A dasha is a long period of life. Each dasha belongs to one of the nine grahas. A bhukti is a smaller period inside a dasha. In the Vimshottari system, the nine dashas add up to 120 years. They always come in the same order. Your birth star decides which dasha comes first. 'Saturn / Mercury / Venus' means: Saturn dasha, Mercury bhukti, Venus pratyantar.
☕ Like the chapters of a book
Think of the dashas as a book. Each mahadasha is a chapter. One graha rules it, for a fixed number of years. Each chapter has nine parts. These are the bhuktis. Each bhukti has nine smaller parts. These are the pratyantars.
The chapters always come in this order: Ketu 7 years, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17. That is 120 years in all. After Mercury, it starts again with Ketu.
Your birth star decides where you start. Each graha rules three of the 27 stars. Your first dasha belongs to the graha that rules your star. If the Moon had just entered your star, most of that dasha is still ahead. If the Moon was near the end of your star, only a little is left. This part that is left is called the balance of dasha at birth.
No dasha is good or bad by itself. What a period brings depends on your own chart. So two people in the same dasha can have very different years.
How to read a dasha line
- First name: the mahadasha. It lasts 6 to 20 years. Your first one is shorter: only the part left at birth.
- Second name: the bhukti. It lasts from a few months to about three years.
- Third name: the pratyantar. It lasts from a few days to a few months.
- Each dasha starts with its own bhukti. The Saturn dasha starts with Saturn / Saturn. Your first dasha began before you were born, so you may join it at a later bhukti.
- Then the bhuktis follow the fixed order: Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter.
- A planet's name alone does not make a dasha good or bad.
- Life does not change overnight when a bhukti changes. Periods blend into each other.
- Your dates may differ a little from a printed chart. Different methods give small differences.
- The pratyantar is the smallest part. It is not a forecast for one day.
Frequently asked questions
How is my first dasha decided?
By your birth star. Each graha rules three stars. For example, Ketu rules Ashwini, Magha and Moola. Venus rules Bharani, Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha. Your first dasha belongs to the graha that rules your star. How much of it is left depends on how far the Moon had moved through your star.
How long is a bhukti?
Multiply the dasha's years by the bhukti planet's years. Then divide by 120. For example, Mercury's bhukti in the 19-year Saturn dasha is 19 × 17 ÷ 120. That is about 2 years and 8 months. The nine bhuktis of a dasha always add up to the whole dasha. Pratyantars are found the same way inside a bhukti.
Why do two charts give slightly different dasha dates?
There are three common reasons. The Moon's position may differ a little between panchangams. The length of a year may differ. The balance at birth may be worked out in a different way. Nava uses a year of 365.25 days. It finds the balance from how far the Moon had moved through your star. Another method uses the time the Moon had spent there. Both methods are in Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra. Nava uses the first, as the book's own translator does. The two methods usually differ by a few days, and now and then by a few weeks.
Are the bhuktis of my first dasha set out the same way?
Yes. Your first dasha begins before you are born, so you are born part of the way through it. Classical books and printed tables divide the full dasha from its start. So some of its bhuktis have already passed when you are born. Nava does the same, so your first bhukti may not be the dasha lord's own bhukti. Every later dasha starts with its own lord's bhukti.
Is Rahu or Saturn dasha always hard?
No. A dasha is not hard because of its name. What it supports depends on where that graha is in your own chart.
Deep dive: how the periods are worked out
One rule for every level, and where it comes from.
📐 One rule for every level
Every level below the dasha uses the same rule:
The larger period's own planet comes first. The rest follow the fixed order. So the Saturn dasha (19 years) starts with Saturn / Saturn. That is about 3 years. Next comes Saturn / Mercury, about 2 years and 8 months. Inside Saturn / Mercury, the pratyantars start with Mercury.
Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra gives this rule for the bhukti, and again for each smaller level. Jataka Parijata lists all 81 dasha and bhukti pairs in the same order. Nava counts a year as 365.25 days. With this year, a worked example printed in a book comes out right to the day.
🗓️ Where to see your own periods
Add your birth details in the Nava app. The You tab then shows your dasha, bhukti and pratyantar, with dates. Your periods start from your birth star. To see how your star is found, read lagna, rasi and birth star.