh, stupids! Can't you even take the soul from a small boy? Okay, I will take care of this myself. Seeing so, Yama then picked up his noose and sat on his buffalo and disappeared from his place. In Markandeya's place, Yama at once realized that the boy was pure and had lived a good life. As Markandeya was a noble child, so Yama made himself visible. Markandeya, your time on earth is up. I will not go with you. My lord will protect me. Your time on earth is up. I have come to take you. Markandeya shook his head and hugged the Shiva Linga tightly. Realizing that he had no choice, Yama threw his noose around Markandeya's neck to pull out his soul. Unfortunately, Yama's noose fell around both Markandeya's neck and the Shiva Linga. Oh, lord! Save me! To his surprise, he felt the Linga move with his closed eyes. He opened his eyes with astonishment. Markandeya was thrilled to see the three-eyed lord before him. How dare you disturb him? My lord, his time on earth is up. I have come. He will live forever. How dare you? Every line of Shiva's face was fierce with anger. Shiva picked up his trident and pierced Yama. Yama caught the weapon and straight in his chest. He fell down dead. Immediately, Lord Indra and the other Devas appeared before Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, we need to have a lot of a death. Without death, there would be no balance on earth. Please lord, give Yama his life back so that the balance of life can be restored. Yes, yes. Alright. Yama shall have his life back if and only if Markandeya is spared. Markandeya will live forever. He will be the one who has conquered death. At once, Yama opened his eyes as the wound in his chest healed. Yama looked at Lord Shiva and said, Oh Lord, forgive my mistake. Now I can understand the power of true devotion to you. Your mistakes are forgiven. Markandeya, go to your heavenly abode and continue your duty. Yama and the other Devas returned to the heavenly abode. Markandeya then fell at the feet of the Lord Shiva and said, Lord, I want nothing more. I have seen you. Go back to your parents Markandeya. Look after them for their life. After that, roam the earth and be peaceful doing whatever you wish. You have my blessings.