Maha Dasha Effects/Periods
Introduction to Dashas
All along we have been looking at a pretty static picture of the birth chart. All of the analysis applies on the person’s life in general, without having any clue when events will take place. We have been interpredicting the birth chart, but we have not made timed predictions. Vedic Astrology has a most brilliant system of timing when the effects of each planet will be felt, the dashas. Dashas are planetary cycles, which follow in a very specific order, with a very specific time span. There are various dasha systems, but we will consider one of them here, the Vimshottari dasha system.
The complete dasha cycle is 120 years. After a 120 years, the cycle repeats itself. Out of the full cycle, each planet takes a number of years:
Everybody is somewhere in this 120 year cycle. The point where we enter this cycle at the beginning of our life, is determined by the degree of the Moon at the time of birth. From that point on, we travel through the cycle in the order shown in the table. As you can see, it takes years to finish one cycle.
The main periods just explained, are called the “Maha Dashas” or main periods. The Maha Dashas themselves are subdivided in sub periods, called “Antar Dashas”.
The sub periods follow the same order as the main periods, and divide up the time span of the particular main period, just like the main periods divide up a life time. The only difference is that a sub period is not 120 years – it is compressed to be just the number of years of the particular main period it runs under. Example:
Sun———–6 years, Moon——–10 Years , Mars———7 Years, Rahu———18 Years , Jupiter—–16 Years, Saturn—–19 Years , Mercury—-17 Years , Ketu———-7 Years , Venus——-20 years
Now how do we use dashas in conjunction with the birth chart? There are just three simple rules that reveal most of the effect of a dasha period.
1. The planet which dasha is ruling will be activated in the birth chart. Whatever this planet does or is related to in the birth chart, according to the interpretation rules explained so far, will be experienced more pronounced in its dasha period.
2. Treating the position of the dasha lord as the first house, look at the rest of the chart, and interpret all the other planetary positions in their new house positions as counted from the dasha lord. In other words, interpet the birth chart with the dasha ruler as the Ascendant.
3. If the main dasha lord and the sub dasha lord are related (conjunct, aspecting each other, etc.) then their effect in the chart will be quite noticable.
Vimshottari Dashas
The most popular dasha system is the Vimshottari dasha system. It is based on a 120 year life span, representing the natural, full lifespan of a human being. The order and length of dashas is the same for everyone, only the entry point is different.
The Vimshottari dasha system has 9 dasha rulers, which are the 9 Grahas themselves. The order in which the dashas follow has an astronomical basis, and is the order of increasing distance from the Sun, with some special cases. Mercury Ketu Venus Sun Moon Mars Rahu Jupiter Saturn One special case is the Sun itself, which is placed before the Moon. The other special case is Rahu and Ketu. Rahu is associated with the astroid belt which is located between Mars and Jupiter, and Ketu is placed opposite of Rahu in this cycle of 9.
The Vimshottari dasha order is the same as the rulerships of the nakshatras. The 27 nakshatras are divided in three cycles of 9, and the nakshatras within each group are ruled by the 9 Grahas. The first Nakshatra is ruled by Ketu, and the other 8 rulers follow in the order of the Vimshottari dashas.
The duration of the dashas is as follows: Ketu 7 years, Venus 20 years, Sun 6 years, Moon 10 years, Mars 7 years, Rahu 18 years, Jupiter 16 years. Saturn 19 years, Mercury 17 years.
The dasha the person is born in, is determined by the ruler of the Moon’s Nakshatra. For example, your Moon is in Uttara Phalg., which is ruled by Sun, therefore you were born in a Sun dasha. How far this first dasha has progressed depends on how many degrees the Moon is into that nakshatra. The further the Moon is into the nakshatra, the greater portion of the first dasha is expired. To calculate the exact dasha balance at birth, one has to calculate the percentage of degrees the Moon has progressed into its nakshatra, and that percentage of the dasha’s length is expired at birth. A complete overview is given in the Vimshottari Dasha report.
Ashtottari Dashas
A complete overview is given in the Ashtottari Dasha report.
Except in lagna rahu in Kendra or trikon from lagna lord.
Birth during day time in Krishna paksh or night time in shukla paksh in these above condition astottary dasha is apply.
Yogini mahadasha
Chara dasha
Conditional dashas
Besides the general purpose dashas, Parashara has provided a number of dasha systems that are only applicable for those that have some specific feature in their chart. All conditional dashas are Graha based (vs Rashi based) and all except Tara dasha are nakshatra based. The following conditional dashas are applicable on your chart: Ashtottari dashaYoga codes for Panchottari dasha to be applied.Yoga codes for Shatabdika dasha to be applied.Chaturashiti sama dashaDwisapti sama dashaTara dasha.