The books split a dasha into a start, a middle and an end, and say which part brings its results from the kind of sign its lord is in. Signs rise head-first, rear-first or both ways. A lord in a head-first sign gives early, in a rear-first sign late, and in Meena (Pisces), the one sign that rises both ways, in the middle. Jataka Parijata says throughout instead of middle. The same books say a transiting planet acts on entering a sign, in its middle or before leaving it.
☕ Early, middle or late
Some guests arrive first thing, some at the height of the party, some just before it ends. The books picture a dasha's results the same way: they come in its first third, its middle third or its last third.
Which third depends on the sign the dasha lord is in. Each sign is pictured as rising head-first, rear-first or both ways, as Brihat Jataka sets them out (Brihat Jataka, ch. I, v. 10): 6 signs head-first, 5 rear-first, and Meena (Pisces) alone both ways, in the card “The three rising groups” below. Parashara's portraits of the signs give the same groups, except that they state no rising type for Vrischika (Scorpio) (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 4, vv. 6–24, pp. 50–53).
A lord in a head-first sign gives its results at the start of its dasa, in a rear-first sign at the end, and in the both-ways sign in the middle (ch. XXII, vv. 5–6 of that book). The English of its old translation reads the lord's sign as the dasa begins. Parashara states the same three (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 50, vv. 88–89, p. 616), in his chapter on sign dasas. Jataka Parijata gives early and late the same way, but for the both-ways sign says throughout (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVIII, v. 24, p. 1016). The books differ on that one case.
Nava does not time a dasa's results by the rising type of its lord's sign. Your Period applies two neighbouring rules instead. Its timing line for the running bhukti follows Parashara's drekkana rule (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 47, vv. 3–4, pp. 576–577): early, in the middle or towards the end, by which third of its sign the lord stands in, read the other way round for a retrograde lord and always for Rahu and Ketu. And in weighing a transit it uses the sign-part rule in the form Kalaprakasika gives (Kalaprakasika (1917 ed.), ch. XXXVI, p. 209): the Sun and Mars on entering a sign, Jupiter and Venus in the middle of their stay, Saturn and Rahu towards its end, and Mercury and the Moon throughout. The book names no Ketu; Nava times Ketu with Rahu, by its own reading. A transit outside its own part counts for less; how much less is Nava's own choice.
Which signs rise which way
- Head-first (shirshodaya): Mithuna (Gemini), Simha (Leo), Kanya (Virgo), Tula (Libra), Vrischika (Scorpio), Kumbha (Aquarius)
- Both ways (ubhayodaya): Meena (Pisces)
- Rear-first (prishtodaya): Mesha (Aries), Vrishabha (Taurus), Kataka (Cancer), Dhanu (Sagittarius), Makara (Capricorn)
- Mix-up: this is about the lagna. It is about the sign the dasha lord occupies.
- Mix-up: head-first signs rise faster. The groups describe how a sign is pictured rising, not how long it takes to rise.
- Mix-up: every book puts the both-ways sign in the middle. Jataka Parijata says its results come throughout the dasha.
Frequently asked questions
Does the rising group say whether the results are good?
No. It says only when they tend to come. Whether a dasha supports or strains is read from its lord's placement and strength; that is on the page “A Good Dasha Needs Strength”.
Is this the same as timing by the lord's drekkana?
No. Parashara has a second start, middle or end rule, by which third of its sign the lord stands in, reversed for a retrograde planet. The two can point to different parts of the same dasha.
When in a sign does a transiting planet act?
The books say the Sun and Mars act as they enter a sign, Jupiter and Venus in its middle, Saturn and the Moon before they leave it, and Mercury all the way through (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. II, v. 82, pp. 86–87).
Deep dive: the books side by side
What each book says for each group, the same idea for a transit, and what this builds on.
📚 Three books, one disagreement
- Head-first sign: the start of the dasa in Brihat Jataka, Parashara and Jataka Parijata alike.
- Rear-first sign: the end, in all three.
- Meena (Pisces), both ways: the middle in Brihat Jataka and Parashara; throughout in Jataka Parijata.
Jataka Parijata draws on Brihat Jataka, so the agreement on the first two is one tradition, not three witnesses. One modern translation of Brihat Jataka prints the middle group under another name, and one translator's note leaves Cancer out of every group; the stanza that defines the groups puts Cancer with the rear-first signs.
🪐 The same idea inside a sign
The stanza after the dasha rule turns to transits: the Sun and Mars act on entering a sign, Jupiter and Venus in its middle, Saturn and the Moon before they leave, Mercury throughout. Jataka Parijata gives the same list. One translator reads the sign in three equal parts of ten degrees. How a transit is read beside the running dasha is on timing with dasha and transit.
🧭 What this builds on
How a dasha lord is judged, and Parashara's other start, middle or end rule by the lord's drekkana, are on a good dasha needs strength.