Mahadasha

There are nine mahadashas in the Vimshottari Dasha cycle — Sun (6 years), Moon (10), Mars (7), Rahu (18), Jupiter (16), Saturn (19), Mercury (17), Ketu (7), Venus (20) — totalling 120 years. Your starting mahadasha and how much of it remains at birth is determined by the moon's nakshatra at the moment you were born. The active mahadasha colours the decade — Saturn mahadasha is famously demanding, Venus is creative and indulgent, Jupiter is expansive — and inside it, antardashas (sub-periods) shift the active flavour every few months to years. For a deeper read of how mahadasha works in practice, see the full guide.