Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s19.272

v1.c3.s19.272

Dhruva in the Sūtras¹ denotes the pole star, being mentioned in connexion with the marriage ritual, in which the star is pointed out to the bride as an emblem of constancy. In the Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad,² a late work, the movement of the Dhruva (*dhruvasya pracalanam*) is mentioned, but this can hardly be interpreted as referring to an actual observed motion of the nominal pole star,³ but rather to an extraordinary event, such as a destruction of the world, as Cowell understood the expression.⁴ Jacobi⁵ sees in the motion of the Dhruva the possibility of fixing a date, on the ground that the only star which could have been deemed a pole star, as ‘immovable,’ was one (*α* Draconis) of the third millenium B.C. But this attempt to extract chronology from the name of the star is of very doubtful validity.⁶