Dhruva Maharaja got Pancaratriki Diksa

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Dhruva-Mahārāja was initiated at the age of 5-years by Nārada-muni. It is interesting to ask which type of dīkṣā did he receive from Nārada-muni. Some say it is Vaidika-dīkṣā as it was satyuga.
However, if we see, Dhruva Mahārāja received dvādaśākṣara mantra—oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya—which is not a śruti mantra. Ācāryas (in their commentaries to SB 4.8.54) say that it is a vaiṣṇava mantra. Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, chapter 1, clarifies about which type of Vaiṣṇava-mantra it is. It is a pāñcarātrika-vaiṣṇava-mantra. See below—

HBV Chapter 1, with Digdarśini

tatra dvādaśākṣarāṣṭākṣarayor māhātmyam
In matter of chanting mantra, lets see the importance of dvādaśākṣara (12 syllabled)- and aṣṭādaśākṣara (18 syllabled)-mantras
padma-purāṇe devadūta-vikuṇḍala-saṁvāde—
In Padma-purāṇa, devadūta-vikuṇḍala discussion says—
sāṅgaṁ sa-mudraṁ sa-nyāsaṁ sa-ṛṣi-daivatam |
sa-dīkṣā-vidhi sa-dhyānaṁ sa-yantraṁ dvādaśākṣaram ||125||
aṣṭākṣaraṁ ca mantreśaṁ ye japanti narottamāḥ |
tān dṛṣṭvā brahmahā śudhyete yato viṣṇavaḥ svayam ||126||
śaṅkhinaś cakriṇo bhūtvā brahmāyur vana-mālinaḥ |
vasanti vaiṣṇave loke viṣṇu-rūpeṇa te narāḥ ||127||
Not Translated – Just Describing glories of both mantras
Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Digdarśini ṭīkā:
tatra śrī-vaiṣṇava-tantreṣu madhye | chandety adantatvam ārṣaṁ chando-bhaṅga-bhayāt | viṣṇava iti viṣṇu-sārūpya-prāpteḥ | viṣṇo rūpeṇety anukta-varṇākārādi-grahaṇārtham ||125-127||
Tatra means in the vaiṣṇava-tantras. <NOT TRANSLATED REST OF COMMENTARY AS NOT RELAVANT>
DD: Vaiṣṇava-tantra means pañcarātras (See SB 10.8.45, synonyms).
tatraiva dvādaśākṣarayas caturtha-skandhe [bhā.pu. 4.8.53]—
japaś ca paramo guhyaḥ śrūyatāṁ me nṛpātmaja |
yaṁ sapta-rātraṁ prapaṭhan pumān paśyati khecarān ||128||
In this context of dvādaśākṣara mantra, it is said in the SB 4.8.53—
“O son of the King, now I shall speak unto you the mantra which is to be chanted with this process of meditation. One who carefully chants this mantra for seven nights can see the perfect human beings flying in the sky.”
sāmānyato dvayor api likhitvādhunā viśeṣato likhati—tatreti ||128||
After describing the glories of both aṣṭādaśa- and dvādaśa- akṣara mantras, now in this sloka specifically the glories of dvādaśākṣara mantra is described.
DD: This means that the dvādaśākṣara mantra that Hari-bhakti-vilāsa is describing in this section is specifically oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya as Dhruva-mahārāja received this mantra from Nārada-muni. Thus, because in the previous commentary (as shown above) it is mentioned that dvādaśākṣara mantra is a pāñcarātrika-mantra, and because Dhruva-mahārāja received this dvādaśākṣara mantra, it is concluded that Dhruva-mahārāja got pāñcarātriki-dīkṣā from Nārada-muni.
The logical sequence of the paper:
  • Dhruva Mahārāja received the dvādaśākṣara mantra — oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
  • Dvādaśākṣara mantra is a pāñcarātrika-mantra, accrording to HBV 1.125-127 Digdarśini commentary by Sanātana Gosvāmī
  • HBV 1.128 quotes Dhruva Mahārāja’s dīkṣā in support of dvādaśākṣara mantra
  • Thus, HBV says that oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya is a pāñcarātriki mantra
  • Thus Dhruva-mahārāja’s dīkṣā was pāñcarātriki
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Tags: PancaratraSrimad-Bhagavatam
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