In India, the Big Dipper is known as Saptarshi (seven sages), where each star represents a rishi (sage). Legend has it that the Vedas and Yoga were revealed to Saptarshi.
Recently during Brahma muhurta (literally meaning “God’s hour”), about an hour and thirty six minutes before sunrise, I happened to spot the Saptarshi over the Himalayas—the ancient abode of the seven sages.
