Read for
ambition, the unfamiliar and sudden turns
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Today’s panchangall five angas with exact timesTithithe lunar day, and when it endsNakshatrathe Moon’s position todayHorathe planetary hour, all twenty-fourRahu Kaalthe time to avoid starting new workChoghadiyaday and night, each split into eightFestivalsDiwali, Holi and 81 more, with the rule behind each dateVratEkadashi with parana, Purnima, Amavasya, Pradosh
15% of the cycle
Rahu Mahadasha
18 years
Rahu mahadasha runs 18 years and is read for ambition, the unfamiliar and sudden turns. What it brings you depends on where Rahu sits in your kundli.
Rahu mahadasha in the cycle
18 of 120 years. It follows Mars (7 years) and comes before Jupiter (16 years). You are born into it if the Moon was in Ardra, Swati or Shatabhisha, the three nakshatras Rahu rules.
Ketu7y
Venus20y
Sun6y
Moon10y
Mars7y
Rahu18y
Jupiter16y
Saturn19y
Mercury17y
The nine antardashas
Each runs for 18 × its own lord’s years ÷ 120. The longest is Rahu–Venus, the shortest Rahu–Sun; together they make up the 18 years.
A dasha year here is 365.25 days, the common modern convention; a panchang using a 360-day year will give slightly different dates, in the same ratio. Each length is rounded to the day.
As Parashara reads them (BPHS chapter 55)
Each line is the text’s reading when the antardasha lord is well placed, and when it is not; your kundli decides which applies.
Rahu antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives a rise to authority or a position of command, fresh enthusiasm and good relations with government and those in power. It also gives happiness from spouse and children, and growth in property.
Hard: BPHS warns of danger from thieves, trouble from wounds and friction with government officials. It also warns of the ruin of kinsmen and of distress to spouse and children.
Caution: When Rahu sits in the 2nd or 7th house or is joined with the lords of those houses, BPHS warns of distress and illness in this sub-period.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes worshipping Rahu by reciting his mantras, and giving in charity the things that belong to Rahu.
BPHS 55.1–7Guru (Jupiter) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives a better position, patience, victory over opponents, enjoyment and good relations with those in power. Wealth and property grow steadily, like the waxing Moon of the bright fortnight. It also gives vehicles and livestock, a meeting with someone in authority after a journey to the west or south-east, success in what one sets out to do, and a return to one's home town. It adds good done for Brahmins, visits to holy places, gain of property or land, devotion to the deities and Brahmins, happiness from spouse, children and grandchildren, and sweet food every day.
Hard: BPHS warns of loss of wealth, obstacles in work, a bad name, distress to spouse and children, and heart trouble. Among these hard results it also lists being handed a charge in government: given here, it is an unwelcome burden rather than a reward.
Caution: When Guru rules the 2nd or 7th house, BPHS counts this sub-period maraka (a time the texts link with danger to life) and warns of the danger of untimely death.
Remedy: For relief and good health, BPHS prescribes worshipping Lord Shiva through a golden image of him; by his grace the troubles ease.
BPHS 55.8–20Shani (Saturn) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives favour from those in power for devoted service, happy family occasions such as a wedding, the making of a garden or a water tank, and gains of money and livestock through well-off people of the labouring class. The same verse adds some mixed notes: a loss of money through the authorities during a journey to the west, income that shrinks through one's own sloth, and a return to one's home town.
Hard: BPHS warns of trouble from servants, the authorities and enemies, distress to spouse, children and kinsmen, disputes with those who share the family property, and disputes in dealings with others. Even so, it gives a sudden gain of jewellery.
Caution: When Shani rules the 2nd or 7th house, BPHS counts this sub-period maraka (a time the texts link with danger to life) and warns that untimely death is possible.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles and to regain good health, BPHS prescribes giving a black cow or a female buffalo in charity.
BPHS 55.21–29Budh (Mercury) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives the results of a Raj Yoga (a combination that raises one to standing and power), well-being in the family, profit and wealth from business, and comfortable vehicles. It also gives weddings and other happy occasions, more livestock, fragrances, and the comforts of bed and companionship.
Hard: BPHS warns that the person may speak ill of the deities and Brahmins, and of lost fortune, lying, unwise acts, fear of snakes, thieves and the government, quarrels, and distress to spouse and children.
Caution: When Budh rules the 2nd or 7th house, BPHS counts this sub-period maraka (a time the texts link with danger to life) and warns of the fear of untimely death.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes reciting the Vishnu Sahasranama (the thousand names of Vishnu).
BPHS 55.30–39Ketu antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives enjoyment, gain of wealth, recognition from those in power, and gain of gold.
Hard: BPHS warns of journeys to foreign lands, trouble from the authorities, rheumatic fever and similar ailments, and loss of livestock.
Caution: When Ketu sits in your 2nd or 7th house or is joined with the lords of those houses, BPHS warns of distress to the body.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes giving a goat in charity.
BPHS 55.40–45Shukra (Venus) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives wealth through Brahmins, more livestock, celebrations for the birth of a son, well-being and recognition from the government. It also gives a rise to authority or a high government post, and great enjoyment and comfort.
Hard: BPHS warns of illness, quarrels, separation from a son or from the father, distress to kinsmen and disputes with those who share the family property. It also warns of danger to one's own life or an employer's, unhappiness for spouse and children, and stomach pain.
Caution: When Shukra rules the 2nd or 7th house, BPHS counts this sub-period maraka (a time the texts link with danger to life).
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes the worship of Goddess Durga and Goddess Lakshmi.
BPHS 55.46–59Surya (Sun) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives good relations with those in power, more wealth and grain, a measure of popularity and respect, and some chance of becoming the head of a village or locality.
Hard: BPHS warns of fevers, dysentery and other illness, quarrels, friction with the authorities, travel, and danger from enemies, thieves and fire.
Caution: When Surya rules the 2nd or 7th house, BPHS warns of the danger of a serious illness.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes the worship of Surya.
BPHS 55.60–67Chandra (Moon) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives a rise to authority, respect from those in power, gains of wealth, good health, clothes and jewellery. It also gives happiness from children, comfortable vehicles, and more house and land.
Hard: BPHS warns of disturbance at home and in farming from evil spirits, leopards and other wild animals, danger from thieves on journeys, and stomach trouble.
Caution: When Chandra rules the 2nd house, or the 12th house as this verse reads, BPHS warns that untimely death is possible.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes giving a white cow or a female buffalo in charity.
BPHS 55.68–75Mangal (Mars) antardasha
Goes well: BPHS gives the return of a lost position of authority and of lost wealth, and of property at home. It also gives better harvests, gain of wealth, the blessing of the family deity (isht dev), happiness from children and good food.
Hard: BPHS warns of distress to spouse, children and siblings, loss of position, and friction with children, spouse and other close relations. It also warns of danger from thieves, wounds and pain in the body.
Caution: When Mangal rules the 2nd or 7th house, BPHS counts this sub-period maraka (a time the texts link with danger to life) and warns of lethargy and danger to life.
Remedy: For relief from these troubles, BPHS prescribes giving a cow or a bull in charity.
BPHS 55.76–83What Rahu mahadasha is read for
What the tradition reads it for, and what decides it in a chart.
Decided by your chart
Rahu rules no house. What decides its period is the house it sits in, the rashi there and that rashi’s lord, and the grahas with it; the tradition adds that Rahu acts like Saturn (“Shanivat Rahu”). See Rahu in each house and its upay.
Read for your chart
The dasha calculator finds when Rahu mahadasha falls in your life and reads it, and each of its antardashas, for your chart. Find my dasha.
What Parashara says of this mahadasha (BPHS 47.34–43)
His readings come with conditions: where the dasha lord sits in your kundli, and what it joins. The old text speaks of a man; it applies to anyone.
When it goes well
- When Rahu is in his exaltation rashi, which BPHS gives as Vrishabh (Taurus), or in a like dignity: his mooltrikona (root sign of strength), Mithun (Gemini), or his own rashi, Kumbh (Aquarius), for which some sages take Kanya (Virgo), BPHS gives great happiness from gains of wealth and farm produce, vehicles gained with the help of friends and the government, the building of a new house, the birth of children, a turn towards religion, recognition from foreign governments, and gains of wealth and clothes.BPHS 47.34–39½
- When Rahu is joined with or aspected by benefics, is in a benefic rashi, and is in the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th or 3rd house, BPHS gives comforts of every kind through the favour of the government, wealth through a foreign government or ruler, and happiness at home.BPHS 47.34–39½
When it is hard
- When Rahu is in the 8th or 12th house, BPHS warns of troubles and distress of every kind in his dasha.BPHS 47.40–43
- When Rahu is joined with a malefic or with a maraka graha (one the texts link with danger to life), or is in his debilitation rashi, BPHS warns of loss of position, damage to or loss of one's home, mental anguish, trouble for spouse and children, and poor food.BPHS 47.40–43
- When Rahu is afflicted in these ways, BPHS warns of loss of wealth at the start of his dasha, gives some relief and gain of wealth in one's own country in the middle, and warns of distress and anxiety in the last part.BPHS 47.40–43
Upay in Rahu mahadasha
Suggestions the tradition gives while Rahu’s period runs; your kundli says which apply.
What helps
- Worship Goddess Durga regularly
- Feed birds, especially crows
- Donate a coconut and black cloth, Rahu's daan
- Keep a piece of silver with you
What to keep clear of
- Avoid deception and manipulation
- Don't get addicted to substances
- Avoid occult practices without guidance
Beej mantra and daan
The beej mantra is Rahu’s seed sound, chanted with a count.
ॐ भ्रां भ्रीं भ्रौं सः राहवे नमः
Daan: a coconut and black cloth, on Saturday
Rahu mahadasha for each lagna
For Rahu, the lord of the rashi it sits in takes the place of lordship.
Rahu rules no house, so no lagna makes it good or bad by lordship: it gives the results of the house it sits in and of the lord of that rashi. Rahu in each house shows how.
All nine mahadashas
Common questions
How long is Rahu mahadasha?
18 years, 15% of the 120-year cycle, divided into nine antardashas.
When does Rahu mahadasha start?
From birth, if the Moon was in Ardra, Swati or Shatabhisha at birth; otherwise when Mars mahadasha ends. Whether it comes in your lifetime depends on which mahadasha was running when you were born.
Is Rahu mahadasha good or bad?
Neither in general. Rahu rules no house, so it depends on the house it sits in, that rashi’s lord and the grahas with it; the calculator reads it for your chart.
Which dasha you are running is a fact about your chart.
It follows from the Moon’s nakshatra at your birth. Enter your birth details and the whole 120-year timeline comes with it, each period read for your chart.
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