Mercury in Shravana Nakshatra (Budh in श्रवण)

Shravana, the 22nd of the 27 nakshatras, covers 280°00′ – 293°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, wholly inside Capricorn. Shravana is ruled by the Moon, so Mercury in Shravana stands in the Moon’s star.

Mercury counts the Moon an enemy, while the Moon counts Mercury a friend. The table is not symmetric, so Mercury in Shravana has to be described from both sides, as it is here. The other two nakshatras the Moon rules, Rohini and Hasta, put Mercury under the same star lord.

Mercury in Shravana, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Mercury is in a neutral sign in all four padas of Shravana, because the whole nakshatra lies in Capricorn. By navamsa the four padas fall in Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Mercury’s strongest navamsa in Shravana is pada 3 (Gemini, in its own sign), and its weakest is pada 4 (Cancer, in an enemy's sign).

Neither Mercury’s deepest exaltation (Virgo) nor its deepest debilitation (Pisces) degree falls inside Shravana, and Mercury’s moolatrikona lies outside it as well, so in Shravana the rashi and navamsa verdicts above are the whole of Mercury’s dignity.

When Mercury Is in Shravana, 2026–2028

• 23 January 2026: Mercury enters Shravana, and leaves on 31 January 2026 — 8 days.
• 16 January 2027: Mercury enters Shravana, and leaves on 23 January 2027 — 7 days.
• 9 January 2028: Mercury enters Shravana, and leaves on 19 January 2028 — 10 days.
• 29 January 2028: Mercury enters Shravana while retrograde, backing in from the next nakshatra, and leaves on 12 February 2028 moving backwards — 14 days.
• 16 February 2028: Mercury enters Shravana, and leaves on 4 March 2028 — 17 days.

Those are the five spells Mercury spends in Shravana between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 56 days in all. Over the same span Mercury stands in every one of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for Mercury in Shravana a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Shravana: what the tables locate there for Mercury

Of the 100 complete spells Mercury has in the table, in any nakshatra, the shortest is 4 days and the longest 58; the Shravana spells, at 8, 7, 10, 14 and 17 days, sit inside that range.

• 29 January 2026: Mercury meets Venus at 20° Capricorn, in Shravana pada 4.
• 2 February 2028: Mercury meets the Sun at 18° Capricorn, in Shravana pada 3.

Shravana as the Setting for Mercury

In the nakshatra tables Shravana’s deity is listed as Vishnu and its symbol as ear; its gana is Deva, and the muhurta texts put it in the Chara class (movable). Those belong to Shravana whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Shravana page. What changes with Mercury is everything above: the dignities in Capricorn, the relation to the Moon, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Mercury in Shravana; the house it occupies and the dasha running decide what the placement does in a chart.

Related Placements

The sign-level reading is on Mercury in Capricorn; Mercury in all 27 nakshatras is on the Mercury nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and our Shravana article.

The Other Grahas in Shravana