Nakshatras and Sounds

Sanskrit Birthstar Syllables

According to traditional  jyotishis (Indian astrologers), among the most ost aus auspici icious ous Hind indu frst rst nam names begi egin the the sylla yllab bles les that that corr corres espo pond nds s to one' one's s birt birth h star star,, call called ed nakshatra nakshatra,, which is the constellation with which the moon was aligned at the moment o  birth. Below is a list o the twenty-seen nakshatras nakshatras and  and the distinct !ans"rit syllables that correspond to each. #o choose a nakshatra nakshatra name  name (namanakshatra (namanakshatra ), frst  ), frst determine the birth star o  the the chi child or adul adult, t, the then loo" oo" or or the star tar in the the lis list below to determine the syllable(s) with which the name should begin. #here are are our our soun sounds ds or or each each nakshatra nakshatra,, cor correspo espond ndin ing g to the the our our $uarters (   padas ) o  ) o each constellation. I you "now the pada the pada under which the child or adult was born, it is best to choose the syllable o  that pada that pada.. !eeral o the nama-nakshatra syllables are $uite rare in actual usage in the !ans"rit language. %or e&le, someone born under the ourth pada ourth pada o urashadha urashadha nakshatra nakshatra may  may not fnd more than two or three $ualiying names beginning with the syllable dhaa (long long a) a) een en in e&te &tens nsi ie e nam name lists ists,, so it is common practice to choose a name starting with a similar syllable. In this case the syllable dha (short a) might be used, such as in the name Dharana Dharana,, or dha as in Dharma Dharma.. It is also common to resort to the syllable o another pada another  pada within  within the same nakshatra nakshatra i  i too ew names are aailable. hy chose a name based on nakshatra nakshatra* * #he frst reason is that it ibr ibrat ates es in har harmony ony with with the the natu naturre o the the indi indii id dual ual in this this particular incarnation, by irtue o its uni$ue relation to the moon at the moment o birth, which has a signifcant impact on the inner, emot emotio iona nall natu naturre. !eco !econd ndly ly,, by simp simply ly hear hearin ing g the the name name,, an astute jyotisha astute jyotisha shastri shastri,, priest, swami or satguru satguruwould would immediately "now the nature o the person, cogni+ing that he was born under, say, say, the the shravana nakshatra nakshatra.. He would thus be able to wisely counsel or console, adise and encourage accordingly. In ancient

days, as today, this frst sound o the frst name was e&tremely important to "nowledgeable preceptors. ote, in this H# presentation o the boo", the diacritical mar"s as well as the deanagiri sans"rit image or the syllables hae been remoed. /ou should consult the printed edition o How to Become a Hinds. or consult with a $ualifed !ans"rit, 0yotisha shastri or andit beore ma"ing a fnal decision.  Ashvini Nakshatra Chu (as in Fu-Manchu) Che (as in chase) Cho (as in choke) La (as in lava)

 Bharani Nakshatra Li (as in lilt) Lu (as in lute) Le as in leg) Lo (as in local)

 Krittika Nakshatra A (as in ananda) I (as in iridescent) U (as in uvula) E (as in egg)

 Rohini Nakshatra O (as in odor) Va (as in vanilla) Vi (as in Vina) Vo (as in vote)

 Mrigashira Nakshatra Ve (as in Veda) Vo (as in votary) a (as in an!i) e (as in enya)

 Ardra Nakshatra u (as in u"ait) #ha (as in #hana)  $g (%ronounced &ng&) Chha (as in Chur chill)

 Punarvasu Nakshatra e (as in enya) o (as in kodiac) 'a (as in hardy) 'i (as in hither)

 Pushya Nakshatra 'u (as in hurrah) 'e (as in heyday) 'o (as in hoogenous) a (no English e*uiv+)

 Ashlesha Nakshatra i (no English e*uiv+) u (no English e*uiv+) e (no English e*uiv+) o (no English e*uiv+)

 Magha Nakshatra Ma (as in aya) Mi (as in iracle) Mu (as in udra) Me (as in ega,yte)

 Purvaphalguni Nakshatra Mo (as in otion) a (no English e*uiv+) i (no English e*uiv+) u (no English e*uiv+)

Uttaraphalguni Nakshatra e (no English e*uiv+) o (no English e*uiv+) .a (no English e*uiv+) .i (no English e*uiv+)

 Hasta Nakshatra .u (as in %urusha) /ha (as in shanti)  $a (no English e*uiv+) ha (no English e*uiv+)

Chitra Nakshatra .e (as in .eru) .o (as in %ole) 0a (as in 0aa) 0i (as in 0io de 1aneiro)

 Svati Nakshatra 0u (as in ruor) 0e (as in regulate) 0a (as in 0aa) a (as in ahiti)

Vishakha Nakshatra i (as in East ior  u (as in tune) e (as in terrace) o (as in total)

 Anuradha Nakshatra  $a (as in $agasaki)  $i (as in $icaragua)  $u (as in nueral)  $e (as in $e%al)

 Jyeshta Nakshatra  $o (as in no,le) 2a (as in 2aa) 2i (as in yield) 2u (as in 2ukon)

 Mula Nakshatra 2e (as in 2een) 2o (as in yo-yo) 3a (as in ,all) 3i (as in 3ini)

 Purvashadha Nakshatra 3u (as in 3uddha) ha (as in dhara) 3ha (as in ,hakti) ha (no English e*uiv+)

Uttarashadha Nakshatra 3e (as in ,eta) 3o (as in 3oheian) 1a (as in !ar) 1i (as in !iva)

 Shravana Nakshatra 1u (as in 1u%iter) 1e (ay as in hay) 1o (as in !oke) #ha (as in #hana)

 hanishta Nakshatra #a (as in garden) #i (ee as in kee%) #u (as in guru) #e (as in #estault)

 Shata!hisha Nakshatra #o (as in go) /a (as in /ahara) /i (as in /ita) /u (as in /urya)

 Purva!hadhrapada Nakshatra /e (as in /eoul) /o (as in sonar) a (as in ante) i (as in di%a)

Uttara!hadhrapada Nakshatra u (as in duty) ha (as in har esert) 1$a (as in 1nana) a (as in ahiti)

 Revati Nakshatra e (as in deva) o (as in donut) Cha (as in chakra) Chi (as in chie4)