Vimshottari dasha explained
The Vimshottari dasha is a 120-year cycle of nine planetary periods used in Vedic astrology. The planet that rules your birth nakshatra gives your first period, and the periods then follow in a fixed order. Each main period (mahadasha) is divided into nine sub-periods (antardasha).
The nine periods
The years add up to 120, which is where the name Vimshottari (one hundred and twenty) comes from.
| Planet | Years | Order |
|---|---|---|
| Ketu | 7 | 1 |
| Venus | 20 | 2 |
| Sun | 6 | 3 |
| Moon | 10 | 4 |
| Mars | 7 | 5 |
| Rahu | 18 | 6 |
| Jupiter | 16 | 7 |
| Saturn | 19 | 8 |
| Mercury | 17 | 9 |
How your starting point is found
Find the nakshatra of your Moon. Its ruling planet is the first mahadasha. How far the Moon had travelled through that nakshatra at birth tells how much of that first period had already passed, so most people begin life partway through a period.
Vedic Astrolab counts a year as 365.25 days. Other software may use a slightly different year length, which can move period dates by a few days.
Antardasha
Each mahadasha is split into nine antardashas in the same planet order, starting with the mahadasha's own planet. Each is in proportion to its planet's years: for example, the Venus antardasha inside the Sun mahadasha lasts the Sun's 6 years multiplied by Venus's 20 out of 120.
How to use it
Tradition reads the running period as a theme for that stretch of life. Treat it as a prompt for reflection about what is in focus, not as a forecast of events. The birth chart calculator shows the mahadasha and antardasha running today.
Frequently asked questions
What dasha am I in?
It depends on your birth date, time and place. The Vedic birth chart calculator shows the mahadasha and antardasha running today.
Why 120 years?
It is the sum of the nine planetary periods (7+20+6+10+7+18+16+19+17). It is a system of reckoning, not a claim about lifespan.
Do I need an exact birth time for the dasha?
Birth time matters because the Moon moves about 13 degrees a day. Without it the running period is only given when it is the same for the whole birth day.
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