Shravana

Shravana is the 22nd nakshatra, spanning 10°00' to 23°20' Capricorn. Its name means "hearing," and its symbol — three footprints or an ear — marks the path of the student who walks behind the teacher to absorb what is spoken. The ruling planet is the Moon, giving this mansion a receptive, retentive mind; the presiding deity is Vishnu the Preserver, who maintains order by upholding dharma through knowledge.

This is the nakshatra of oral tradition, scholarship, and the counselor's ear. Natives are natural listeners who remember what matters. They learn by apprenticeship, not theory, and they teach by example. The Moon's comfort-seeking nature meets Capricorn's structural drive: the result is a mind that organizes information into systems that last. There is a quiet authority here — not the bluster of command, but the weight of someone who has heard the whole story before speaking.

The shadow is the listener who never finds their own voice. Over-identification with the role of student or subordinate can delay self-expression. The need to be "the good listener" becomes a cage when the native absorbs everyone's burdens but refuses to ask for help. Rigidity creeps in when preservation hardens into gatekeeping — deciding who is allowed to speak and what counts as truth.

Classical Significations:

• Roles: The Teacher, the Counselor, the Scholar, the Archivist, the Diplomat, the Pilgrim.
• Anatomy: The Ears, the Lower Abdomen, the Hips, the Auditory Nerves.
• Dignity: Ruled by the Moon. Falls in Capricorn (Saturn's sign). Presiding Deity: Vishnu. Guna: Sattvic.