Once, there was a king named Uttanpada. He had two wives, Sunity and Suruchi. Sunity had a son named Dhruva and Suruchi’s son was Uttam. Suruchi hated Dhruva and Sunity, and wanted Uttam to be the next king. She was beautiful, so Uttanpada loved her more than Sunity. Under her influence, Uttanpada drove Sunity and Dhruva out of the palace. One day, Dhruva went to the palace and saw Uttam sitting on Uttanpada’s lap. But when he tried to do the same, Suruchi said, “There is no place for you here.” Dhruva looked at his father but he said nothing. Deeply hurt, Dhruva retired to the forest. He started praying to God. He prayed for several months to please God. Finally, God appeared before him. He granted him not only a place on his father’s lap, but also a permanent place in the sky after his death. When this news reached Uttanpada, he was sorry for his actions and brought Dhruva and Sunity back to the palace. Dhruva was made the new king. He ruled for many years. When he died, he became a star called Dhruva Tara (Pole Star). It is still seen shining in the sky.
DHRUVA TARA
