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सुनीति Sunīti

a star beside Dhruva — Dhruva's mother, placed as a star near the pole · — · Ursa Minor / circumpolar

shishumara positionidentification disputedattestations 1

Attestations

Purāṇas · c. 4th-5th c. CE
सुनीतिरपि ते माता त्वदासन्नातिनिर्मला । विमाने तारका भूत्वा तावत्कालं निवत्स्यति ॥ १,१२.९४ ॥
Thy mother Suníti, in the orb of a bright star, shall abide near thee for a similar term. — H.H. Wilson (1840; public domain)

An obscure but real Purāṇic star: the mūla says only that Sunīti 'shall become a star (tārakā) in a vimāna and dwell near thee' — a stellar apotheosis exactly parallel to Arundhatī's beside Vasiṣṭha. Wilson's note 8 to VP 1.12 records the commentator's identification of her with a specific star at the pole, but the mūla itself names none. A companion of Polaris is structurally attractive but this is inference; the name is recorded, not an identification.

Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.12.94 · text · translation

See also

Dhruva, Arundhatī