Jyotish Maha Charts

Nakshatra Sravana

Shravana, the apex of lunar energy, is represented in the celestial firmament by three bright stars in the constellation known as Aquiia (the Eagle). In modern astronomy these stars are known as Alpha-Aquilae (Altair), Beta-Aquilae (Alshain) and Gamma-Aquilae (Tarazed). These three stars can be seen huddled together on top of the constellation of Capricorn. Altair, having a visual magnitude of 0.93, is one of the brightest objects in the night sky making Shravana a very easily visible asterism. According to the puranic legends, these stars correspond to the three steps taken by Vishnu in his Vamana-avatar.

«Shravana» translates into two very unrelated terms — «hearing» and «the one who limps». The limping meaning is in obvious reference to Vishnu's three steps (please refer to the story below in the Esoteric Section); while «hearing» as we shall discover, forms the crux of what this asterism is all about.

Its alternative name is «Ashvattha», a term used for the sacred Pipal tree {Ficus Religiose). In Vedic texts, this tree is always given extraordinary significance. It is worthwhile to mention that Buddha received enlightenment meditating under this tree.

There are three main symbols for this nakshatra. One is a 'row of three uneven footsteps', which as we can see from the nakshatras image, are represented by its constituent stars. These three steps were supposed to be taken by Vishnu in one of his incarnations, the purpose of which was to establish order in the universe through the restoration of the heaven to the gods and earth to the human beings. We will discuss this story in more detail when we discuss the esoteric aspect of this asterism. These three steps can be seen as the threefold law through which the cosmic intelligence maintains order in the universe. Nature, as we know, operates in three modes and this threefold law relates to the three interactions between these modes.

A 'trident' is the alternative symbol of this asterism, which once again reiterates this asterism's connection to the number '3'. Most numerologists know that '3' is the number of communication and is the energy responsible for establishing order in the universe. This is why all ancient cultures had three main deities responsible for overlooking universal affairs.

An 'ear' is a commonly used symbol for this asterism, which we can see is derived directly from its name. The communication aspect of this asterism is therefore more focused on listening than speaking. Listening is the one and only way one can learn anything. To emphasize this aspect, some wise men assigned three ears as its symbol. The reader can see that in the nakshatras image the tree is 'full of ears'. In the ancient Indian Vedic tradition, knowledge was orally transmitted and so (shrvti), the power of listening, automatically became the most important quality an individual could possess. It is because of these oral transmissions that Vedic knowledge is available today in its pristine state. From this we can conjure that this asterism has a lot to do with preservation, in keeping with the nature of the sign it falls in. When a native has a strong Shravana influence in their horoscope, the astrologer can safely advise that person to learn to listen more to others, or pay attention to one's inner voice in order to grow or progress in life.

Source: «The Book of Nakshatras» by Prash Trivedi

Source: «The Book of Nakshatras» by Prash Trivedi