Ashtottari gives 108 years to eight planets; Ketu has none. Its count starts at Ardra and runs over 28 stars, Abhijit included, four stars to each of the Sun, Mars, Saturn and Rahu and three to each of the others. Yogini gives 36 years to eight Yoginis, 1 to 8 years each; the one running at birth is the birth star's number plus 3, divided by 8. The book ties Ashtottari to conditions that are hard to read, so Nava shows both timelines and does not say which applies.
☕ Two shorter cycles beside Vimshottari
Ashtottari means 108. Its count starts at Ardra and runs over 28 stars, with Abhijit counted between Uttara Ashadha and Shravana; Ketu gets no period (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 17–20, pp. 513–514). Sun, Mars, Saturn and Rahu each take four stars and Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus three, in the order and with the years in the card “Ashtottari lords, years and stars” below, as the book's plate gives them (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, p. 515).
Inside a period, each star is a quarter of its lord's years for a four-star lord and a third for a three-star lord. At birth, the unrun part of the birth star's share is added to the whole shares of the same lord's later stars (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 21–22, p. 514). Abhijit is cut out of its neighbours: Uttara Ashadha keeps three quarters, and Abhijit is its last quarter plus the first fifteenth of Shravana. The book counts Abhijit only here and in one other system. The book's own worked balance is in “The Ashtottari balance, worked by the book” further down.
Yogini has eight Yoginis, each with a planet and 1 to 8 years, 36 in all (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 195–199, p. 572); they are listed in “The eight Yoginis and their years” further down. The one running at birth is found by adding 3 to the birth star's number and dividing by 8. The verse's own example: Mrigashirsha is the 5th star: 5 + 3 = 8, and 8 ÷ 8 leaves 0, which counts as the 8th, Sankata.
When does Ashtottari apply? The translation gives two conditions, and neither settles it. One sentence reads as: Rahu not in the lagna, and not in a kendra or trikona from the lagna lord; the wording is unclear. The other advises it for a birth by day in the dark fortnight, and gives only that one case (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, v. 23, p. 516). These verses set no condition for Yogini. What Nava follows: Nava gives both timelines for every chart, from the birth Moon, and does not say which one applies; that is left to the astrologer. For all three systems it takes the balance at birth as the share of the birth star the Moon has still to cross, while the verse counts it in ghatis from the almanac (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, v. 16, p. 508). It shows the major periods only.
Which planet takes which stars
- Sun (6 years): Ardra, Punarvasu, Pushya, Ashlesha
- Moon (15 years): Magha, Poorva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni
- Mars (8 years): Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Vishakha
- Mercury (17 years): Anuradha, Jyeshta, Moola
- Saturn (10 years): Poorva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Abhijit, Shravana
- Jupiter (19 years): Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Poorva Bhadrapada
- Rahu (12 years): Uttara Bhadrapada, Revathi, Aswini, Bharani
- Venus (21 years): Krithikai, Rohini, Mrigashirsha
- Mix-up: Ketu has an Ashtottari period. Ashtottari has eight lords, and Ketu is not one of them.
- Mix-up: Abhijit is a whole star in every system. The book counts it only in Ashtottari and one other, cut from the end of Uttara Ashadha and the start of Shravana.
- Mix-up: the Yogini at birth follows the Vimshottari lord. It has its own count: the birth star's number plus 3, divided by 8.
Frequently asked questions
Which applies to my chart, Ashtottari or Vimshottari?
The book gives Vimshottari for everyone and Ashtottari for special cases, under conditions whose wording is unclear. Nava shows both timelines and leaves the choice to an astrologer.
Where are Yogini and Ashtottari in Nava?
On the You tab, under “For astrologers”, in “Other dasha systems”: each period with its dates, the running one first. Each Yogini is shown with its planet.
Does Nava give Ashtottari or Yogini sub-periods?
No. It gives the major periods only. Vimshottari is the system it divides into bhuktis and pratyantars.
Deep dive: the Yoginis, a worked balance, and what this builds on
The table “The eight Yoginis and their years”, then “The Ashtottari balance, worked by the book”, and the pages this one builds on.
🔮 The eight Yoginis and their years
| Yogini (planet) | Years |
|---|---|
| Mangala (Moon) | 1 year |
| Pingala (Sun) | 2 years |
| Dhanya (Jupiter) | 3 years |
| Bhramari (Mars) | 4 years |
| Bhadrika (Mercury) | 5 years |
| Ulka (Saturn) | 6 years |
| Siddha (Venus) | 7 years |
| Sankata (Rahu) | 8 years |
🧮 The Ashtottari balance, worked by the book
The book works a birth in the second quarter of Uttara Ashadha (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, p. 516). That star belongs to Saturn, whose 10 years give each of its four stars two and a half years. The unrun part of Uttara Ashadha's share, measured against its three counted quarters, is added to the whole shares of Abhijit and Shravana; the book prints the balance as 6 years 2 months 25 days and some ghatis.
Its second note takes Mrigashirsha: the star is Venus's, whose 21 years give each of its three stars 7. Krithikai and Rohini come first, so 14 years of the period are already past before the elapsed part of Mrigashirsha is added (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, pp. 516–517).
🧭 What this builds on
The family these two belong to is on the dasa family. How the balance at birth is taken from the Moon is on where the dasha starts.