Yogini dasha calculator (the 36-year cycle of eight yoginis)
Enter the date and time of birth, with the time zone of the birthplace, to see the Yogini dasha: the yogini running at birth and its balance, three rounds of the 36-year cycle with every antardasha, the period running today, and how far the dates move if the birth time is not exact. Dates only, no predictions.
What the Yogini dasha is
In the Jyotisha tradition, the Yogini dasha is a nakshatra dasha: a sequence of life periods counted from the Moon’s birth star, like the better-known Vimshottari dasha. It has eight periods, each named after one of eight yoginis (goddess figures of the tradition) and paired with a graha. The periods last from one to eight years and add up to 36, after which the round starts again. Astrologers who use it usually read it beside the Vimshottari periods rather than instead of them.
How the Yogini dasha is worked out
- Find the Moon’s sidereal position at birth and its nakshatra (the nakshatra calculator gives it), numbered from Ashwini = 1 to Revati = 27.
- Add 3 to the nakshatra number and divide by 8. The remainder names the yogini running at birth: 1 Mangala, 2 Pingala, 3 Dhanya, 4 Bhramari, 5 Bhadrika, 6 Ulka, 7 Siddha, and 0 Sankata.
- Each nakshatra spans 13°20′. The share of it the Moon has already crossed is the share of the first period used up before birth; the rest is the balance at birth.
- The other yoginis follow in the order of the table below, round and round in 36-year cycles.
- Each period splits into eight antardashas in the same order, starting with its own yogini; each lasts (mahadasha years × antardasha years) ÷ 36.
The calculator counts a dasha year as 365.2425 days, the mean calendar year, the same as our Vimshottari dasha calculator, so a period of whole years ends on about the same date it began.
The eight yoginis, their grahas and years
| Yogini | Graha | Years | Birth nakshatras |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mangala मंगला | Moon | 1 | Ardra, Chitra, Shravana |
| 2. Pingala पिंगला | Sun | 2 | Punarvasu, Swati, Dhanishta |
| 3. Dhanya धान्या | Jupiter | 3 | Pushya, Vishakha, Shatabhisha |
| 4. Bhramari भ्रामरी | Mars | 4 | Ashwini, Ashlesha, Anuradha, Purva Bhadrapada |
| 5. Bhadrika भद्रिका | Mercury | 5 | Bharani, Magha, Jyeshtha, Uttara Bhadrapada |
| 6. Ulka उल्का | Saturn | 6 | Krittika, Purva Phalguni, Mula, Revati |
| 7. Siddha सिद्धा | Venus | 7 | Rohini, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha |
| 8. Sankata संकटा | Rahu | 8 | Mrigashira, Hasta, Uttara Ashadha |
Because 27 nakshatras are shared among 8 yoginis, Bhramari, Bhadrika and Ulka start four birth stars each and the others three: a birth star in Ardra, Chitra and Shravana starts life in Mangala. Going from one nakshatra to the next moves to the next yogini everywhere except between Revati (Ulka) and Ashwini (Bhramari).
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, nakshatra 8. 8 + 3 = 11, and 11 ÷ 8 leaves 3, so the first yogini is number 3, Dhanya (Jupiter). The Moon had crossed about 4.9% of the nakshatra, so the balance at birth was 2 years, 10 months, 7 days of Dhanya’s 3 years, to 22 June 1950. Bhramari (Mars) followed for 4 years, and the first Bhadrika period ran from 22 June 1954 to 22 June 1959. For the same chart the Vimshottari dashas start in Saturn, which rules Pushya: the two schemes count from the same star by different rules.
Yogini and Vimshottari compared
- Cycle: 36 years for Yogini, 120 years for Vimshottari.
- Periods: eight yoginis (Moon, Sun, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus, Rahu); Ketu has no Yogini period.
- Start: nakshatra number + 3, divided by 8, for Yogini; the nakshatra’s ruling planet for Vimshottari.
- Birth time: the shift per minute of error is the first period’s length times the Moon’s motion, so for most birth stars Yogini dates move less than Vimshottari dates; the calculator shows both figures for your birth.
Related tools and guides
- Vimshottari dasha calculator: the 120-year mahadashas and antardashas from the same details.
- Nakshatra and pada calculator: the birth star the Yogini dasha counts from.
- Rashi calculator by date of birth: the Moon sign from the same details.
- The 27 nakshatras explained and the list of 27 nakshatras.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Yogini dasha calculated?
From the Moon's nakshatra at birth. Number the nakshatras from Ashwini as 1, add 3 and divide by 8: the remainder names the yogini running at birth, 1 for Mangala up to 7 for Siddha, and a remainder of 0 for Sankata. The share of the nakshatra the Moon has already crossed is the share of that first period used up before birth; the other yoginis follow in their fixed order, 36 years a round.
What is the balance of Yogini dasha at birth?
The part of the first yogini's period still to run at birth. For India's independence chart (15 August 1947, 00:00 IST) the Moon was in Pushya, nakshatra 8; 8 + 3 = 11, which leaves 3 after dividing by 8, so the dashas start with Dhanya (Jupiter). The Moon had crossed about 4.9% of the nakshatra, so about 2 years, 10 months, 7 days of the 3-year period remained.
How long is each Yogini antardasha?
The mahadasha's years times the antardasha yogini's years, divided by 36. A Siddha antardasha inside a Sankata mahadasha lasts 8 × 7 / 36 = 1.56 years (1 year, 6 months, 20 days); a Mangala antardasha inside a Mangala mahadasha lasts only 1/36 of a year, about ten days. Each mahadasha starts with its own yogini.
How is Yogini dasha different from Vimshottari dasha?
Both start from the Moon's nakshatra at birth, but Vimshottari has nine planetary periods over 120 years, while Yogini has eight periods named after yoginis over 36 years, so it repeats about three times in a long life. Ketu has no Yogini period. The starting period comes from a different rule (nakshatra number plus 3, divided by 8, instead of the nakshatra's ruling planet), so the two tables usually start with different planets.
Why does the time of birth matter, and by how much?
The balance at birth depends on where the Moon was inside its nakshatra, and the Moon moves about half a degree an hour. An error of 10 minutes moves every date by about 2 or 3 days when the dashas start with Mangala (1 year) and by about three weeks when they start with Sankata (8 years). The calculator shows the figure for your birth, and what happens if the true time would put the Moon in the next or previous nakshatra.
Why do Yogini dasha calculators give different dates?
They differ in the ayanamsa (this one uses Lahiri), in the length of a dasha year and in how precisely they place the Moon. A 365.25-day year instead of the 365.2425 days used here moves the dates by less than a day over a lifetime, but a 360-day year runs about five days a year shorter, so its dates drift by months within a few decades. Near a nakshatra edge, a different ayanamsa can also change the starting yogini.
Does the Yogini dasha predict events?
No. It is a traditional timing scheme of Jyotisha, read by astrologers together with the whole birth chart. This calculator gives the dates of the periods only, with no predictions, and nothing shows that a period causes events.