Kalachakra, the wheel of time, gives its periods to signs, not planets. The stars fall into two groups, savya (direct) and apasavya (reverse), and each quarter (pada) of a star has its own sequence of nine signs. The first and last of them are the deha and the jeeva, each sign takes its lord's years, and the sequence can leap a sign, step back or jump to the 5th or 9th sign. The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only.
☕ A wheel of signs for every star quarter
Parashara's list calls Kalachakra the highest of the dasas (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 6–11, p. 506). Unlike Vimshottari, its periods belong to signs. The book draws two wheels of twelve compartments, savya (direct) and apasavya (reverse), and splits the stars between them in groups of three: the triads opening at Aswini, Punarvasu, Hasta, Moola, Poorva Bhadrapada are savya, and those opening at Rohini, Magha, Vishakha, Shravana apasavya (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 52–58, pp. 529–530; Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVII, vv. 7–8, pp. 972–973).
Every quarter (pada) of a star has its own sequence of nine signs, which the book tabulates (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 59–82, pp. 530–535). In a savya sequence the first sign is the deha (body) and the last the jeeva (life); in an apasavya one the jeeva comes first and the deha last (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 94–95, p. 543; Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVII, v. 13, p. 974). Each sign runs for its lord's years, in the card “Kalachakra years by sign lord” below (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 83–84, pp. 535–536). Aswini's first pada, for instance, runs Mesha (Aries) 7, Vrishabha (Taurus) 16, Mithuna (Gemini) 9, Kataka (Cancer) 21, Simha (Leo) 5, Kanya (Virgo) 9, Tula (Libra) 16, Vrischika (Scorpio) 7, Dhanu (Sagittarius) 10.
The pada's navamsa sign is found by count: take the stars completed before the birth star, divide by 3, multiply the remainder by 4 and add the pada's number. The book's example is Mrigashirsha in its 4th pada: 4 stars completed, remainder 1, 1 × 4 + 4 = 8, the 8th sign from Mesha, Vrischika (Scorpio). The nine periods of a pada add up to one of four totals, set by that navamsa sign (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 87–89, p. 537; Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVII, v. 12, p. 974); they are in “The nine-period totals” further down. The balance at birth can be counted by arc, as in “A balance at birth, worked by the book” further down shows.
The sequence does not always step to the next sign. A frog's leap (mandooki) skips a sign, as from Kanya to Kataka or Simha to Mithuna; a monkey's step (markati) goes back one sign, as from Simha to Kataka; a lion's glance (simhavalokana) jumps to the 5th or 9th sign, as from Dhanu to Mesha or Meena to Vrischika (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 96–100, pp. 543–544; Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVII, vv. 89–91, p. 996). The translation prints the 8th and 9th for the lion's glance; its own examples and the tables are the 5th and 9th, which this page follows. The chapter goes on to read these movements and the deha and jeeva signs as events; this page keeps to the mechanics. The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only.
How long each sign runs
- Sun (5 years): Simha (Leo)
- Moon (21 years): Kataka (Cancer)
- Mars (7 years): Mesha (Aries), Vrischika (Scorpio)
- Mercury (9 years): Mithuna (Gemini), Kanya (Virgo)
- Jupiter (10 years): Dhanu (Sagittarius), Meena (Pisces)
- Venus (16 years): Vrishabha (Taurus), Tula (Libra)
- Saturn (4 years): Makara (Capricorn), Kumbha (Aquarius)
- Mix-up: Kalachakra counts from the birth star, as Vimshottari does. It works on the quarter of the star; each quarter has its own nine signs.
- Mix-up: its periods belong to planets. They belong to signs; a sign runs for its lord's years.
- Mix-up: the sequence always moves forward through the zodiac. It can skip a sign, step back one, or jump to the 5th or 9th sign.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kalachakra dasa in my Nava chart?
No. This page explains the mechanics only; Kalachakra is not worked for any chart.
What are deha and jeeva?
The two ends of a pada's nine-sign sequence: the deha (body) and the jeeva (life). In the savya wheel the deha comes first; in the apasavya wheel the jeeva does.
Do all astrologers run Kalachakra the same way?
No. Jataka Parijata's translator describes two schools: one runs the nine signs of the birth pada as the whole sequence, the other chains one sign period for each pada in natural order from the Moon's pada, and he says South Indian astrologers follow the second (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVII, p. 1000).
Deep dive: the totals, a worked balance, and what this builds on
The table “The nine-period totals”, then “A balance at birth, worked by the book”, and the page this one builds on.
🎡 The nine-period totals
| The pada's navamsa sign | The nine periods add up to |
|---|---|
| Mesha (Aries), Simha (Leo), Dhanu (Sagittarius) | 100 years |
| Vrishabha (Taurus), Kanya (Virgo), Makara (Capricorn) | 85 years |
| Mithuna (Gemini), Tula (Libra), Kumbha (Aquarius) | 83 years |
| Kataka (Cancer), Vrischika (Scorpio), Meena (Pisces) | 86 years |
The sums are the sign years of each nine-sign sequence; the trines of a sign share its total.
🧮 A balance at birth, worked by the book
The arc method turns the Moon's longitude into minutes of arc: 800 to a star, 200 to a pada (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, v. 93, p. 542). The book's Moon is at Vrishabha (Taurus) 4°50′, 2090′ from the start of the zodiac: two stars done, 490′ into Krithikai, two padas done and 90′ into the third. That pada's sequence is Vrishabha (Taurus) 16, Mesha (Aries) 7, Meena (Pisces) 10, Kumbha (Aquarius) 4, Makara (Capricorn) 4, Dhanu (Sagittarius) 10, Mesha (Aries) 7, Vrishabha (Taurus) 16, Mithuna (Gemini) 9, 83 years in all. 90 × 83 ÷ 200 gives 37 years 4 months 6 days already run. The first four signs take 37 years, so 4 months 6 days of the fifth, Makara (Capricorn), have gone, and 3 years 7 months 24 days of it remain.
The verses before it give the balance by the time the Moon has spent in the pada instead; by time and by arc the two balances generally differ (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 46, vv. 90–92, p. 538).
🧭 What this builds on
Where Kalachakra sits among the thirty or so systems is on the dasa family; the other sign-based systems are on sign dasas.