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Mahavishnu replied that,<blockquote>नेन्द्रत्वं न च सूर्यत्वं नैवाम्बुपधनेशताम् । प्रार्थायत्येष यं कामं तं करोम्यखिलं सुराः ।। ३८ ।।</blockquote><blockquote>यात देवा यथाकामं स्वस्थानं विगतज्वराः । निवर्त्तयाम्यहं बाल तपस्यासक्तमानसम् ।। ३९ ।।</blockquote><blockquote>''nendratvaṁ na ca sūryatvaṁ naivāmbupadhaneśatām । prārthāyatyeṣa yaṁ kāmaṁ taṁ karom‌yakhilaṁ surāḥ ।। 38 ।।''</blockquote><blockquote>''yāta devā yathākāmaṁ svasthānaṁ vigatajvarāḥ । nivarttayāmyahaṁ bāla tapasyāsaktamānasam ।। 39 ।।''</blockquote>Meaning: He does not aspire to the throne of Indra, nor to the sovereignty of the solar orb, nor to the rank of the lord of riches. I shall soon confer on him, what he desires to have. Removed of your anxiety, you all proceed to your respective quarters - I shall soon desist that boy whose mind is wholly engrossed  with devout meditation.

Mahavishnu replied that,<blockquote>नेन्द्रत्वं न च सूर्यत्वं नैवाम्बुपधनेशताम् । प्रार्थायत्येष यं कामं तं करोम्यखिलं सुराः ।। ३८ ।।</blockquote><blockquote>यात देवा यथाकामं स्वस्थानं विगतज्वराः । निवर्त्तयाम्यहं बाल तपस्यासक्तमानसम् ।। ३९ ।।</blockquote><blockquote>''nendratvaṁ na ca sūryatvaṁ naivāmbupadhaneśatām । prārthāyatyeṣa yaṁ kāmaṁ taṁ karom‌yakhilaṁ surāḥ ।। 38 ।।''</blockquote><blockquote>''yāta devā yathākāmaṁ svasthānaṁ vigatajvarāḥ । nivarttayāmyahaṁ bāla tapasyāsaktamānasam ।। 39 ।।''</blockquote>Meaning: He does not aspire to the throne of Indra, nor to the sovereignty of the solar orb, nor to the rank of the lord of riches. I shall soon confer on him, what he desires to have. Removed of your anxiety, you all proceed to your respective quarters - I shall soon desist that boy whose mind is wholly engrossed  with devout meditation.

The gods, being thus pacified by the supreme, saluted him respectfully and retired, and, preceded by Indra, returned to their habitations: but Hari, who is all things, assuming a shape with four arms, proceeded to Dhruva, being pleased with his identity of nature, and thus addressed him: “Son of Uttānapāda, be prosperous. Contented with thy devotions, I, the giver of boons, am present. Demand what boon thou desirest. In that thou hast wholly disregarded external objects, and fixed thy thoughts on me, I am well pleased with thee. Ask, therefore, a suitable reward.” The boy, hearing these words of the god of gods, opened his eyes, and beholding that Hari whom he had before seen in his meditations actually in his presence, bearing in his hands the shell, the discus, the mace, the bow, and scimetar, and crowned with a diadem, the bowed his head down to earth; the hair stood erect on his brow, and his heart was depressed with awe. He reflected how best he should offer thanks to the god of gods; what he could say in his adoration; what words were capable of expressing his praise: and being overwhelmed with perplexity, he had recourse for consolation to the deity. “If,” he exclaimed, “the lord is contented with my devotions, let this be my reward, that I may know how to praise him as I wish. How can I, a child, pronounce his praises, whose abode is unknown to Brahmā and to others learned in the Vedas? My heart is overflowing with devotion to thee: oh lord, grant me the faculty worthily to lay mine adorations at thy feet.”

Being thus pacified by Vishnu, as the celestials returned to their abode, Vishnu, being pleased with Dhruva's whole minded devotedness to him, approached him and offered Dhruva a boon. Hearing this, Dhruva who was overcome with awe said, <blockquote>भगवन् यदि मे तोषं तपसा परमं गतः । स्तोतुं तदहमिच्छामि वरमेतं प्रयच्छ मे ।। ४८ ।।</blockquote><blockquote>ब्रह्माद्यर्व्वेदवेदज्ञैर्ज्ञायते यस्य नो गतिः । तं त्वां कथमहं देव स्तोतुं शक्रोमि बालकः ।। ४९ ।।</blockquote><blockquote>त्वदूभक्तिप्रवणां ह्मतत् परमेश्वर मे मनः । स्तोतुं प्रवृत्तं त्वत्पादौ तत्र प्रज्ञां प्रयटच्छ मे ।। ५० ।।</blockquote><blockquote>''bhagavan yadi me toṣaṁ tapasā paramaṁ gataḥ । stotuṁ tadahamicchāmi varametaṁ prayaccha me ।। 48 ।।''</blockquote><blockquote>''brahmādyarvvedavedajñairjñāyate yasya no gatiḥ । taṁ tvāṁ kathamahaṁ deva stotuṁ śakromi bālakaḥ ।। 49 ।।''</blockquote><blockquote>''tvadūbhaktipravaṇāṁ hmatat parameśvara me manaḥ । stotuṁ pravr̥ttaṁ tvatpādau tatra prajñāṁ prayaṭaccha me ।। 50 ।।''</blockquote>Meaning: O great lord, if you are greatly pleased with my devout exercise, please do confer upon me the boon that I may praise you whenever I wish. I am but a boy. How shall I be able to sing your glory whom even the great sages like Brahma conversant with Vedas have not been able to know sufficiently. My heart is filled with devotion to you and so, O lord, grant me the understanding of placing my praises at your feet.

Whilst lowly bowing, with his hands uplifted to his forehead, Govinda, the lord of the world, touched the son of Uttānapāda with the tip of his conch-shell, and immediately the royal youth, with a countenance sparkling with delight, praised respectfully the imperishable protector of living beings. “I venerate,” exclaimed Dhruva, “him whose forms are earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, the first element (Ahaṅkāra), primeval nature, and the pure, subtile, all-pervading soul, that surpasses nature. Salutation to that spirit that is void of qualities; that is supreme over all the elements and all the objects of sense, over intellect, over nature and spirit. I have taken refuge with that pure form of thine, oh supreme, which is one with Brahma, which is spirit, which transcends all the world. Salutation to that form which, pervading and supporting all, is designated Brahma, unchangeable, and contemplated by religious sages. Thou art the male with a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, who traversest the universe, and passest ten inches beyond its contact^[2]. Whatever has been, or is to be, that, Puruṣottama, thou art. From thee sprang Virāt, Svarāt, Samrāt, and Adhipuruṣa^[3]. The lower, and upper, and middle parts of the earth are not independent of thee: from thee is all this universe, all that has been, and that shall be: and all this world is in thee, assuming this universal form^[4]. From thee is sacrifice derived, and all oblations, and curds, and ghee, and animals of either class (domestic or wild). From thee the Rig-Veda, the Sāma, the metres of the Vedas, and the Yajur-Véda are born. Horses, and cows having teeth in one jaw only^[5], proceed from thee; and from thee come goats, sheep, deer. Brahmans sprang from thy mouth; warriors from thy arms; Vaisyas from thy thighs; and Śūdras from thy feet. From thine eyes come the sun; from thine ears, the wind; and from thy mind, the moon: the vital airs from thy central vein; and fire from thy mouth: the sky from thy navel; and heaven from thy head: the regions from thine ears; the earth from thy feet. All this world was derived from thee. As the wide-spreading Nyagrodha (Indian fig) tree is compressed in a small seed^[6], so, at the time of dissolution, the whole universe is comprehended in thee as its germ. As the Nyagrodha germinates from the seed, and becomes first a shoot, and then rises into loftiness, so the created world proceeds from thee, and expands into magnitude. As the bark and leaves of the Plantain tree are to be seen in its stem, so thou art the stem of the universe, and all things are visible in thee. The faculties of the intellect, that are the cause of pleasure and of pain, abide in thee as one with all existence; but the sources of pleasure and of pain, singly or blended, do not exist in thee, who art exempt from all qualities^[7]. Salutation to thee, the subtile rudiment, which, being single, becomes manifold, Salutation to thee, soul of existent things, identical with the great elements. Thou, imperishable, art beheld in spiritual knowledge as perceptible objects, as nature, as spirit, as the world, as Brahmā, as Manu, by internal contemplation. But thou art in all, the element of all; thou art all, assuming every form; all is from thee, and thou art from thyself. I salute thee, universal soul: glory be to thee. Thou art one with all things: oh lord of all, thou art present in all things. What can I say unto thee? thou knowest all that is in the heart, oh soul of all, sovereign lord of all creatures, origin of all things. Thou, who art all beings, knowest the desires of all creatures. The desire that I cerished has been gratified, lord, by thee: my devotions have been crowned with success, in that I have seen thee.”

Govinda, the lord of the world, then touched the son of Uttanapada with the tip of his conch-shell, and immediately the prince, bending low his head, began singing the [[Vishnu Stuti by Dhruva (ध्रुवस्य विष्णुस्तुतिः)|praise of Lord Vishnu]].

Viṣṇu said to Dhruva; “The object of thy devotions has in truth been attained, in that thou hast seen me; for the sight of me, young prince, is never unproductive. Ask therefore of me what boon thou desirest; for men in whose sight I appear obtain all their wishes.” To this, Dhruva answered; “Lord god of all creatures, who abidest in the hearts of all, how should the wish that I cerish be unknown to thee? I will confess unto thee the hope that my presumptuous heart has entertained; a hope that it would be difficult to gratify, but that nothing is difficult when thou, creator of the world, art pleased. Through thy favour, Indra reigns over the three worlds. The sister-queen of my mother has said to me, loudly and arrogantly, ‘The royal throne is not for one who is not born of me;’ and I now solicit of the support of the universe an exalted station, superior to all others, and one that shall endure for ever.” Viṣṇu said to him; “The station that thou askest thou shalt obtain; for I was satisfied with thee of old in a prior existence. Thou wast formerly a Brahman, whose thoughts were ever devoted to me, ever dutiful to thy parents, and observant of thy duties. In course of time a prince became thy friend, who was in the period of youth, indulged in all sensual pleasures, .and was of handsome appearance and elegant form. Beholding, in consequence of associating with him, his affluence, you formed the desire that you might be subsequently born as the son of a king; and, according to your wish, you obtained a princely birth in the illustrious mansion of Uttānapāda. But that which would have been thought a great boon by others, birth in the race of Svāyambhuva, you have not so considered, and therefore have propitiated me. The man who worships me obtains speedy liberation from life. What is heaven to one whose mind is fixed on me? A station shall be assigned to thee, Dhruva, above the three worlds^[8]; one in which thou shalt sustain the stars and the planets; a station above those of the sun, the moon, Mars, the son of Soma (Mercury), Venus, the son of Sūrya(Saturn), and all the other constellations; above the regions of the seven Ṛṣis, and the divinities who traverse the atmosphere^[9]. Some celestial beings endure for four ages; some for the reign of a Manu: to thee shall be granted the duration of a Kalpa. Thy mother Sunīti, in the orb of a bright star, shall abide near thee for a similar term; and all those who, with minds attentive, shall glorify thee at dawn or at eventide, shall acquire exceeding religious merit.

Viṣṇu said to Dhruva; “The object of thy devotions has in truth been attained, in that thou hast seen me; for the sight of me, young prince, is never unproductive. Ask therefore of me what boon thou desirest; for men in whose sight I appear obtain all their wishes.” To this, Dhruva answered; “Lord god of all creatures, who abidest in the hearts of all, how should the wish that I cerish be unknown to thee? I will confess unto thee the hope that my presumptuous heart has entertained; a hope that it would be difficult to gratify, but that nothing is difficult when thou, creator of the world, art pleased. Through thy favour, Indra reigns over the three worlds. The sister-queen of my mother has said to me, loudly and arrogantly, ‘The royal throne is not for one who is not born of me;’ and I now solicit of the support of the universe an exalted station, superior to all others, and one that shall endure for ever.” Viṣṇu said to him; “The station that thou askest thou shalt obtain; for I was satisfied with thee of old in a prior existence. Thou wast formerly a Brahman, whose thoughts were ever devoted to me, ever dutiful to thy parents, and observant of thy duties. In course of time a prince became thy friend, who was in the period of youth, indulged in all sensual pleasures, .and was of handsome appearance and elegant form. Beholding, in consequence of associating with him, his affluence, you formed the desire that you might be subsequently born as the son of a king; and, according to your wish, you obtained a princely birth in the illustrious mansion of Uttānapāda. But that which would have been thought a great boon by others, birth in the race of Svāyambhuva, you have not so considered, and therefore have propitiated me. The man who worships me obtains speedy liberation from life. What is heaven to one whose mind is fixed on me? A station shall be assigned to thee, Dhruva, above the three worlds^[8]; one in which thou shalt sustain the stars and the planets; a station above those of the sun, the moon, Mars, the son of Soma (Mercury), Venus, the son of Sūrya(Saturn), and all the other constellations; above the regions of the seven Ṛṣis, and the divinities who traverse the atmosphere^[9]. Some celestial beings endure for four ages; some for the reign of a Manu: to thee shall be granted the duration of a Kalpa. Thy mother Sunīti, in the orb of a bright star, shall abide near thee for a similar term; and all those who, with minds attentive, shall glorify thee at dawn or at eventide, shall acquire exceeding religious merit.