Vimshottari is the most widely used planetary period (dasha) system in Jyotish. It divides a 120-year span into nine major periods, each ruled by one graha, and the sequence starts from the nakshatra occupied by the Moon at birth. The word vimshottari itself means "one hundred and twenty".
The nine periods and their lengths
The mahadashas always follow the same order, and their lengths add up to exactly 120 years:
- Ketu – 7 years
- Venus (Shukra) – 20 years
- Sun (Surya) – 6 years
- Moon (Chandra) – 10 years
- Mars (Mangal) – 7 years
- Rahu – 18 years
- Jupiter (Guru) – 16 years
- Saturn (Shani) – 19 years
- Mercury (Budh) – 17 years
After Mercury the cycle returns to Ketu.
Where the sequence begins
Each of the 27 nakshatras has a dasha lord, assigned in the same nine-step order and repeating three times: Ashwini → Ketu, Bharani → Venus, Krittika → Sun, Rohini → Moon, and so on, so that Magha and Mula are again ruled by Ketu. The lord of the Moon's natal nakshatra rules the first mahadasha.
A person is rarely born at the very start of a nakshatra. The Moon has usually already covered part of it, so only the unfinished share of that first dasha remains. This remainder is the dasha balance at birth, and it is proportional: if the Moon has crossed 40% of its nakshatra, 60% of the first lord's years remain. For example, with the Moon 40% through Rohini, the balance of the Moon's 10-year mahadasha is 6 years. From there the remaining mahadashas follow in order.
Antardashas and finer levels
Every mahadasha is divided into nine antardashas (sub-periods), starting with the mahadasha lord itself and continuing in the same order. Each sub-period is proportional: antardasha length = mahadasha years × antardasha lord's years ÷ 120. Pratyantardashas divide each antardasha again in the same way.
Year length and precision
Because the balance depends on the Moon's exact position, a small error in birth time or ayanamsa can shift dates by weeks or months. Traditions also differ on the length of a dasha year: this platform's calculation profiles use a year of 365.25 days, while some traditions use a 360-day (savana) year, which makes all dates drift noticeably over a lifetime. Traditions may vary by region and school.
Reading dashas sensibly
Dasha interpretation is a traditional framework for thinking about phases of life, not a predictive certainty. It is usually read together with the whole chart rather than on its own.
You can see your full mahadasha, antardasha and pratyantardasha timeline in the Kundli tool; the method is documented on the methodology page.