Trivikrama

Trivikrama, literally meaning thrice conquered or Three Steps, is an Indian name. It is a super-constellation in Ursa Major that consists of three constellations of two stars each, Yugma (युग्म) and Yugmaka (युग्मक) (the "double stars" in the ancient sense of the term, meaning two stars very close together but clearly separate for the naked eye). This Indian constellation equals the Chinese constellation Santai (三台) (three steps), but the direction of transfer is yet unknown.

Concordance, Etymology, History

This epithet refers to the three steps or strides of God Vishnu in the Rigveda. His three steps symbolise either three worlds or three planes: "In three places he planted his step, (one step on the earth, a second in the atmosphere, and a third in the sky) as Agni, Vayu, and Surya each after the other", or the rising, culmination and setting of the Sun.

The name is one of the forms of God Vishnu, who is depicted as having four arms, holding lotus flower, conch, wheel and mace. There are 24 forms based on the permutation of these four into the four arms. The text Manasollāsa (a 12th century manual by Someshwara used by sculptors for preparing statues) lists all the 24. Trivikrama is the 7th in the list with lotus in lower left arm, mace in the lower upper arm and wheel in the upper right arm.

The catalogue prepared in the context of the use for astrolabes lists the three pairs and the verse concludes as

इतीह युग्मत्रयमेवलोक्य त्रिविक्रमस्य प्रवदन्ति पादान्

itiha yugmatrayamavalokya trivikramasya pravadanti pādān

"Here, it is being told that the three (traya) such twin pairs (yugmaka) as the legs (pādān) of the trivikrama, are imagined."

	Indian name	translation	Dhruvaka	Viksepa	R.A. 1638CE	Dec 1638CE		in Chinese
युग्मक	Yugmaka	"double"	102 20	29	6h 54m	52	Surya (Sun)	Upper Steps	ικ UMa
युग्म	Yugma	"double"	119 45	29	8h 9m	49 19	Vayu (Air)	Middle Steps	λμ UMa
युग्मक	yugmaka	'double'	137	25	9h 18m	40 48	Agni (Fire)	Lower Steps	ξν UMa

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 

  SanTai in Stellarium (CC BY Sun Shuwei (孙殳玮) based on the Xinyixiangfayao Star Map from Su Song (苏颂, 1020-1101 CE)).

Mythology / Religion

In this context of footprints the 5th avatāra (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu named Vāmana is relevant. The story tells about the incarnation as a small boy being granted three steps of land by the demon king. As soon as the grant was declared, the boy grew to a gigantic size, one step encompassing the earth, the second the sky. The demon king offers his head to be used for the third step; Vāmana puts the foot on his head and pushes him to the underworld.

References

• References (general)