Vimshottari Dasha Calculator - Mahadasha and Antardasha
A free Vedic planetary-period timeline — Mahadasha, Antardasha and deeper sub-periods, laid out from birth and computed from the Moon's nakshatra.
The Vimshottari dasha is the most widely used timing system in Vedic astrology. It divides a 120-year span across the nine grahas, and classically the period running at a given time is read for the themes of that stretch of life. Kundli Studio computes the dasha tree, down to the Pratyantardasha, from precise astronomical positions — no manual tables.
Enter a birth date, time and place and the calculator lays the sequence out from birth: the ruling Mahadasha, the Antardasha within it and the Pratyantardasha below that, each with exact start and end dates.
The 120-year Vimshottari cycle
Every Vimshottari sequence uses the same nine periods, in the same order, totalling 120 years. Which one you are born into is set by the nakshatra the Moon occupies at birth — that nakshatra's lord starts your dasha, and the rest follow in order.
| # | Graha (planet) | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ketu | 7 |
| 2 | Venus (Shukra) | 20 |
| 3 | Sun (Surya) | 6 |
| 4 | Moon (Chandra) | 10 |
| 5 | Mars (Mangala) | 7 |
| 6 | Rahu | 18 |
| 7 | Jupiter (Guru) | 16 |
| 8 | Saturn (Shani) | 19 |
| 9 | Mercury (Budha) | 17 |
| Full cycle | 120 | |
For example, a chart with the Moon in Rohini (ruled by the Moon) begins life in the Moon Mahadasha — only the balance of its 10 years, set by how far the Moon has already travelled through Rohini — then 7 years of Mars, then 18 of Rahu, and so on around the cycle.
How to read the result
By default the screen opens on Graha Dasha with Vimsottari selected; one menu switches to the Rashi (sign-based) dashas and the other picks the system. Each row gives the period lord, its start and end dates, a bar filled by the share already elapsed, and the span in years, months and days. A Now tag marks the period running today, and the Current button opens the tree along that path.
Read the levels from the outside in: Mahadasha, then the Antardasha inside it, then the Pratyantardasha, which is as deep as the Vimsottari tree goes. Parasara gives each period's opening sub-period to its own lord, with the other eight following in the main sequence, so a child row that repeats its parent is expected. In the sign-based systems the lords are signs rather than grahas.
Clicking a lord fills the Planet Details panel: sign, nakshatra and pada, degree, chara karaka role, the house it holds in each divisional chart, and its Shadbala against the required figure, with Vimsopaka and Vaiseshikamsa scores. Parasara separates a dasha's general effects, which come from the graha's nature, from its distinctive effects, which come from its placement, and says the effects follow the lord's strength. For a sign lord the panel notes that planet details do not apply.
Two further checks fall to the astrologer. BPHS times a lord's results by the third of its sign it occupies — opening, middle or closing ten degrees for the start, middle or end of the period — and reverses that for a retrograde lord, so read the Degree tile with the Retrograde badge. BPHS also reserves systems such as Shodasottari and Dwadasottari for charts meeting a stated birth condition; the menu lists every system for every chart, so checking the condition is the astrologer's step.
Key terms
- Mahadasha
- The top level of the tree; in Vimsottari a full Mahadasha lasts its lord's fixed span, from 6 years for the Sun to 20 for Venus.
- Antardasha
- The second level, also called bhukti; BPHS sizes it by multiplying the two lords' years and dividing by the total years of all the lords.
- Pratyantardasha
- The third level of the tree, a sub-period inside an Antardasha, whose lords run in the same order and open with the Antardasha lord's own.
- Graha dasha
- A system whose period lords are planets, such as Vimsottari, Ashtottari or Yogini; 28 of them sit under the Graha Dasha menu.
- Rashi dasha
- A system whose period lords are signs, such as Narayana, Chara or Sthira dasha; 28 of them sit under the Rashi Dasha menu.
- Chara karaka
- A variable significator role, Atma Karaka being the graha most advanced in its sign; the panel's Karaka tile shows the role a lord holds.
- Dreshkana
- One third of a sign, ten degrees; BPHS reads which third a dasha lord occupies to place its effects early, midway or late in the period.
Graha and Rashi dashas
Vimshottari plus 55 other selectable systems — Yogini, Ashtottari, Kalachakra and more.
Mahadasha to Pratyantardasha
Every Mahadasha subdivided into its Antardashas and their Pratyantardashas, each with exact start and end dates.
Jump to the current period
Open straight to the dasha running today, with the active planet highlighted.
Common questions
What is a Vimshottari dasha?
A dasha is a planetary period. Vimshottari is a 120-year cycle of nine periods, each ruled by a graha, used to time the themes of a life.
How is my starting dasha decided?
By the nakshatra the Moon occupies at birth. That nakshatra's lord rules your first Mahadasha, and the portion already elapsed sets how much of it remains.
What is an Antardasha (bhukti)?
A sub-period inside a Mahadasha. Each Mahadasha is subdivided among all nine grahas in the same proportion, and those subdivide again — down to the Pratyantardasha here.
Do I need my exact birth time?
Yes, for accurate dates — the Moon's nakshatra and the dasha balance at birth both depend on an accurate time and place.
Why are there so many dasha systems besides Vimshottari?
Parasara names Vimshottari as the most appropriate for the general populace and lists others, such as Ashtottari, Shodasottari, Dwadasottari and Panchottari, as followed in special cases, each tied to a birth condition. The calculator computes all of them for every chart; whether a chart meets a system's condition is left to the astrologer.
What is a Pratyantar dasha?
It is the third level of a dasha, a sub-period inside an Antardasha. BPHS finds its length by multiplying the Antardasha's span by the sub-lord's dasha years and dividing by 120, and its lords follow the same order. In the Vimsottari tree here it is the bottom level shown.