Dashas in Kundli: reading planetary periods
A dasha is a traditional system that assigns periods of life to grahas or signs. Its dates follow the selected scheme and birth chart. They are not dates on which a planet physically enters the named sign or house.
Systems on the page
| System | Period labels | Main starting reference |
|---|---|---|
| Vimshottari | Nine graha lords | Birth Moon's nakshatra and position within it |
| Yogini | Eight Yogini names and associated grahas | Birth Moon's nakshatra |
| Ashtottari | Eight graha lords | Birth Moon's nakshatra group, with applicability conditions shown |
| Chara | Zodiac signs | Lagna and sign-lord relationships |
These systems need not name the same lord for a date. They are different frameworks, not alternate spellings of one timetable.
Major period, subperiod and birth balance
A Mahadasha is a major period; an Antardasha is a period within it. Vimshottari supports further nesting. Read the full chain rather than a short subperiod's lord in isolation.
For a nakshatra-based system, the period running at birth usually began before birth. Birth balance is its remaining duration. The words “from birth” clip the displayed row to the relevant part; they do not imply a fresh full-length period began then.
The tool uses a dasha year of 365.25 days. Displayed dates use the chart's clock zone. Years, months and days in a balance are a readable duration summary, not a second date convention.
What the dates establish
The dates locate intervals within the chosen system. Interpreting them requires the period lord's actual chart condition and other relevant factors. A lord name does not guarantee an event.
A transit is an astronomical position at the current moment. Dasha and transit are separate layers. Fine period boundaries also require a sufficiently reliable birth time.
See the chart and its tables on the Kundli page.