Dashas (planetary periods)
Dasha in Vedic astrology
Updated
Dasha: how the API computes it
The API supports three dasha systems, and each has its own endpoint. POST /v1/dasha/vimshottari returns the main system. It runs 120 years and starts from the birth Moon's nakshatra (birth star).
POST /v1/dasha/yogini returns a shorter system that runs 36 years and repeats. POST /v1/jaimini counts periods in signs instead of planets. In every case, the response gives calendar start and end dates. So your app does not have to add up years itself.
Periods are nested. A main period (mahadasha) holds sub-periods (antardashas), and those hold smaller ones. In Vimshottari, the nine planets take turns for fixed lengths.
Ketu runs 7 years, Venus 20, the Sun 6, the Moon 10 and Mars 7. Rahu runs 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17. Only the first period is partly used up at birth.
How much depends on how far the Moon has travelled through its nakshatra. Use the dates from the response to show which period a person is in today. Ask the same endpoint again with a later date to show what comes next.
Get it from the API
POST /v1/dasha/vimshottari
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/dasha/vimshottari" \
-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"}'{
"system": "vimshottari",
"year_length_days": 365.25,
"moon_nakshatra_index": 5,
"nakshatra_fraction_elapsed": 0.09303881,
"starting_lord": "Mars",
"balance_at_birth_years": 6.348728,
"balance_method": "time",
"levels": 3,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Mars",
"start": "1989-12-20T13:27:09.380502",
"end": "1996-12-20T07:27:09.380502",
"years": 7,
"partial_at_birth": true,
"balance_years": 6.348728,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Mars",
"start": "1989-12-20T13:27:09.380502",
"end": "1990-05-18T16:54:09.380502",
"years": 0.408333,
"elapsed": true,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Mars",
"start": "1989-12-20T13:27:09.380502",
"end": "1989-12-29T06:15:13.880502",
"years": 0.023819,
"elapsed": true
},
{
"lord": "Rahu",
"start": "1989-12-29T06:15:13.880502",
"end": "1990-01-20T15:10:16.880502",
"years": 0.06125,
"elapsed": true
},
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1990-01-20T15:10:16.880502",
"end": "1990-02-09T12:25:52.880502",
"years": 0.054444,
"elapsed": true
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Rahu",
"start": "1990-05-18T16:54:09.380502",
"end": "1991-06-06T05:12:09.380502",
"years": 1.05,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Rahu",
"start": "1990-05-18T16:54:09.380502",
"end": "1990-07-15T05:32:51.380502",
"years": 0.1575,
"elapsed": true
},
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1990-07-15T05:32:51.380502",
"end": "1990-09-04T08:47:15.380502",
"years": 0.14
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "1990-09-04T08:47:15.380502",
"end": "1990-11-04T02:08:06.380502",
"years": 0.16625
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1991-06-06T05:12:09.380502",
"end": "1992-05-12T02:48:09.380502",
"years": 0.933333,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1991-06-06T05:12:09.380502",
"end": "1991-07-21T16:04:57.380502",
"years": 0.124444
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "1991-07-21T16:04:57.380502",
"end": "1991-09-13T15:30:09.380502",
"years": 0.147778
},
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "1991-09-13T15:30:09.380502",
"end": "1991-10-31T22:33:45.380502",
"years": 0.132222
}
]
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Rahu",
"start": "1996-12-20T07:27:09.380502",
"end": "2014-12-20T19:27:09.380502",
"years": 18,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Rahu",
"start": "1996-12-20T07:27:09.380502",
"end": "1999-09-02T11:39:09.380502",
"years": 2.7,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Rahu",
"start": "1996-12-20T07:27:09.380502",
"end": "1997-05-17T05:40:57.380502",
"years": 0.405
},
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1997-05-17T05:40:57.380502",
"end": "1997-09-25T17:26:33.380502",
"years": 0.36
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "1997-09-25T17:26:33.380502",
"end": "1998-02-28T20:54:27.380502",
"years": 0.4275
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1999-09-02T11:39:09.380502",
"end": "2002-01-26T02:03:09.380502",
"years": 2.4,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "1999-09-02T11:39:09.380502",
"end": "1999-12-28T08:46:21.380502",
"years": 0.32
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "1999-12-28T08:46:21.380502",
"end": "2000-05-15T03:51:09.380502",
"years": 0.38
},
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "2000-05-15T03:51:09.380502",
"end": "2000-09-16T08:17:33.380502",
"years": 0.34
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "2002-01-26T02:03:09.380502",
"end": "2004-12-02T01:09:09.380502",
"years": 2.85,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "2002-01-26T02:03:09.380502",
"end": "2002-07-09T21:42:36.380502",
"years": 0.45125
},
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "2002-07-09T21:42:36.380502",
"end": "2002-12-04T08:58:57.380502",
"years": 0.40375
},
{
"lord": "Ketu",
"start": "2002-12-04T08:58:57.380502",
"end": "2003-02-03T02:19:48.380502",
"years": 0.16625
}
]
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "2014-12-20T19:27:09.380502",
"end": "2030-12-20T19:27:09.380502",
"years": 16,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "2014-12-20T19:27:09.380502",
"end": "2017-02-07T00:15:09.380502",
"years": 2.133333,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Jupiter",
"start": "2014-12-20T19:27:09.380502",
"end": "2015-04-03T16:53:33.380502",
"years": 0.284444
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "2015-04-03T16:53:33.380502",
"end": "2015-08-05T01:51:09.380502",
"years": 0.337778
},
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "2015-08-05T01:51:09.380502",
"end": "2015-11-23T11:07:57.380502",
"years": 0.302222
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "2017-02-07T00:15:09.380502",
"end": "2019-08-21T07:27:09.380502",
"years": 2.533333,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Saturn",
"start": "2017-02-07T00:15:09.380502",
"end": "2017-07-03T12:23:33.380502",
"years": 0.401111
},
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "2017-07-03T12:23:33.380502",
"end": "2017-11-11T14:24:45.380502",
"years": 0.358889
},
{
"lord": "Ketu",
"start": "2017-11-11T14:24:45.380502",
"end": "2018-01-04T13:49:57.380502",
"years": 0.147778
}
]
},
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "2019-08-21T07:27:09.380502",
"end": "2021-11-26T05:03:09.380502",
"years": 2.266667,
"periods": [
{
"lord": "Mercury",
"start": "2019-08-21T07:27:09.380502",
"end": "2019-12-16T14:18:45.380502",
"years": 0.321111
},
{
"lord": "Ketu",
"start": "2019-12-16T14:18:45.380502",
"end": "2020-02-02T21:22:21.380502",
"years": 0.132222
},
{
"lord": "Venus",
"start": "2020-02-02T21:22:21.380502",
"end": "2020-06-19T20:58:21.380502",
"years": 0.377778
}
]
}
]
}
],
"balance_conventions": {
"longitude": {
"fraction_elapsed": 0.09312764,
"balance_years": 6.348107,
"first_period_ends": "1996-12-20T02:00:06.412309"
},
"time": {
"fraction_elapsed": 0.09303881,
"balance_years": 6.348728,
"first_period_ends": "1996-12-20T07:27:09.380502"
},
"used": "time",
"other": "longitude",
"shift_days": 0.2271,
"sources_agree": true,
"note": "longitude measures how far the Moon has moved through its birth nakshatra; time measures how long it has been there (bhayat over bhabhog), as a desktop program does. Every later date moves by the same shift."
},
"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"
}
}
}Where the API returns it
| POST | /v1/dasha/vimshottari | Vimshottari dasha periods with dates |
| POST | /v1/jaimini | Jaimini: sign aspects, argala, chara dasha and karakas |
| POST | /v1/dasha/yogini | Yogini dasha periods (a 36-year cycle) |
| POST | /v1/dasha/ashtottari | Ashtottari dasha periods (a 108-year cycle) |
| POST | /v1/dasha/narayana | Narayana dasha: the Jaimini sign periods |
| POST | /v1/reading/daily | Daily reading for a chart |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/jaimini · Jaimini: sign aspects, argala, chara dasha and karakasDashas (planetary periods) are counted in signs.
- POST /v1/dasha/vimshottari · Vimshottari dasha periods with datesSet
dasha_balancetolongitudeto build every date on the distance balance. - POST /v1/dasha/yogini · Yogini dasha periods (a 36-year cycle)Returns the Yogini dasha timeline, a second system of dashas (planetary periods) next to Vimshottari.
- POST /v1/dasha/ashtottari · Ashtottari dasha periods (a 108-year cycle)Returns the Ashtottari dasha timeline, a third system of dashas (planetary periods) next to Vimshottari and Yogini.
Feature page: Dashas (planetary periods). Who uses it: Astrology apps. See dasha periods in a full reading in the sample report. 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
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Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
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