III. Vibhūti Pāda · Inner maps (3.25–3.34)
3.28 · The Fixed Star
On the pole star, knowledge of their movements.
Word by word
- dhruve
- on the pole star; on what is fixed
- tad-gati
- their movement
- jñānam
- knowledge
Where it fits
The pole star, dhruva, 'the fixed', completes the sky. After the stars' arrangement (3.27), saṃyama on what does not move gives knowledge of what does: the movements of the stars. With 3.29 the same method turns from the heavens to the body.
Reading
Dhruva, the pole star, means fixed, steady, and it completes the sky. In Vyāsa's cosmology at 3.26 the stars are fastened to the pole star and driven round it by the wind; here he adds that saṃyama on the heavenly chariots reveals those too. A fixed point lets you measure motion. The Purāṇas tell of the boy Dhruva, whose firm devotion won him that place in the sky. One steady point of attention makes the mind's movements visible.
Vyāsa
“Then, through saṃyama on the pole star, one would know how the stars move. Through saṃyama on the celestial chariots above, one would know them.”
Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 260.
Practice
In the north, find the pole star using the two pointer stars of the Saptarṣi, the Big Dipper. Note the stars around it, then look again an hour later. In the south, watch the Southern Cross turn instead. Meanwhile, keep one fixed point in your day.
A question to sit with
What is your fixed point?