Indian Journal of History of Science, 46.1 (2011) 23-39 DHRUVA THE ANCIENT INDIAN POLE STAR: FIXITY, ROTATION AND MOVEMENT R N IYENGAR* (Received 1 February 2010; revised 24 January 2011) Ancient historical layers of Hindu astronomy are explored in this paper with the help of the Purân . as and the Vedic texts. It is found that Dhruva as described in the Brahmân . d . a and the Vis . n . u purân . a was a star located at the tail of a celestial animal figure known as the Úiúumâra or the Dolphin. This constellation, which can be easily recognized as the modern Draco, is described vividly and accurately in the ancient texts. The body parts of the animal figure are made of fourteen stars, the last four of which including Dhruva on the tail are said to never set. The Taittirîya Âran . yaka text of the Kr . s . n . a-yajurveda school which is more ancient than the above Purân . as describes this constellation by the same name and lists fourteen stars the last among them being named Abhaya, equated with Dhruva, at the tail end of the figure. The accented Vedic text Ekâgni-kân . d . a of the same school recommends observation of Dhruva the fixed Pole Star during marriages. The above Vedic texts are more ancient than the Gr . hya-sûtra literature which was the basis for indologists to deny the existence of a fixed North Star during the Vedic period. However the various Purân . ic and Vedic textual evidence studied here for the first time, leads to the conclusion that in India for the Yajurvedic people Thuban (α-Draconis) was Dhruva the Pole Star c 2800 BC. Key words: Dhruva, Draco, Pole Star, Precession, Purân . a, Úiúumâra, Taittirîya Âran . yaka, Thuban, Yajurveda INTRODUCTION The legend of Dhruva who as a young boy observed long penance to achieve the exalted position of the fixed North Star is a widely known children story in India. The origin of this legend can be traced to the Vis . n . u purân . a which * Raja Ramanna Fellow, Jain University, Bangalore-Kanakapura Road, Jakkasandra 562112. e-mail: aareni@yahoo.com