Vimshottari dasha
120 years, nine periods
Nine planetary periods in a fixed order. Which one you are born into comes from the Moon’s nakshatra — and the rest of your life’s timeline follows from that one fact.
The 120-year cycle
nine periods, fixed orderVimshottari divides a life into nine periods of unequal length, always in the same order, adding to 120 years. The order never changes; what differs from one person to the next is which of the nine you are born into and how much of it is left — and that comes from the nakshatra the Moon occupied at your birth.
| Mahadasha | Graha | Length | Share | Starts if born in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ketu | Ketu | 7 years | 5.8% | Ashwini, Magha, Mula |
| Venus (Shukra) | Venus | 20 years | 16.7% | Bharani, Purva Phalguni, Purva Ashadha |
| Sun (Surya) | Sun | 6 years | 5.0% | Krittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha |
| Moon (Chandra) | Moon | 10 years | 8.3% | Rohini, Hasta, Shravana |
| Mars (Mangal) | Mars | 7 years | 5.8% | Mrigashira, Chitra, Dhanishta |
| Rahu | Rahu | 18 years | 15.0% | Ardra, Swati, Shatabhisha |
| Jupiter (Guru) | Jupiter | 16 years | 13.3% | Punarvasu, Vishakha, Purva Bhadrapada |
| Saturn (Shani) | Saturn | 19 years | 15.8% | Pushya, Anuradha, Uttara Bhadrapada |
| Mercury (Budh) | Mercury | 17 years | 14.2% | Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati |
Which one you start in
27 nakshatras, nine lordsEach nakshatra has a ruling graha, and that graha’s mahadasha is the one running when you are born. You do not get all of it: the Moon is usually part-way through the nakshatra, and the same fraction of that mahadasha is already spent. That remainder is the only part of the timeline that needs your birth time — everything after it follows automatically.
All nine mahadashas
120 years end to endCommon questions
4 questionsWhat is Vimshottari dasha?
A system that divides a life into nine planetary periods totalling 120 years, always in the order Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. Which one you are born into is decided by the nakshatra the Moon occupied at your birth.
Which dasha am I running now?
It follows from your birth date, time and place — the Moon’s nakshatra gives the mahadasha at birth and how much of it was already spent, and the rest of the 120 years follows from that. The free kundli computes the whole timeline.
What is the difference between mahadasha and antardasha?
The mahadasha is the major period, from six years for the Sun to twenty for Venus. Each is divided into nine antardashas in the same order, and an antardasha of B inside a mahadasha of A runs for A x B / 120 years — so Saturn inside Saturn is just over three years, and the Sun inside Ketu is about four months.
Do dasha periods need an exact birth time?
Only for the balance at birth. The Moon moves about thirteen degrees a day, so a few hours changes how much of the first mahadasha was already spent and shifts every date after it. The sequence and the lengths do not change.
Which dasha you are running is a fact about your chart.
It follows from the Moon’s nakshatra at your birth. Cast the chart free and the whole 120-year timeline comes with it.