A person stood alone in a desert on a dark night and wanted to reach his village which was situated 5 km east of the point where he was standing. He had no instruments to find the direction but he located the polestar. The most convenient way now to reach his village is to walk in the

The answer is C. The Pole Star (Polaris) lies almost exactly over the north celestial pole, so it marks true north. Facing north, east is on your right and west on your left. If you turn to face east, north is on your left, so the Pole Star stays on your left while you walk due east towards the village.

• A is wrong. Walking towards the Pole Star takes you north, away from the village.
• B is wrong. Walking opposite to the Pole Star takes you south.
• D is wrong. With the Pole Star on your right you are walking west, which is the opposite of the village's direction.

The core concept is using a fixed celestial reference to find cardinal directions without instruments. Polaris is still within about a degree of the celestial pole, so the method remains valid today, though the star's position drifts slowly over centuries because of precession. This is basic positional astronomy in Geography, and the same reasoning underlies traditional navigation, which can come up in Mains answers on indigenous knowledge.

Trap: aspirants often picture themselves facing the star and then pick the option that looks like 'facing the polestar'. Always fix the direction you must walk first, then place the star relative to your body.