Śravaṇa occupies 10°00’ to 23°20’ of Makara (Capricorn). Its name derives from the Sanskrit root for “hearing” — and this is the nakṣatra of the listener, of the one who receives wisdom and transmits it faithfully, of learning through attentive reception rather than independent discovery. Governed by the Moon and presided over by Viṣṇu (the preserver of cosmic order, the all-pervading sustainer of creation), Śravaṇa carries the quality of divine listening — the capacity to hear what is truly being said, beneath the surface of words, and to respond in a way that preserves and nourishes.
The three footprints are Viṣṇu’s three cosmic strides with which he measured the universe — encompassing the earth, the atmosphere, and the heavens in a single sequence of movement. This myth speaks to Śravaṇa’s capacity to encompass vast ranges of knowledge, connecting disparate realms through the faculty of receptive awareness. These natives often function as bridges — between teachers and students, between traditions and their modern applications, between ideas and their practical embodiments.
The ear as symbol is equally revealing: Śravaṇa natives are often remarkably skilled listeners, with a capacity to retain what they hear and to transmit it with fidelity. Many excellent teachers, journalists, scholars, counselors, and oral historians carry this nakṣatra strongly. The Moon’s rulership adds emotional sensitivity to this listening quality — they hear not just words but feelings, and they respond to the full spectrum of what is being communicated. Parāśara describes Śravaṇa natives as wealthy, learned, with a noble spouse, famous, and possessed of many properties.
The Moon in Capricorn (where it is debilitated in its own nakṣatra) creates an interesting dynamic: the emotional sensitivity of the Moon must work through Capricorn’s structural, reserved quality. The result is often individuals who feel deeply but express with restraint and deliberateness — whose emotional lives inform their professional competence without being publicly displayed. Śravaṇa is classified as a cara (movable) nakṣatra — auspicious for travel, learning new subjects, connecting with teachers, and initiating communication projects. Varāhamihira notes that Śravaṇa natives are “wealthy, learned, possessing a beautiful spouse, and known for their accomplishments.”