Jaimini astrology
Chara dasha in Vedic astrology
Updated
Chara dasha: how the API computes it
Chara dasha is the main dasha (period system) of Jaimini astrology, a school of Vedic astrology. Its periods belong to signs, not planets. POST /v1/jaimini returns it with the karakas (role planets), arudha padas, sign aspects and argala.
Two things decide the order. First, the sign in the 9th house sets the direction (JM-06). It runs forward for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. It runs backward for the others.
Second, each sign's length is the count from that sign to its ruler, minus one. So a period is between 1 and 12 years. A ruler sitting in its own sign gives 12 years, not zero.
Scorpio and Aquarius each have two rulers. The API picks the one that counts by a set order of tests (JM-07). Chara dasha exists in several versions, and they give different periods for the same chart.
The response shows the working for every period. So you can see where another system would differ. The API computes the twelve main periods only, not the sub-periods (JM-08).
Get it from the API
POST /v1/jaimini
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/jaimini" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'{
"meta": {
"ayanamsa": "lahiri",
"ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
"julian_day": 2448119.10483,
"ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
"node": "true",
"timezone": {
"source": "zone",
"offset_hours": -4,
"zone": "America/New_York",
"abbreviation": "EDT",
"dst": true,
"dst_hours": 1,
"ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
"note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
}
},
"chara_karakas": {
"Atmakaraka": "Sun",
"Amatyakaraka": "Mars",
"Bhratrikaraka": "Saturn",
"Matrikaraka": "Mercury",
"Putrakaraka": "Moon",
"Gnatikaraka": "Venus",
"Darakaraka": "Jupiter"
},
"padas": {
"A1": {
"sign": "Cancer",
"name": "Arudha Lagna"
},
"A2": {
"sign": "Capricorn",
"name": null
},
"A3": {
"sign": "Virgo",
"name": null
},
"A4": {
"sign": "Aquarius",
"name": null
},
"A5": {
"sign": "Scorpio",
"name": null
},
"A6": {
"sign": "Libra",
"name": null
},
"A7": {
"sign": "Scorpio",
"name": null
},
"A8": {
"sign": "Capricorn",
"name": null
},
"A9": {
"sign": "Virgo",
"name": null
},
"A10": {
"sign": "Libra",
"name": null
},
"A11": {
"sign": "Pisces",
"name": null
},
"A12": {
"sign": "Gemini",
"name": "Upapada Lagna"
}
},
"rashi_drishti": {
"Aries": {
"quality": "movable",
"aspects": [
"Leo",
"Scorpio",
"Aquarius"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, in which whole signs look at other signs according to their quality. No planet is involved. A movable sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn) aspects three of the four fixed signs: all except the…",
"It matters because linked signs tie together the parts of life they stand for. Movable signs start things, so their aspect carries a push into what is otherwise settled. A fixed sign under a movable aspect tends to be moved, whether it…",
"An empty movable sign still aspects its three fixed signs, and that still counts. People used to ordinary planetary aspects, where an empty house casts nothing, most easily miss this."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Taurus": {
"quality": "fixed",
"aspects": [
"Cancer",
"Libra",
"Capricorn"
],
"text": [
"In rashi drishti, the Jaimini sign aspect, whole signs look at each other. A sign's quality decides which ones it sees. A fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius) aspects three of the four movable signs: all except the one just before…",
"This matters because it shows where steadiness enters your chart. Fixed signs hold still, so their aspect steadies things that would otherwise keep moving. Under a fixed sign's aspect, a movable sign tends to keep to one direction longer…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Gemini": {
"quality": "dual",
"aspects": [
"Virgo",
"Sagittarius",
"Pisces"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, set by each sign's quality. In it, a dual sign looks at the other three dual signs and nothing else. So Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces form a closed group in every chart there is. Dual signs…",
"No sign outside the four ever aspects a dual sign by rashi drishti. And no dual sign aspects anything outside them. A dual sign can still be affected from elsewhere: through a planet's own aspect, or through a planet in it. Argala…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Cancer": {
"quality": "movable",
"aspects": [
"Taurus",
"Scorpio",
"Aquarius"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, in which whole signs look at other signs according to their quality. No planet is involved. A movable sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn) aspects three of the four fixed signs: all except the…",
"It matters because linked signs tie together the parts of life they stand for. Movable signs start things, so their aspect carries a push into what is otherwise settled. A fixed sign under a movable aspect tends to be moved, whether it…",
"An empty movable sign still aspects its three fixed signs, and that still counts. People used to ordinary planetary aspects, where an empty house casts nothing, most easily miss this."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Leo": {
"quality": "fixed",
"aspects": [
"Aries",
"Libra",
"Capricorn"
],
"text": [
"In rashi drishti, the Jaimini sign aspect, whole signs look at each other. A sign's quality decides which ones it sees. A fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius) aspects three of the four movable signs: all except the one just before…",
"This matters because it shows where steadiness enters your chart. Fixed signs hold still, so their aspect steadies things that would otherwise keep moving. Under a fixed sign's aspect, a movable sign tends to keep to one direction longer…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Virgo": {
"quality": "dual",
"aspects": [
"Gemini",
"Sagittarius",
"Pisces"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, set by each sign's quality. In it, a dual sign looks at the other three dual signs and nothing else. So Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces form a closed group in every chart there is. Dual signs…",
"No sign outside the four ever aspects a dual sign by rashi drishti. And no dual sign aspects anything outside them. A dual sign can still be affected from elsewhere: through a planet's own aspect, or through a planet in it. Argala…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Libra": {
"quality": "movable",
"aspects": [
"Taurus",
"Leo",
"Aquarius"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, in which whole signs look at other signs according to their quality. No planet is involved. A movable sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn) aspects three of the four fixed signs: all except the…",
"It matters because linked signs tie together the parts of life they stand for. Movable signs start things, so their aspect carries a push into what is otherwise settled. A fixed sign under a movable aspect tends to be moved, whether it…",
"An empty movable sign still aspects its three fixed signs, and that still counts. People used to ordinary planetary aspects, where an empty house casts nothing, most easily miss this."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Scorpio": {
"quality": "fixed",
"aspects": [
"Aries",
"Cancer",
"Capricorn"
],
"text": [
"In rashi drishti, the Jaimini sign aspect, whole signs look at each other. A sign's quality decides which ones it sees. A fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius) aspects three of the four movable signs: all except the one just before…",
"This matters because it shows where steadiness enters your chart. Fixed signs hold still, so their aspect steadies things that would otherwise keep moving. Under a fixed sign's aspect, a movable sign tends to keep to one direction longer…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Sagittarius": {
"quality": "dual",
"aspects": [
"Gemini",
"Virgo",
"Pisces"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, set by each sign's quality. In it, a dual sign looks at the other three dual signs and nothing else. So Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces form a closed group in every chart there is. Dual signs…",
"No sign outside the four ever aspects a dual sign by rashi drishti. And no dual sign aspects anything outside them. A dual sign can still be affected from elsewhere: through a planet's own aspect, or through a planet in it. Argala…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Capricorn": {
"quality": "movable",
"aspects": [
"Taurus",
"Leo",
"Scorpio"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, in which whole signs look at other signs according to their quality. No planet is involved. A movable sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn) aspects three of the four fixed signs: all except the…",
"It matters because linked signs tie together the parts of life they stand for. Movable signs start things, so their aspect carries a push into what is otherwise settled. A fixed sign under a movable aspect tends to be moved, whether it…",
"An empty movable sign still aspects its three fixed signs, and that still counts. People used to ordinary planetary aspects, where an empty house casts nothing, most easily miss this."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Aquarius": {
"quality": "fixed",
"aspects": [
"Aries",
"Cancer",
"Libra"
],
"text": [
"In rashi drishti, the Jaimini sign aspect, whole signs look at each other. A sign's quality decides which ones it sees. A fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius) aspects three of the four movable signs: all except the one just before…",
"This matters because it shows where steadiness enters your chart. Fixed signs hold still, so their aspect steadies things that would otherwise keep moving. Under a fixed sign's aspect, a movable sign tends to keep to one direction longer…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"Pisces": {
"quality": "dual",
"aspects": [
"Gemini",
"Virgo",
"Sagittarius"
],
"text": [
"Rashi drishti is the Jaimini sign aspect, set by each sign's quality. In it, a dual sign looks at the other three dual signs and nothing else. So Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces form a closed group in every chart there is. Dual signs…",
"No sign outside the four ever aspects a dual sign by rashi drishti. And no dual sign aspects anything outside them. A dual sign can still be affected from elsewhere: through a planet's own aspect, or through a planet in it. Argala…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
},
"argala": {
"Aries": [
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Taurus",
"caused_by": [
"Moon"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Pisces",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
},
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Cancer",
"caused_by": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Capricorn",
"obstructed_by": [
"Rahu"
],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Taurus": [
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Leo",
"caused_by": [
"Mercury"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Aquarius",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Gemini": [
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Cancer",
"caused_by": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Taurus",
"obstructed_by": [
"Moon"
],
"obstructed": false
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Aries",
"caused_by": [
"Mars"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Leo",
"obstructed_by": [
"Mercury"
],
"obstructed": true
}
],
"Cancer": [
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Leo",
"caused_by": [
"Mercury"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Gemini",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Taurus",
"caused_by": [
"Moon"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Virgo",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Leo": [],
"Virgo": [
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Sagittarius",
"caused_by": [
"Saturn"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Gemini",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Cancer",
"caused_by": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Scorpio",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Libra": [
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Capricorn",
"caused_by": [
"Rahu"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Cancer",
"obstructed_by": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"obstructed": true
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Leo",
"caused_by": [
"Mercury"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Sagittarius",
"obstructed_by": [
"Saturn"
],
"obstructed": true
}
],
"Scorpio": [
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Sagittarius",
"caused_by": [
"Saturn"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Libra",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Sagittarius": [
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Capricorn",
"caused_by": [
"Rahu"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Scorpio",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Capricorn": [
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Aries",
"caused_by": [
"Mars"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Libra",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
}
],
"Aquarius": [
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Taurus",
"caused_by": [
"Moon"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Scorpio",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Sagittarius",
"caused_by": [
"Saturn"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Aries",
"obstructed_by": [
"Mars"
],
"obstructed": true
}
],
"Pisces": [
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Aries",
"caused_by": [
"Mars"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Aquarius",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Capricorn",
"caused_by": [
"Rahu"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Taurus",
"obstructed_by": [
"Moon"
],
"obstructed": true
}
]
},
"chara_dasha": {
"direction": "direct",
"direction_rule": "the 9th house holds Taurus, so the dasha runs zodiacally",
"periods": [
{
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"lord": "Mercury",
"years": 1,
"starts_after_years": 0,
"why": "Mercury is 2 signs from Virgo counting backward",
"text": [
"Chara dasha (Jaimini periods that pass from sign to sign) gives Virgo its own stretch of years. A Virgo period is a working period, not a showy one. Virgo is the sign of careful method and precision. So the period fills with service,…",
"What helps: bring to this period the tedious job you have put off for years, and it often gives way. Old tax papers, a messy set of accounts or a long-stalled repair are good candidates. What the period rarely gives is recognition. The…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
{
"sign": "Libra",
"sign_number": 7,
"lord": "Venus",
"years": 9,
"starts_after_years": 1,
"why": "Venus is 10 signs from Libra counting forward",
"text": [
"In chara dasha, your years are handed from one sign to the next. A Libra period runs through other people. Libra is the sign of balance, partnership and trade. So the period is made of agreements, partners and dealing with the public. Very…",
"The typical difficulty is that reaching an agreement can matter more to you than what the agreement says. That is how you end up with deals you regret later. What helps: decide your terms before the conversation, not during it, and read…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
{
"sign": "Scorpio",
"sign_number": 8,
"lord": "Ketu",
"years": 8,
"starts_after_years": 10,
"why": "Ketu is 9 signs from Scorpio counting forward",
"text": [
"Chara dasha is the Jaimini sequence of sign periods. A Scorpio period turns you toward hidden matters. Scorpio is the sign of depth and secrecy. So these belong to the period: research, hidden matters, other people's money and sudden…",
"What helps: don't start anything that depends on explaining yourself to others, and do finish whatever has been left half-open for years. Keep one habit of openness: not confessing, just saying things before you are asked. Most of this…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
],
"cycle_years": 55,
"rule": "Parashari chara dasha (K. N. Rao): direction from the sign in the 9th house; each sign counted to its lord forward or backward by its own group, minus one; twelve for a lord in its own sign; the two lords of Scorpio and Aquarius resolved…",
"note": "other chara dasha systems give different periods for the same chart. This one is stated in full in rulebook JM-06.",
"disputed": "two variants of the Scorpio/Aquarius dual-lord choice are not applied here, confirmed by the astrologer (N-25): ranking the kind of sign the two lords occupy (dual over fixed over movable) before their degrees, and counting a period to…",
"dated": {
"year_length_days": 365.25,
"periods": [
{
"cycle": 1,
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"years": 1,
"start": "1990-08-15T10:30:00",
"end": "1991-08-15T16:30:00",
"antardasha_direction": "forward",
"antardashas": [
{
"sign": "Libra",
"sign_number": 7,
"start": "1990-08-15T10:30:00",
"end": "1990-09-14T21:00:00"
},
{
"sign": "Scorpio",
"sign_number": 8,
"start": "1990-09-14T21:00:00",
"end": "1990-10-15T07:30:00"
},
{
"sign": "Sagittarius",
"sign_number": 9,
"start": "1990-10-15T07:30:00",
"end": "1990-11-14T18:00:00"
}
]
},
{
"cycle": 1,
"sign": "Libra",
"sign_number": 7,
"years": 9,
"start": "1991-08-15T16:30:00",
"end": "2000-08-14T22:30:00",
"antardasha_direction": "forward",
"antardashas": [
{
"sign": "Scorpio",
"sign_number": 8,
"start": "1991-08-15T16:30:00",
"end": "1992-05-15T15:00:00"
},
{
"sign": "Sagittarius",
"sign_number": 9,
"start": "1992-05-15T15:00:00",
"end": "1993-02-13T13:30:00"
},
{
"sign": "Capricorn",
"sign_number": 10,
"start": "1993-02-13T13:30:00",
"end": "1993-11-14T12:00:00"
}
]
},
{
"cycle": 1,
"sign": "Scorpio",
"sign_number": 8,
"years": 8,
"start": "2000-08-14T22:30:00",
"end": "2008-08-14T22:30:00",
"antardasha_direction": "backward",
"antardashas": [
{
"sign": "Libra",
"sign_number": 7,
"start": "2000-08-14T22:30:00",
"end": "2001-04-15T10:30:00"
},
{
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"start": "2001-04-15T10:30:00",
"end": "2001-12-14T22:30:00"
},
{
"sign": "Leo",
"sign_number": 5,
"start": "2001-12-14T22:30:00",
"end": "2002-08-15T10:30:00"
}
]
}
],
"total_years": 144,
"second_cycle_rule": "each sign runs again in the same order for twelve minus its first-cycle years (K. N. Rao). A sign that ran twelve years has no second period",
"antardasha_rule": "twelve equal parts, starting from the sign next to the mahadasha sign and ending with it. They run forward or backward as the sign in the 9th from the mahadasha sign directs. This is the same test that sets the mahadasha direction from the…",
"note": "dates are local civil time at the birth place. Some software repeats the first-cycle years in the second cycle instead. See rulebook JM-09."
}
},
"argala_readings": [
{
"from_house": 4,
"from_sign": "Sagittarius",
"caused_by": [
"Saturn"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 10,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Gemini",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false,
"on": "lagna",
"on_sign": "Virgo",
"text": [
"In Jaimini astrology, argala is influence reaching into a sign from planets outside it. They sit 2nd, 4th or 11th from it. Here planets in the fourth from the sign being read reach into it. Nothing in the tenth from it stops them. The…",
"Like all argala, what reaches in brings its own nature, not a verdict. If harsh planets (malefics) are doing the supporting, the matter is supported by exactly those planets. The support tends to feel like them. So look first at which…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
{
"from_house": 11,
"from_sign": "Cancer",
"caused_by": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 3,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Scorpio",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false,
"on": "lagna",
"on_sign": "Virgo",
"text": [
"Argala describes planets reaching into a sign from certain houses around it, namely the 2nd, 4th and 11th. Planets in the eleventh from the sign being read are doing the reaching here. The third from it holds nothing that stops them. The…",
"Of the three, you feel this one most easily, because the eleventh gives rather than just supports. But it gives what the planets doing the reaching stand for. So check what that is before counting it as gain. A harsh planet (a malefic)…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
{
"from_house": 2,
"from_sign": "Leo",
"caused_by": [
"Mercury"
],
"obstructed_from_house": 12,
"obstructed_from_sign": "Gemini",
"obstructed_by": [],
"obstructed": false,
"on": "arudha_lagna",
"on_sign": "Cancer",
"text": [
"Argala is the Jaimini name for outside influence. Planets placed 2nd, 4th or 11th from a sign reach into its affairs without sitting in it. Here planets in the second from the sign being read reach in. Nothing in the twelfth stops them. So…",
"Argala describes reach, not quality, so this does not say the matter is good. A harsh planet (a malefic) in the second reaches in just as surely as a helpful one (a benefic). And it brings its own nature with it. So read the planets doing…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
],
"gaps": [],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}Where the API returns it
| POST | /v1/jaimini | Jaimini: sign aspects, argala, chara dasha and karakas |
| POST | /v1/dasha/narayana | Narayana dasha: the Jaimini sign periods |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/dasha/narayana · Narayana dasha: the Jaimini sign periodsEach period's
textis the sign reading/v1/jaiminigives for chara dasha, without its opening line about chara dasha. - POST /v1/jaimini · Jaimini: sign aspects, argala, chara dasha and karakasChara dasha (a period system based on signs) exists in several versions that give different periods for the same chart.
Feature page: Jaimini astrology. Who uses it: Astrologer consultation platforms. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.
How we check the numbers
Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.
Related terms
From the blog
Astrology API
Get these values from the API
Create a free test key and call any endpoint on this page. Or try a request in the API reference first.
Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.
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Open rules: every rule is published, so you can check any answer
