Dasha

Vimshottari Dasha

How the 120 year Vimshottari dasha works, the order and length of each planetary period, how your birth nakshatra decides where you start, and how to use it by age.

Short answer

Vimshottari dasha divides a 120 year cycle into nine planetary periods in a fixed order: Ketu 7 years, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17. Where you start in that cycle is decided by the nakshatra of your Moon at birth. Each major period, called a mahadasha, colours the way your chart is expressed at that age, which makes the dasha the most useful timing tool in a Kundali.

The nine periods and their lengths

The order never changes: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, then back to Ketu. The lengths in years are 7, 20, 6, 10, 7, 18, 16, 19 and 17, which add up to 120.

Venus has the longest period and the Sun the shortest. No individual lives through all nine in a single life, since most people meet only a few.

How your starting period is found

The Moon sits in one of 27 nakshatras at your birth, each 13 degrees and 20 minutes wide. The nakshatras are ruled by the nine dasha planets in a repeating order, so each planet rules three nakshatras. The ruler of your Moon's nakshatra is the planet whose period you are born into.

You are then born part of the way through that period. How much of it is left is worked out from how far the Moon had travelled through its nakshatra. That is why a different birth minute can shift all your dates.

Antardasha and pratyantar dasha

Each mahadasha is split into nine sub-periods, called antardashas, in the same planetary order starting from the main planet. Each of those is split again into pratyantar dashas. The planet of the main period sets the theme, and the sub-period planet sets the flavour of that stretch.

The AnkShakti Kundali lists every mahadasha with its antardashas by age, and shows the period running now along with its current pratyantar.

Reading a period

Look at where the dasha planet sits in your chart, which houses it rules, how strong it is and which planets it joins. A planet that is strong and well placed is read as giving good results in its period. A planet that is weak or in a difficult house is read as asking for more effort.

The AnkShakti dasha view marks each period Favourable, Mixed or Challenging with the reason in one line. Treat that as a first reading, not a promise.

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Common questions

What is the difference between dasha and antardasha?
The dasha, or mahadasha, is the main period. The antardasha is a sub-period inside it.
Why is the dasha called Vimshottari?
Vimshottari means 120 in Sanskrit, the number of years in the full cycle.
Are there other dasha systems?
Yes. Jaimini and Yogini dasha are two examples. Vimshottari is the most widely used in India.
Can the dasha dates change?
They shift if the birth time or the ayanamsa used changes. That is why an accurate birth time matters.

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