Dasha calculator: mahadasha, antardasha and pratyantar
See which planet's period (dasha) you are in now, four levels deep: the mahadasha, the antardasha inside it, the pratyantar dasha inside that, and the sookshma dasha inside that. Each one comes with its start and end date. Your full timeline from birth is one tap away.
Your date, place and time of birth. The time matters. An hour out can move every date by a few months, and the two shortest levels need it to the minute.
What is a dasha?
Classical Vedic astrology divides a life into planetary periods called dashas. The system most people use is Vimshottari, from the tradition of Parashara. It is a cycle of 120 years shared among nine planets, and each planet rules a set number of years.
In order, the years are: Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17.
The long period is the mahadasha. Inside it, the periods get shorter, level by level:
- Antardasha (also called bhukti): each mahadasha holds nine of them, in the same order, starting from its own planet.
- Pratyantar dasha: each antardasha splits the same way into nine of these.
- Sookshma dasha: each pratyantar splits into nine of these.
So at any time there is one main theme, with shorter ones running inside it.
The nine mahadashas, in order, with their years
Your life map: every mahadasha from birth to 100, on one line
How is the dasha calculated?
Your dasha is worked out from one thing: the nakshatra the Moon was in when you were born. The classical books give each of the 27 nakshatras a ruling planet, in a fixed order of nine. The first period of your life belongs to the ruler of your Moon’s nakshatra.
How much of that first period you get depends on how far the Moon had already travelled through its nakshatra. If it was halfway through, half of that period was used up before you were born, and you live the other half. After it, the periods follow one another in the same fixed order.
For example, with the Moon halfway through Rohini, a nakshatra ruled by the Moon, life starts with about 5 years of the Moon’s 10-year period. Mars’s 7 years come next, then Rahu’s 18.
| Mahadasha | Years | It comes first if your Moon is in |
|---|---|---|
| Ketu | 7 | Ashwini, Magha, Mula |
| Venus | 20 | Bharani, Purva Phalguni, Purva Ashadha |
| The Sun | 6 | Krittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha |
| The Moon | 10 | Rohini, Hasta, Shravana |
| Mars | 7 | Mrigashira, Chitra, Dhanishtha |
| Rahu | 18 | Ardra, Swati, Shatabhisha |
| Jupiter | 16 | Punarvasu, Vishakha, Purva Bhadrapada |
| Saturn | 19 | Pushya, Anuradha, Uttara Bhadrapada |
| Mercury | 17 | Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati |
The nine periods add up to 120 years. The calculator does all of this for you, to the day, from your birth date, time and place.
Find your Moon’s nakshatra, the starting point of your dasha
How we calculate your kundli: the ephemeris, the ayanamsa, the houses and the time zone
How do I find my current antardasha?
Your antardasha is the shorter chapter inside your mahadasha. Each mahadasha holds nine antardashas. The first belongs to the mahadasha’s own planet, and the rest follow the same order as the table above.
Each antardasha gets its share of the mahadasha: the mahadasha’s years, times the antardasha planet’s years, divided by 120. So Rahu’s antardasha inside Saturn’s mahadasha lasts 19 × 18 ÷ 120 = 2.85 years, about 2 years and 10 months.
Your result shows the antardasha running today, the one that comes next, and every antardasha of your current mahadasha with its dates.
What is pratyantar dasha, the third level?
Every antardasha holds nine pratyantar dashas, in the usual order, starting from the antardasha's own planet. The classical texts give the rule in one line: a planet's share of any period is its own years out of the 120.
So inside a Venus antardasha, the first pratyantar is Venus, and it takes 20 parts in 120 of that antardasha.
A pratyantar lasts from about five days to a little under seven months. It is the level to look at for the time you are in now: a few weeks, or a season.
What is sookshma dasha, the fourth level?
Split a pratyantar by the same rule and you get nine sookshma dashas. They run from a few hours to about five weeks.
At this size, the birth time decides everything. One minute of birth time moves every dasha date by one to five days. How much depends on the planet that rules your birth nakshatra (the star the Moon was in when you were born). Your result gives the figure for your own chart, so you know how far to trust the last level.
There is a fifth level, the prana dasha, which lasts from twenty minutes to a few days. We stop at four. A single minute of birth time moves a prana by more than most of them last, and we would rather not show dates we can't stand behind.
Why does the birth time matter for dasha?
Your dasha dates start from where the Moon stood when you were born, and the Moon moves fast. A birth time an hour out can shift every date after it by several months.
The long levels forgive a small error. A mahadasha that lasts sixteen years is not changed by a few days. The short levels don't forgive it. If your time comes from memory rather than a record, read the mahadasha and the antardasha, and treat the two levels under them as roughly right.
How do I read my dasha result?
- The mahadasha planet sets the long theme of a stretch of years.
- The antardasha planet colours the shorter chapter inside it.
- The pratyantar and sookshma planets colour the weeks and days inside that.
Classical astrology reads each planet by what it stands for, 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.
Raj yoga calculator: which yogas you have, and when their periods run
Your free reading: what your periods point to in career, love, money and home
Ask ChatGPT or Claude for your dasha, worked out with the same calculations
What are Rahu mahadasha and Shani mahadasha like?
These two are the most searched. After Venus, they are also 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. Its period is often read as a time of strong wanting: new ground, unfamiliar paths, big appetites.
Saturn's period is often read as slow and exacting, better for building than for shortcuts. How either one feels depends on where the planet sits in your chart, and what else it touches.
Questions people ask.
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Open the sample readingHow long is Rahu mahadasha?
Eighteen years. It opens with Rahu's own antardasha, about two years and eight months. Then it runs through the other eight planets in order: Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon and Mars. Each antardasha's length matches 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 it 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?
It is often read as a time of strong wanting and unfamiliar ground. It can be demanding at times, 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 shorter 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.
What is pratyantar dasha?
The third level of the Vimshottari dasha: a shorter period inside an antardasha. Each antardasha holds nine of them, in the usual order, starting from the antardasha's own planet. A pratyantar lasts from about five days to a little under seven months.
How is pratyantar dasha calculated?
By proportion. Take the length of the antardasha, multiply it by the planet's dasha years, and divide by 120. For example, in a Venus mahadasha the Saturn antardasha lasts three years and two months. Saturn's own pratyantar inside it takes 19 parts in 120 of that, about six months.
What is sookshma dasha?
The fourth level: a pratyantar split into nine by the same rule. A sookshma lasts from a few hours to about five weeks. So it only means something with a birth time that is right to the minute.
Do you show the prana dasha?
We stop at the sookshma. The prana dasha is the fifth level, and it lasts from twenty minutes to a few days. One minute of birth time moves it by more than most pranas last.
Why do I need an exact birth time?
Your dasha dates are counted from how far the Moon had travelled through its nakshatra (the Moon's star) 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 Vedic 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.
Can I calculate my dasha without a birth time?
Only roughly. The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day, so without the time its place in its nakshatra, and every date that follows, can be off by months. That is why this calculator asks for your birth time. Use the time on your birth certificate if you can.
What is the order of the mahadashas?
Ketu, Venus, the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, then back to Ketu. Where you start in that order depends on your Moon’s nakshatra.
How many years is each mahadasha?
Ketu 7, Venus 20, the Sun 6, the Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17. Your first one is shorter, because part of it ran before you were born.
Your dasha says when. Your chart says what.
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