Vimśottarī daśā
विंशोत्तरी दशा
The 120-year nakshatra-based daśā cycle of nine grahas.
Definition
Vimśottarī ('of one hundred and twenty') is a daśā system in which the nine grahas rule in fixed order for a total of 120 years: Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rāhu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17. The first period belongs to the lord of the Moon's birth nakshatra, and its balance at birth is proportional to the part of the nakshatra the Moon has yet to traverse. BPHS presents it as the daśā generally applicable, and Vimshottari Dasha is one of the research themes of the School's Certificate Programme in Predictive Astrology.
Articles that use this term
- Panchanga
The 27 nakshatras: a sky map older than the zodiac
Before the twelve signs reached India, the Vedic sky was read by the Moon's nightly stations. What they are and how they are still used.
7 min read · 13 October 2026
- Jyotish · Hora
Grahas are not planets: the nine "seizers"
Why Jyotish counts the Sun, the Moon and two invisible points among its nine grahas, and what the word actually means.
7 min read · 10 October 2026
- Jyotish · HoraExplainer
Vimshottari dasha: time, divided
A 120-year cycle of nine periods, started from the Moon's nakshatra at birth. How the system is built and how to read its arithmetic.
7 min read · 8 October 2026
- Jyotish · HoraExplainer
Transits (gochar) and what Sade Sati is
How the tradition reads the present sky against the birth chart, and a calm explanation of the seven and a half years of Saturn.
7 min read · 7 October 2026
- Jyotish · Hora
Space and Time: the two components of prediction
How the classical tradition separates what a chart shows from when it is said to unfold, and why that framework organises everything a student learns.
8 min read · 4 October 2026