Vedic timing
Vimshottari Mahadasha
The Vimshottari dasha system divides life into nine planetary periods totalling 120 years. Each Mahadasha sets the theme of a long chapter; the sub-periods (antardashas) within it trigger the timing. Below is every Mahadasha with its duration and what it governs — pick a planet to read it in full, or check your own current period with the dasha calculator.
7 years
Ketu Mahadasha
Ketu Mahadasha runs 7 years and turns the focus inward: toward detachment, research, spirituality, and letting go of what no longer fits. Its results swing with Ketu’s house, sign, and dispositor: well-placed it deepens insight and skill; afflicted it can feel directionless or abrupt.
Read this period20 years
Venus Mahadasha
Venus Mahadasha is the longest period at 20 years and is broadly the most pleasant: it favours relationships, marriage, comfort, art, and material ease. How richly it delivers depends on Venus’s dignity and house; strong, it is among the best periods in a chart.
Read this period6 years
Sun Mahadasha
Sun Mahadasha is a short, intense 6-year period centred on authority, status, recognition, and vitality. A strong Sun lifts career and standing; a weak or afflicted Sun can bring ego friction, issues with superiors, or health concerns tied to the father significations.
Read this period10 years
Moon Mahadasha
Moon Mahadasha lasts 10 years and colours life through the mind and emotions: mood, nourishment, the mother, the public, and home. A strong, bright Moon brings emotional steadiness and popularity; a waning or afflicted Moon can mean mood swings and restlessness.
Read this period7 years
Mars Mahadasha
Mars Mahadasha runs 7 years and brings drive, courage, and the appetite for action: property, siblings, competition, and initiative. A strong Mars channels this into achievement and decisiveness; an afflicted Mars can spill into conflict, impulsiveness, or accidents.
Read this period18 years
Rahu Mahadasha
Rahu Mahadasha runs 18 years and amplifies whatever it touches: ambition, the foreign, the unconventional, sudden rises and reversals. It is neither inherently good nor bad: a well-placed Rahu can bring dramatic worldly gains; an afflicted one brings confusion and over-reach.
Read this period16 years
Jupiter Mahadasha
Jupiter Mahadasha lasts 16 years and is the classic period of growth, wisdom, and good fortune: wealth, children, learning, and dharma. As the great benefic, even a moderate Jupiter tends to protect and expand; strong, it is one of the most fortunate periods in a chart.
Read this period19 years
Saturn Mahadasha
Saturn Mahadasha is the longest at 19 years and is the great teacher: discipline, responsibility, hard work, and slow but lasting reward. It tests endurance and removes the unstable. For some Lagnas Saturn is a yogakaraka, making this a building period rather than a heavy one.
Read this period17 years
Mercury Mahadasha
Mercury Mahadasha runs 17 years and favours the intellect: communication, business, education, analysis, and trade. A strong Mercury brings sharp thinking, commercial success, and skill with words; an afflicted Mercury can mean scattered focus or nervous strain.
Read this period
New to dashas? Start with antardasha vs mahadasha, then read is Rahu Mahadasha good or bad.