Dhruva and the Northern Star

Prince Dhruva was only five years old when his stepmother told him, "You have no right to sit on your father's lap. That place is not for you."

Dhruva's heart burned — not with hatred, but with a fierce desire. He walked into the forest to seek the one whose lap no one could ever take away from him: Vishnu, the keeper of the universe.

For months, Dhruva meditated. First he ate only leaves. Then only water. Then only air. Then nothing — his small body still as stone, his heart blazing like a sun.

At last, Vishnu appeared. "What do you wish, child?"

Dhruva had forgotten. Standing before the source of everything, his small grievance seemed very small indeed.

"I only wish to remain near you," he whispered.

Vishnu smiled and placed Dhruva in the sky as the northern star — the fixed point around which all other stars turn.

And there he remains still, guiding all who are lost in the dark.