| Planet | Period | Nakshatras ruled | Governs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketu | 7 years | Ashwini, Magha, Mula | spiritual insight, sudden change, and detachment |
| Venus | 20 years | Bharani, Purva Phalguni, Purva Ashadha | relationships, comfort, art, and material pleasure |
| Sun | 6 years | Krittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha | authority, vitality, recognition, and self |
| Moon | 10 years | Rohini, Hasta, Shravana | mind, emotions, nurturing, and the public |
| Mars | 7 years | Mrigashira, Chitra, Dhanishtha | energy, courage, property, and competition |
| Rahu | 18 years | Ardra, Swati, Shatabhisha | ambition, worldly desire, foreign matters, and disruption |
| Jupiter | 16 years | Punarvasu, Vishakha, Purva Bhadrapada | wisdom, growth, fortune, children, and teaching |
| Saturn | 19 years | Pushya, Anuradha, Uttara Bhadrapada | discipline, karma, longevity, and hard-earned reward |
| Mercury | 17 years | Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati | intellect, communication, commerce, and skill |
At birth, the Moon occupies one of the 27 nakshatras, and each nakshatra is ruled by one of the nine planets. The lord of that birth nakshatra becomes your first Mahadasha. Because the Moon has usually already moved part-way through the nakshatra by the moment of birth, only the remaining portion of that first dasha is left — this is the dasha balance, and it is why two people born on the same day can begin in the same dasha yet have different amounts of it remaining.
After the first period completes, the dashas always proceed in the same order — Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — and then the cycle repeats. This is the identical order in which the nakshatra lords recur through the zodiac, which is what links your birth star to your place in the cycle.
Each Mahadasha is divided into nine Antardashas (also called Bhuktis), one for every planet, running in the same Ketu-to-Mercury order and beginning with the Mahadasha lord itself. The length of each Antardasha is proportional to its planet's share of the 120-year cycle. Reading the Mahadasha together with the running Antardasha gives a much finer sense of timing than the Mahadasha alone — and astrologers often go deeper still into Pratyantardasha (sub-sub-periods) for precise predictions.
Vimshottari Dasha is the most widely used planetary-period (dasha) system in Vedic astrology. It divides a notional 120-year lifespan among the nine grahas, assigning each a fixed number of years — Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, and Mercury 17 — to indicate which planet governs each chapter of life.
The first Mahadasha at birth is decided by the Moon's nakshatra. Each of the 27 nakshatras is ruled by one of the nine planets, and the lord of the birth nakshatra becomes the first dasha. The portion of that nakshatra the Moon has already traversed determines the 'balance' — how much of that first dasha remains at birth.
The dashas always run in a fixed order: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — then the cycle repeats. The sequence is the same as the order of nakshatra lords, which is why the birth nakshatra sets the entry point into the cycle.
Each Mahadasha is subdivided into nine Antardashas (also called Bhuktis), one for each planet, running in the same Ketu-to-Mercury order and starting with the Mahadasha lord itself. The length of each Antardasha is proportional to its planet's share of the 120-year cycle, so a Mahadasha and its current Antardasha together give a far more precise reading of timing than the Mahadasha alone.
The complete cycle spans 120 years — the sum of all nine planetary periods. Because few lives reach 120 years, most people experience only a portion of the full cycle, beginning from the dasha balance present at birth and proceeding in the fixed order from there.