Dasha calculator (Vimshottari mahadasha and antardasha)
Enter the date and time of birth, with the time zone of the birthplace, to see the Vimshottari dasha timeline: the mahadasha at birth and its balance, all nine mahadashas over 120 years with their antardashas, and the period running today. Dates only, no predictions.
How the Vimshottari dasha is worked out
- Find the Moon’s sidereal position at birth, and so its nakshatra (the nakshatra calculator gives it).
- The nakshatra’s ruling planet runs the first mahadasha.
- Each nakshatra spans 13°20′. The share of it the Moon has already crossed is the share of the first mahadasha used up before birth; the rest is the balance of dasha at birth.
- The remaining mahadashas follow in the fixed order in the table below, round a cycle of 120 years.
- Each mahadasha splits into nine antardashas in the same order, starting with its own planet; each lasts (mahadasha years × antardasha years) ÷ 120.
A worked example
India’s independence chart is set for 15 August 1947 at 00:00 IST. The Moon was at 3°59′ in Kark, in Pushya, which Saturn rules. It had crossed about 4.9% of the nakshatra, so about 4.9% of the 19-year Saturn dasha was already used: the balance at birth was 18 years, 27 days, to 10 September 1965. Mercury followed for 17 years, and the Moon mahadasha ran from 10 September 2015 to 9 September 2025, within a day of the dates usually published for this chart.
The nine dasha periods
| Planet | Years | Nakshatras (birth star starts this dasha) |
|---|---|---|
| Ketu | 7 | Ashwini, Magha, Mula |
| Venus | 20 | Bharani, Purva Phalguni, Purva Ashadha |
| Sun | 6 | Krittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha |
| Moon | 10 | Rohini, Hasta, Shravana |
| Mars | 7 | Mrigashira, Chitra, Dhanishta |
| Rahu | 18 | Ardra, Swati, Shatabhisha |
| Jupiter | 16 | Punarvasu, Vishakha, Purva Bhadrapada |
| Saturn | 19 | Pushya, Anuradha, Uttara Bhadrapada |
| Mercury | 17 | Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati |
The years add up to 120. Each planet rules three nakshatras nine apart, so a birth star in Ashwini, Magha and Mula starts life in the Ketu dasha.
Related tools and guides
- Yogini dasha calculator: the eight yoginis of the 36-year cycle from the same details.
- Nakshatra and pada calculator: the birth star that starts the dasha.
- Rashi calculator by date of birth: the Moon sign from the same details.
- Lagna calculator: the ascendant from the date, time and place of birth.
- Atmakaraka calculator: the chara karakas of Jaimini astrology from the date and time of birth.
- Tarabalam calculator: count a day’s star from your birth star.
- The 27 nakshatras explained and the list of 27 nakshatras.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Vimshottari dasha calculated?
From the Moon's nakshatra at birth. The nakshatra's ruling planet gives the first mahadasha, and the part of the nakshatra the Moon has already crossed is the part of that dasha used up before birth. The rest is the balance at birth; after it the other planets follow in a fixed order: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, 120 years in all.
What is the balance of dasha at birth?
The years, months and days of the first mahadasha still to run at birth. For India's independence chart (15 August 1947, 00:00 IST) the Moon had crossed about 4.9% of Pushya, a Saturn nakshatra, so about 18 years, 27 days of the 19-year Saturn dasha remained.
How long is each antardasha?
An antardasha (bhukti) lasts the mahadasha planet's years times the antardasha planet's years, divided by 120. A Venus antardasha in a Saturn mahadasha, for example, lasts 19 × 20 / 120 = 3.17 years (3 years, 2 months). The first antardasha of every mahadasha belongs to its own planet.
Why do I need the time and place of birth?
The Moon moves about half a degree an hour, and the balance of the first dasha depends on exactly where it was in its nakshatra, so a few minutes' difference moves every date by days. The place matters here through its time zone, which turns the clock time into universal time. The Moon's nakshatra itself is the same everywhere on Earth at a given moment.
Why do dasha calculators give slightly different dates?
They differ in the ayanamsa (this one uses Lahiri, the most common in India), in the length of a dasha year (365.25 days, 365.2425 days or a 360-day year) and in how precisely they compute the Moon. Over decades these add up to a few days, or more with a 360-day year. A different ayanamsa can change the birth nakshatra itself when the Moon was near an edge.
Does the dasha predict events?
No. The Vimshottari dasha is a traditional timing scheme from Jyotisha, used by astrologers alongside the full birth chart. This calculator gives the dates of the periods only, with no predictions, and nothing shows that a dasha causes events.
Are there other dasha systems?
Yes. Jyotisha has several nakshatra dashas besides Vimshottari. One of them is the Yogini dasha: eight periods named after yoginis, 36 years a round, starting from the birth nakshatra by a different rule. The Yogini dasha calculator, in the list of related tools on this page, gives its dates from the same birth details.