vimshottari mahadasha
Rahu Mahadasha (Rahu): The Nine Antardashas
18 years · follows Mars · precedes Jupiter
The Rahu mahadasha runs 18 years in the 120-year Vimshottari cycle. It comes after the Mars mahadasha and gives way to the Jupiter mahadasha. A birth with the Moon in Ardra, Swati or Shatabhisha begins life inside it, part-way through, because those are the three nakshatras Rahu rules.
Its nine antardashas start with Rahu’s own and follow the cycle from there, so the last of them is Mars’s. Inside these 18 years the Venus sub-period is the longest, at 3 years, and the Sun sub-period the shortest, at 10 months 24 days.
| # | Antardasha | Classical | Solar days | Opens after | Closes at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rahu–Rahu | 2y 8m 12d | 986 | — | 2y 8m 12d |
| 2 | Rahu–Jupiter | 2y 4m 24d | 877 | 2y 8m 12d | 5y 1m 6d |
| 3 | Rahu–Saturn | 2y 10m 6d | 1041 | 5y 1m 6d | 7y 11m 12d |
| 4 | Rahu–Mercury | 2y 6m 18d | 931 | 7y 11m 12d | 10y 6m |
| 5 | Rahu–Ketu | 1y 18d | 384 | 10y 6m | 11y 6m 18d |
| 6 | Rahu–Venus | 3y | 1096 | 11y 6m 18d | 14y 6m 18d |
| 7 | Rahu–Sun | 10m 24d | 329 | 14y 6m 18d | 15y 5m 12d |
| 8 | Rahu–Moon | 1y 6m | 548 | 15y 5m 12d | 16y 11m 12d |
| 9 | Rahu–Mars | 1y 18d | 384 | 16y 11m 12d | 18y |
The “opens after” and “closes at” columns are measured from the start of a full Rahu mahadasha on the classical year. A Rahu mahadasha that was already running at birth is entered part-way, so for that birth the early rows may be in the past; the dasha calculator places the rows on the calendar from the Moon’s longitude.
Reading the Rahu Mahadasha
This page is arithmetic. For how the Rahu mahadasha is interpreted, see our Rahu mahadasha article; for Rahu’s dignities, friendships and remedies, the Rahu (Rahu) page; and for the system as a whole, Vimshottari dasha explained. This page in Hindi: राहु महादशा.
The Rahu Mahadasha by Ascendant
Which houses Rahu and each of its sub-period lords rule depends on the ascendant. The Rahu mahadasha read through each lagna’s lordships: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.