Shravana Nakshatra (श्रवण)

Shravana belongs to Vishnu, the preserver, whose three strides measured the universe. Its symbol is an ear. It is the nakshatra of listening and learning: of knowledge passed down by being heard, as the Vedas were.

Your janma (birth) nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied when you were born. It is read as the clearest picture of the mind and temperament. When the Moon is in Shravana:

A listener and preserver of knowledge, you learn by hearing and remember what matters. Teaching, counselling and connecting people come naturally.

Shravana natives listen, learn and remember. They are thoughtful, well-spoken and respectful of tradition and of teachers. They often gain recognition through knowledge, and they are good at connecting people.

The nakshatra is one layer of a chart. The sign the Moon is in, the planets aspecting it and the rest of the chart all change how these traits show.

Teaching, counselling, languages and translation, media and broadcasting, music, and religious work.

Considerate and devoted, and good listeners. They need to feel heard in return.

Each nakshatra is divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Each pada falls in a navamsa sign, which colours the nakshatra with that sign's temperament. This is why two people born in the same nakshatra can read quite differently.

In the naming tradition (namakarana) followed across India and Nepal, a child's name begins with the syllable of the pada the Moon occupied at birth. For Shravana the four syllables are:

You need the pada, not just the nakshatra, so the birth time matters. A few panchangs differ by a syllable, so families often follow the one their priest uses. Find the nakshatra and pada for a birth.

The average guna milan score between Shravana and each other nakshatra, taken over every Moon position in both and counted either way round. A real match depends on the exact padas and on who is the bride, so use these as a guide and check the exact pair.

The Vimshottari dasha, the most widely used timing system in Vedic astrology, starts from the Moon's nakshatra. If you were born with the Moon in Shravana, your first mahadasha is the Moon's, which lasts 10 years in full. Only the part the Moon had not yet travelled through Shravana remains at birth: a Moon early in the nakshatra leaves most of the period to run, and a Moon near its end leaves little.

Calculate your own dasha periods with exact dates, down to the prana dasha.

Deva gana, the "divine" temperament: gentle, idealistic and generous by nature.

Its yoni, the animal that stands for a nakshatra's instinctive nature, is the monkey. Both gana and yoni are among the eight factors (kootas) compared in traditional kundli matching. Shravana shares the monkey yoni with Purva Ashadha, the best yoni match. Its sworn enemy is the sheep, the yoni of Krittika and Pushya, which scores no yoni points in matching.

In muhurta, the choosing of auspicious times, Shravana is classed as movable (chara): favoured for travel, vehicles and anything that involves change.