Importance of Shravan Month

Shravan Maas is considered as one of the holiest months in the year as per the Hindu calendar. It is the fifth month in the Hindu calendar. In 2015, Shravan Maas begins on 1st August 2015.

But why is this month called Shravan? It is believed that on Poornima or a full moon day or at any time during this month, the Shravan Nakshatra or star rules the skies and hence, this month derives its name from this nakshatra.

The Shravan maas is synonymous with auspicious festivals and events. It is the best time to conduct all-important religious ceremonies, as almost all days in this month are auspicious for shubh arambh, i.e. good start. Shravan maas’ ruling deity is Lord Shiva.

In this month, each Monday is celebrated as Shravan Somvar across all temples with the Dharanatra hanging over the Shiva linga, bathing it with holy water and milk, throughout the day into the night. Devotees offer Bael leaves, flowers, holy water and milk, i.e. Falam-Toyam, Pushpam-Patram to lord Shiva on every Shravan Somwar. They fast until the sun goes down and the Nandadeep, the Akhand Diya, burns throughout.

The significance of Lord Shiva in Shravan Maas

The Samudra Manthan is a very important episode as per the Puranas. The churning of the milky ocean, i.e. Samudra Manthan in search of the amrit, took place during the month of Shravan. During the churning, 14 different rubies emerged from the ocean. Thirteen rubies were divided among the devas and the asuras, however, Halahal, the 14^th ruby remained untouched as it was the deadliest poison which could destroy the whole universe and every living being. Lord Shiva drank the Halahal and stored the poison in his throat. Due to the impact of the poison, his throat turned blue and he came to be called Neelkantha.

The Shravan maas is synonymous with auspicious festivals and events. It is the best time to conduct all-important religious ceremonies, as almost all days in this month are auspicious for shubh arambh, i.e. good start. Shravan maas’ ruling deity is Lord Shiva.

In this month, each Monday is celebrated as Shravan Somvar across all temples with the Dharanatra hanging over the Shiva linga, bathing it with holy water and milk, throughout the day into the night. Devotees offer Bael leaves, flowers, holy water and milk, i.e. Falam-Toyam, Pushpam-Patram to lord Shiva on every Shravan Somwar. They fast until the sun goes down and the Nandadeep, the Akhand Diya, burns throughout.

The significance of Lord Shiva in Shravan Maas

The Samudra Manthan is a very important episode as per the Puranas. The churning of the milky ocean, i.e. Samudra Manthan in search of the amrit, took place during the month of Shravan. During the churning, 14 different rubies emerged from the ocean. Thirteen rubies were divided among the devas and the asuras, however, Halahal, the 14^th ruby remained untouched as it was the deadliest poison which could destroy the whole universe and every living being. Lord Shiva drank the Halahal and stored the poison in his throat. Due to the impact of the poison, his throat turned blue and he came to be called Neelkantha.

Such was the impact of the poison that Lord Shiva wore a crescent moon on his head and all the devas started offering water from the holy river of Ganges to lord Shiva to reduce the effects of the poison. Both these events took place in the Shravan Maas and therefore, it is considered very auspicious to offer holy Ganga water to Lord Shiva in this month. 

Importance of wearing Rudraksh in Shravan Maas

Devout devotees of Lord Shiva consider it auspicious to wear Rudraksha in the month of Shravam. Mondays are dedicated to Lord Shiva as his the ruling deity of the day. However, Mondays in the Shravan maas as known as Shravan Somwar and are highly auspicious, and celebrated with all austerities.

Rituals to following Shravan Maas

• Offering milk to lord Shiva in Shravan Maas leads one to earn a lot of punyas.
• Wear Rudraksha and use it for japas.
• Bhibhuti is considered very important if offered to lord Shiva. Some of it should be smeared on the forehead as well.
• Offer panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, butter or ghee, honey and jaggery) and bael leaves to Shiva linga.
• Chant the shiva chalisa and perform regular aarti of lord Shiva.
• Chanting the Mahamritunjay mantra is very auspicious.
• Fast on all Shravan Somvars. This is important for young women seeking good husbands. 

Jai Siyaram

Nadi Astrology

No method of astrology has received so much attention as Nadi System . As always happens, any miracle is always copied and thronged by frauds. Following is popular notion about Nadi Jyotish

What is Nadi Astrology?
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An ancient form of astrology practiced in southern India, Nadi Astrology is based on the belief that the past, present and the future lives of all humans were foreseen and recorded on palm leaves by Hindu sages in ancient time.

A very ancient form of astrology, whose origins began in Southern India, Nadi Astrology is based on an old-age belief that the one can decipher the past, present and future of all humans through the text written on palm leaves. It is a popularly believed that the great Hindu sages of the yore foresaw the past, present and future of all humans and hence, recorded these on tree barks and palm leaves.

Nadi Astrology is practised in the Tamil Nadu region as well as Kerala and other adjacent areas in South India. Simply put, it is an ancient method of recording data. Over the ages, people have come to believe that a thousand years ago, great Indian sages were granted a boon – to look into every human being’s past, present and future lives. They had to power to look into the lives of people were not only dead, living but also those who were yet to be born!

These sages then recorded these visions, i.e. data onto palm leaves in Tamil script. Today, these can be deciphered or read by Nadi astrologers or experts who have studied this branch of astrology. The term ‘Nadi’ in Tamil means ‘in search of’. Therefore, the existence of Nadi astrology indicates that every human being is in search of his past and future. According to legends, these scriptures on palm leaves are scattered across different parts of India and some of them were first found in Tamil Nadu.

It is widely believed that these pal scriptures, holding secrets to past and present were classified a thousand years ago during the Chola reign in South India. The Nadis are named after the rishis and sages who originally recorded these findings. They are Suka Nadi, Kaushika Nadi, Brahma Nadi and Agasthiya Nadi. These Nadis are not easy to read as they are written in ancient Tamil and are in poetry form, i.e. in sonnets and couplets. Only expert linguists who have studied this form of astrology over many years can read them.

Nadi Astrology is one of the oldest forms of astrology originating in India and in the recent past, it has attained a lot of popularity. However, due to its popularity and lack of clarity among people about its nature, a lot of fraudulent knowledge and frauds pretending to be experts are doing the rounds.


Here are a few truths about Nadi Astrology that you must know –

1. Nadi Astrology originates from Souther India and several leaves were found to be preserved in the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu. Many Brahmin astrology communities are known to possess these leaves as well. Some of these bundles are ‘exported’ to cities in other parts of India like Delhi, Mumbai, etc on a temporary, rotating basis. Most original Nadi centres are in remote rural interiors of Tamil Nadu where Hindi or even English is understood very little and access is difficult for common people, etc.

2. Nadi Astrology gives details of one’s past very correctly including personal details but is inaccurate about future. This is because complete future is known to God alone! No branch of astrology can foretell future that is 100% correct. Therefore, expecting this is foolish. Rishis who wrote on the Nadi leaves were known have had visions about a person in detail ‘till that person approaches a nadi leaf reader and gets his past, present decoded’. Future life of that person was written broadly and in advisory capacity. Remedies (called parihar) to offset/minimize evils are given more importance. These rishis wanted that when a person gets his leaf read, gets his future brief and then performs remedies.

3. Chances of locating ‘your’ leaf are 10%. Yes. For a customer who wants to get his future read, this answer is probably 10-15% as one nadi center cannot keep lakhs of prints. However, we have an-India network with most genuine Nadi centers and chances of locating your leaf are probably 70-80%.

Jai Siyaram