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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 4: Chapter 8: Verses 61-73
Dhruva's departure for the woods
If the devotee is averse to sensuous enjoyment, he should wait upon the Lord Himself with an intense practice of Devotion carried on uninterruptedly for the sake of final beatitude. (Thus instructed (by the sage), the prince (Dhruva) went round the sage (as a mark of respect) and, bowing low to him, proceeded to the holy tract of Madhuvana, adorned with the footprints of Sri Hari. When he had left for the forest so suitable for austere penance, the sage (Narada) made his way to the gynaeceum (of King Uttanapada); and when the king had offered him worship (in the form of water to wash his hands and so on) and he was comfortably seated, he spoke to the king (as follows) : Narada said : With a withering face what are you brooding over so deeply ? I hope neither your luxuries nor your religious merit nor again your wealth has suffered any diminution ?
The king said : Uxorious and merciless as I am, O sage, I exiled my son, a child of five years, who was very noble and wise, along with his mother. Wolves, O holy Brahmana, may not eat up the helpless child, who may be lying (somewhere) in the forest, fatigued and famished, with his lotus-like face faded. Oh, just imagine the wickedness of my uxorious self, who did not greet the child while he was climbing up my lap with affection, extremely vile as I am ! Narada said: No, sorrow not for your child, who enjoys the protection of the Lord, O ruler of the people, and whose glory shall pervade the (whole) world; for you know not his greatness. Having wrought an achievement which even the protectors of the world find it difficult to perform, the glorious child shall return before long, O king, enhancing your reputation. Maitreya continued: On hearing the message of Narada (the celestial sage), Uttanapada (the ruler of the world) remained exclusively engrossed in the thought of his son (Dhruva), neglectful of his royal fortune. There (at Madhuvana) Dhruva bathed (in the Yamuna) and having remained without food that night and thus purified, he waited upon the Lord with a concentrated mind according to the sage's instructions. Eating the Kapittha (wood-apple) and Badara (jujube) fruit, just enough to keep his body and soul together, at the end of every three nights, the prince spent one month in worshipping Sri Hari. And likewise during the second month the child adored the all-pervading Lord, feeding on withered blades of grass and leaves etc., every sixth day.
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