What is Vimshottari dasha?
Vimshottari is the dasha system most used in Vedic astrology. It divides a 120-year cycle among the nine grahas, always in the same order: Ketu 7 years, Venus 20, the Sun 6, the Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17. Each of these mahadashas is divided into nine antardashas in the same order, starting with the mahadasha’s own graha.
Where your dashas begin
Your first dasha belongs to the lord of your birth nakshatra, the nakshatra the Moon was in. How far the Moon had travelled through that nakshatra decides how much of the first dasha was left at birth. The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day, so an accurate birth time gives accurate dates.
How astrologers read it
The graha whose period is running is read as setting the themes of that time of life, together with where it sits in your chart and the houses it rules. The same dasha can play out very differently in two charts, which is why a kundli reading looks at the whole kundli.
Questions
About dashas
Why are my dates different from another website?
The dates depend on the ayanamsa and on the length of year used. This calculator uses the Lahiri ayanamsa and years of 365.25 days. Other software may use a slightly different ayanamsa or year length, which moves the dates by days; a few programs use 360-day years, which moves them by months over a lifetime.
What is the difference between mahadasha and antardasha?
The mahadasha is the main period, from 6 to 20 years long. Each one is divided into nine antardashas, or sub-periods, from about three and a half months to just over three years long. Astrologers read the two together, for example Jupiter mahadasha with Saturn antardasha.
Is any dasha good or bad?
Not on its own. How a period is read depends on where that graha sits in your chart, the houses it rules and its strength. A kundli reading looks at your current dasha in that context.
More free tools
Charts, matching and panchang
- Free kundliYour birth chart with planets, nakshatra, dashas and a dosha check.
- Kundli matchingGuna milan out of 36 with all eight kootas explained.
- Today's panchangTithi, nakshatra, Rahu kaal and choghadiya for today, or any date and city.
- Festival calendarFestival and vrat dates with their muhurat: Diwali, Holi, every Ekadashi and more.
Astrology calculators
- Moon signFind your Vedic rashi, the sign your horoscope is read from.
- Sun signYour Vedic sun sign, with your Western one alongside.
- Ascendant (lagna)The sign rising at your birth, with its lord and the times it rose.
- NakshatraYour birth star and pada, with its lord, deity, gana and nadi.
- DashaYour Vimshottari mahadashas and antardashas, with the ones running now.
- Love compatibilityA quick check of two moon signs on Bhakoot and graha maitri.
- Mangal doshaCheck Mars from your lagna, Moon and Venus, with the common exceptions.
- Kaal Sarp doshSee whether all seven grahas fall between Rahu and Ketu.
- Sade SatiWhether Saturn's seven-and-a-half years are running for you, with dates.
Numerology
- NumerologyYour mulank, bhagyank and name number, and the planet behind each.
- Lo Shu gridYour date of birth in the 3×3 grid, with repeated and missing numbers.
- Mobile numberAdd up a mobile number and compare it with your mulank and bhagyank.
- Vehicle numberThe total and single digit of a car or bike registration number.
Vastu
Worked out on your device with Astronomy Engine by Don Cross (MIT licence) and the Lahiri ayanamsa. Place data: GeoNames (geonames.org), CC BY 4.0.