Mahadasha and dasha calculator
See which planet's period you are in now, the mahadasha and the antardasha inside it, with start and end dates, and your full timeline of mahadashas from birth.
Date, place and time of birth. The time matters: an hour out can move every date by a few months.
What a dasha is
Classical Vedic astrology divides a life into planetary periods called dashas. The system used most widely is Vimshottari, from the tradition of Parashara: a cycle of 120 years shared among nine planets, each ruling a set number of years. Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17.
The long period is the mahadasha. Each mahadasha is divided into nine antardashas in the same order, starting from its own planet. So at any time there is a main theme, and a shorter one running inside it.
How your dates are worked out
The starting point is your Moon. At birth it sat in one of the 27 nakshatras, and each nakshatra has a ruling planet. That planet's mahadasha is the one you were born into.
How far the Moon had already travelled through its nakshatra decides how much of that first period was already spent, so most people are born partway through a mahadasha. From there the sequence runs in fixed order. The Moon moves about half a degree an hour, which is why a wrong birth time shifts every date that follows.
How to read your result
The mahadasha planet sets the long theme of a stretch of years. The antardasha planet colours the shorter chapter within it. Classical astrology reads each planet by what it signifies and by how well it is placed in your chart, so the same period can be easy for one person and demanding for another.
Read the dates as seasons, not appointments. They describe what a stretch of years tends to lean toward, never what will happen in it.
Rahu mahadasha and Shani mahadasha
These two are the most searched, and after Venus they are the longest: Rahu 18 years, Saturn (Shani) 19. Rahu has no body of its own. It is one of the two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's, and its period is often read as one of strong wanting: new ground, unfamiliar paths, large appetites.
Saturn's period is often read as slow and exacting, better for building than for shortcuts. How either feels depends on where the planet sits in your chart and what else it touches.
Questions people ask
How long is Rahu mahadasha?
Eighteen years. It opens with Rahu's own antardasha, about two years and eight months, then runs through the other eight planets in order: Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon and Mars. Each antardasha's length is in proportion to that planet's own share of the 120-year cycle.
How long is Shani mahadasha?
Nineteen years, the second longest after Venus. It opens with Saturn's own antardasha, about three years, then moves through Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu and Jupiter. The calculator shows each antardasha with its start and end dates.
Is Rahu mahadasha bad?
No. It is often read as a period of strong wanting and unfamiliar ground, which can be demanding, and it is not a punishment. How it tends to feel depends on where Rahu sits in your chart and which planets it touches. It describes a leaning over eighteen years, not events.
What is the difference between mahadasha and antardasha?
The mahadasha is the long period, from 6 to 20 years depending on the planet. The antardasha is a sub-period inside it, from a few months to about three years. The mahadasha sets the main theme; the antardasha colours the chapter you are in now.
Why do I need an exact birth time?
Your dasha dates are counted from how far the Moon had travelled through its nakshatra at birth. The Moon moves about half a degree an hour, so an hour out can move every date by a few months. Near the edge of a nakshatra, it can even change which period you started in.
Why are my dates different from another site?
Sites differ in their sidereal zodiac setting (we use Lahiri, the standard in India) and in how they count the length of a dasha year. Either can move dates by weeks or months. A different birth time, even by a few minutes, will also shift them.
Your dasha says when. Your chart says what.
The free reading looks at your whole chart, finds which planet carries your question, and names a small weekly practice for it.