Planetary periods

Talk to an astrologer about your mahadasha, antardasha or sade sati

Which planetary period you are running, how long it lasts, and what the classical texts link with it: what an astrologer reads, and what no period decides for you.

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Updated 2026-11-03

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Someone told me my Rahu mahadasha starts next year and that it is a hard time. I am worried. Can you tell me what my dasha actually says?

Let us look at it calmly. Please share your date, time and place of birth. I will check when the period starts, where Rahu sits in your chart and which sub-period comes first. A period's name alone tells us very little; your own chart tells us more.

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Example of a consultation about planetary periods on Kismo

Short answer

You can talk to an astrologer about your planetary period, your mahadasha, antardasha, sade sati or Saturn's dhaiya, with your date, time and place of birth. In Vedic astrology the Vimshottari dasha splits a 120-year cycle among nine planets, and Saturn's transits are counted from your Moon sign. Results depend on the whole chart, never on the period's name alone. On Kismo, verified astrologers read your periods online from anywhere in India and abroad.

Key facts

What are the key facts about planetary periods?

	Answer
What it covers	The nine mahadashas and their antardashas, sade sati and Saturn's dhaiya
How the periods are set	The mahadasha at birth comes from the Moon's nakshatra; Saturn's transits are counted from the Moon sign ¹³
Lengths	Mahadashas run 6 to 20 years, 120 in all; sade sati runs about 7 to 8 years ¹
What an astrologer checks	The period lord's house, sign and strength, the running sub-period, and Saturn's sign from your Moon
What to bring	Date, exact time and place of birth; the dasha needs the Moon's exact degree
Price on Kismo	From ₹15 a minute, one rate for chat and call; the first session carries 5 free minutes, no card needed
Where	Online, from anywhere in India and abroad, in 16+ languages

What gets checked

What does an astrologer check when you ask about a dasha or sade sati?

An astrologer checks the period's planet in your own chart before saying anything about the period. Kismo is an app where you talk to verified Vedic astrologers by chat or call, in 16 languages.

Which mahadasha runs now and when it began. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (46.13 and 46.16) sets the first period from the birth nakshatra and the balance from how far the Moon had moved through it ³.
The period lord's house and sign. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra chapter 47 reads Saturn's period as favourable when Saturn is exalted, in its own or a friend's sign, or in a kendra or trine, and as hard in the 6th, 8th or 12th ⁵.
The running antardasha. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra chapter 51 and Phaladeepika (21.2) give each sub-period the mahadasha years times the sub-lord's years, divided by 120 ⁶⁷.
Saturn's sign counted from your Moon. Phaladeepika chapter 26 reads Saturn's transit house by house from the Moon sign, good in the 3rd, 6th and 11th ⁸.
Saturn's dignity in transit. Phaladeepika (26.31) says a planet in its own or exalted sign does no harm even in a bad house ⁸.
What the period is asked about. Career, marriage and money are each read from their own houses, so the same period can look different for each question.

Many astrologers also read a third level, the pratyantar dasha, for timing inside a sub-period. Ask which levels your astrologer uses, and from which chart.

Problems

Which planetary periods problems can an astrologer help with?

Sade sati
For Saturn's 7 to 8 years over your Moon sign: the astrologer finds your phase, Saturn's sign and the dasha running alongside, and reads each phase separately.
Shani dhaiya
For Saturn's 2.5 years in the 4th or 8th sign from your Moon: a shorter transit than sade sati, read for home, family and work.
Rahu mahadasha
For Rahu's 18 years: the astrologer reads Rahu's house and the sign it sits in, since Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra reads this shadow planet's period mainly by its sign.
Saturn mahadasha
For Saturn's 19 years, the second longest period: read by Saturn's sign and house, and kept apart from sade sati, which can run at the same time.
Ketu mahadasha
For Ketu's 7 years: read by Ketu's house and the lord of the sign it occupies, often with a question about detachment or a break in work.
Jupiter mahadasha
For Jupiter's 16 years: read by the houses Jupiter rules in your chart, since its reputation as the kindest planet does not hold for every ascendant.
Venus mahadasha
For Venus's 20 years, the longest period: read for marriage, comfort and money from Venus's sign, house and the sub-periods inside it.
Mars mahadasha
For Mars's 7 years: read by Mars's house and sign, and whether it rules good or hard houses for your ascendant.
Sun mahadasha
For the Sun's 6 years, the shortest period: read for status, work and the father from the Sun's house and strength.
Moon mahadasha
For the Moon's 10 years: read for the mind, home and mother from the Moon's sign, its waxing or waning phase and its house.
Mercury mahadasha
For Mercury's 17 years: read for study, trade and speech from Mercury's sign, house and the planets it sits with.

By the numbers

How long does each mahadasha last?

Each mahadasha lasts a fixed number of years in the Vimshottari system, from 6 years for the Sun to 20 for Venus. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (46.15) and Phaladeepika (19.2) give the same figures ¹².

Order	Mahadasha	Years	Its own sub-period first
1	Ketu	7	4 months 27 days
2	Venus	20	3 years 4 months
3	Sun	6	3 months 18 days
4	Moon	10	10 months
5	Mars	7	4 months 27 days
6	Rahu	18	2 years 8 months 12 days
7	Jupiter	16	2 years 1 month 18 days
8	Saturn	19	3 years 3 days
9	Mercury	17	2 years 4 months 27 days

The last column applies the sub-period rule, years times years divided by 120, with 30-day months ⁶. The cycle starts wherever your Moon's nakshatra places you, so few people live through all nine periods: 20,000 random births from 1946 to 2008 begin a median of 7 mahadashas by age 80.

Calculated from public astronomical data with the open-source astronomia library, Lahiri ayanamsa. On 3 November 2026, 17.9% of those adults ran Saturn's mahadasha, 16.8% Jupiter's, 16.4% Rahu's and 4.4% the Sun's. The long periods simply cover more people, and 24.6% were in sade sati.

Periods in India

How many people in India believe in fate and astrology?

Seven Indians in ten believe in fate, Pew Research Center found: 70% said life events are largely predestined ⁹. Fewer, 44%, said they believe in astrology, rising to 49% among Hindus ⁹. Pew interviewed 29,999 adults face to face in 17 languages between November 2019 and March 2020 ¹⁰.

Timing matters even to people who doubt astrology. In the same survey, 83% of Indians said they fix important dates by auspicious days or times, and 77% of both Hindus and Muslims believe in karma ⁹. Both fate and astrology were more common among older adults ⁹.

Fear of a period can be costly. In June 2025 Delhi Police arrested a man in Jaipur who had taken nearly ₹3 lakh from a 28-year-old IT analyst for rituals that were never performed ¹¹. He had told her that her setbacks came from negative energy that rituals could clear ¹¹.

Worry can also become a health problem. The Health Ministry says about 15% of Indian adults have a mental health issue that needs care, and 70% to 92% of them get none ¹². Tele-MANAS, the free government line, answers on 14416, 24 hours a day, in 20 languages ¹².

Before you pay anyone

How do you know an astrologer is genuine?

Every Kismo astrologer passes four steps: qualification review, panel interview, live audits of real sessions, 30-day probation.
Nobody can guarantee an outcome. Treat any promise of a fixed result as a red flag.
Never pay for an expensive puja or ritual under pressure. Get a second opinion first.
On Kismo you only pay for the minutes you use; misconduct, pressure or a request for money outside the app is handled by a person.

How we verify astrologers · How these pages are written

Astrologers for this

Which astrologers can I talk to about planetary periods?

Mariyammal k
Vedic Astrology, Prashna Astrology · 4 yrs
Tamil
★ 5.0 · 5,999 orders · ₹25/min
Shri nath guru ji
Vedic Astrology, Prashna Astrology · 8 yrs
Hindi
★ 4.9 · 5,992 orders · ₹20/min
Rishabh Pharswan
Vedic Astrology, Life Coach · 5 yrs
English, Hindi
★ 4.5 · 5,991 orders · ₹25/min
Chhaya yadav
Vedic Astrology · 3 yrs
Hindi
★ 4.5 · 5,989 orders · ₹25/min
Shubham Bhandari
Vedic Astrology · 2 yrs
English, Hindi, Punjabi
★ 4.5 · 5,989 orders · ₹30/min

Talk to Mariyammal Get it on Google Play

How it works

How does a consultation on Kismo work?

Log in on kismo.app or get the app from Google Play.
Pick an astrologer who speaks your language and works with your question.
Share your date, time and place of birth.
Ask by chat or call. The first session carries 5 free minutes, then each minute is billed from your wallet.

Questions worth asking in the session

Which mahadasha and antardasha am I running, and on what dates do they change?
Where does the period's planet sit in my chart, and is it strong or weak there?
Am I in sade sati or Saturn's dhaiya now, and in which phase?
Which part of my life does this period touch most: work, marriage, money or health?
Which simple, free practices do you suggest, if any, and why?
What should I keep doing in daily life, whatever the period says?

Before you book

What should I know before booking a session about planetary periods?

Question	Answer
What does a session cost?	Each astrologer sets one rate for chat and call, from ₹15 a minute. A 10-minute session at ₹15 a minute costs ₹150 (October 2026).
Is the first session free?	5 free minutes on the first session, no card.
Chat or call?	Both. You choose when you start the session.
Do I need an exact birth time?	It helps. Without one an astrologer can still read your Moon sign and planets by sign, or work out the time with you.
Is my chat private?	Your chat is not shown to other clients. How Kismo handles your data is set out in its privacy policy at kismo.app/privacy.
What if I am not happy?	There is no refund for a reading you did not like. Misconduct, pressure or a request for money outside Kismo is handled by a person.
Where does it work?	Online, from anywhere in India and abroad. People use Kismo from 80+ countries.

What else do people ask an astrologer about?

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FAQ

Questions people ask

How do I find out which mahadasha I am running right now?

You find your running mahadasha from your date, exact time and place of birth. The Moon's nakshatra at birth sets the first period, and the rest follow in a fixed order of nine planets. A free kundli tool prints the dates, and an astrologer can check them and explain the sub-period you are in. Even an hour's error in birth time can move the dates by weeks.

How are a mahadasha, its antardashas and the pratyantar dashas nested inside each other?

The mahadasha is the main period of one planet, lasting 6 to 20 years. Each mahadasha splits into nine antardashas, or sub-periods, of the same nine planets in order. Each antardasha splits again into nine pratyantar dashas. Astrologers read all three together: the main period sets the theme, and the smaller ones narrow down timing.

Which mahadasha is the best and which is the worst?

No mahadasha is the best or worst for everyone. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra reads each planet's period by that planet's sign, house and strength in your chart, so Saturn's period can be strong for one person and hard for another ⁵. A period ruled by a planet that governs good houses in your chart is usually read more kindly than its reputation suggests.

Is sade sati the same as Saturn's mahadasha?

No. Sade sati is a transit: Saturn moving through the sign before your Moon sign, the Moon sign itself and the sign after, about 7 to 8 years. Saturn's mahadasha is a 19-year dasha period set from your birth nakshatra ¹. The two can run at the same time, and astrologers read them separately before combining them.

Does a dasha reading work over chat if the astrologer never meets me?

Yes, a dasha reading works fully online, because it needs only your birth details. You can talk to an astrologer about your mahadasha, antardasha or sade sati on Kismo, where verified Vedic astrologers answer by chat or call from anywhere in India and abroad. Keep your date, exact time and place of birth ready, and one clear question.

What does a dasha or sade sati reading cost on Kismo?

A dasha or sade sati reading on Kismo costs the astrologer's per-minute rate, from ₹15 a minute, one rate for chat and call. You pay from a wallet with a minimum top-up of ₹100, billed per started minute. The first session carries 5 free minutes with no card needed, and unused money stays in the wallet.

An astrologer says my period is so bad I need a costly shanti puja. Should I pay?

No, not under pressure. Nobody can guarantee what a ritual does, and Phaladeepika itself lists virtuous acts, vows, gifts and prayer as the response to a hard period, not a price ⁸. Get a second opinion before paying for any ritual. Every Kismo astrologer passes a qualification review, a panel interview, live audits and a 30-day probation.

My dasha is making me anxious and I cannot sleep. What should I do?

Talk to someone now, before reading more about the period. Tele-MANAS, the government's free mental health line, answers on 14416 at any hour, in 20 languages ¹². A period in a chart does not decide your future, and a careful astrologer will say so. If worry stays for weeks, see a doctor or counsellor; an astrologer does not replace them.