- System
- Vimshottari — the most widely used Parashari Dasha system
- Total cycle
- 120 years across nine Grahas
- Fixed order
- Ketu → Venus → Sun → Moon → Mars → Rahu → Jupiter → Saturn → Mercury
- Starting period
- Determined by the Nakshatra occupied by the Moon at birth
- Levels
- Mahadasha, Antardasha/Bhukti, Pratyantardasha, Sookshma, Prana
- Read alongside
- Natal promise, relevant Varga and transit (Gochar)
Key themes
Timing · 120-year cycle · Nine Grahas · Nakshatra of the Moon · Nested periods · Parashari method
Vedic astrology does not rely only on the positions of the planets at birth. It also contains several Dasha systems, which divide a person's life into planetary periods used to time the indications already present in the horoscope.
Among these, Vimshottari Dasha is one of the most widely used systems in Parashari Jyotisha. The word Vimshottari refers to 120, because one complete cycle consists of planetary periods totalling 120 years.
The system uses the nine Grahas in a fixed cyclic order: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Once Mercury completes its period the sequence begins again with Ketu.
Connection between the Nakshatras and the Dasha
Vimshottari is closely connected with the 27 Nakshatras. The Nakshatra lords follow the same nine-Graha sequence, and that sequence repeats three times across the 27 Nakshatras — Ashwini to Ketu, Bharani to Venus, Krittika to the Sun, and so on, beginning again with Magha under Ketu.
The Nakshatra occupied by the Moon at birth therefore determines which Mahadasha a person begins life within.
Which Mahadasha does a person start with?
A person does not necessarily begin life at the start of a planet's full Mahadasha. The Moon's exact progress through its birth Nakshatra determines how much of that Mahadasha has already elapsed and how much remains.
Conceptually, the remaining proportion equals the remaining portion of the Moon's birth Nakshatra divided by the total Nakshatra span. Since every Nakshatra spans 13°20′, the exact lunar longitude matters — two people born with the Moon in the same Nakshatra can still have different balances at birth.
This is one reason accurate birth time and place are requested before any timing discussion in a consultation.
The nested levels
Vimshottari periods can be subdivided progressively. The commonly encountered hierarchy runs Mahadasha, then Antardasha (also called Bhukti), then Pratyantardasha, then Sookshma Dasha and finally Prana Dasha.
At each level the current period is subdivided according to the same planetary proportions of the 120-year cycle, which makes Vimshottari a single nested timing system rather than five unrelated calculations.
- 1.Mahadasha — the major planetary period
- 2.Antardasha / Bhukti — nine sub-periods within it
- 3.Pratyantardasha — a third, narrower layer
- 4.Sookshma Dasha — a fine subdivision
- 5.Prana Dasha — the finest traditional subdivision
What Vimshottari does not do
- It does not create a result the horoscope does not otherwise promise
- It does not make a planet automatically favourable or unfavourable for its whole period
- It does not replace examination of the Lagna, houses, Grahas and relevant Vargas
- It does not, on its own, justify a precise prediction of an event or date
Related at AkshAstro
- The 27 Nakshatras and their lords
- Mahadasha — the major period
- D9 Navamsha — read with the Dasha for marriage
No Dasha, balance or date is calculated on this website. Astrological interpretations are traditional guidance frameworks and should not replace professional medical, legal, financial or other specialist advice.