Vimshottari Dasha

The full cycle assigns mahadashas to the nine grahas in this fixed order: Ketu (7 years), Venus (20), Sun (6), Moon (10), Mars (7), Rahu (18), Jupiter (16), Saturn (19), Mercury (17). Total: 120 years. Which mahadasha you are born into — and how much of it remains at birth — is determined by the moon's nakshatra at the exact moment of birth. Each nakshatra is ruled by one of the nine planets, and that planet's mahadasha is the one running at birth. Vimshottari is the timing layer Vedic astrologers use to predict when chart promises will mature: a Jupiter-ruled lagna with Jupiter strong in the 10th bhava might only deliver its full career promise during the Jupiter mahadasha or its antardashas.