Dasha systems · Jaimini · Reference

Chara Dasha Calculator and Reference Table: Jaimini Sign Period Rules

A complete reference for computing Chara dasha, the sign-based timing system of the Jaimini school. The direction rule for each sign's count, the count-to-lord duration rule, the Scorpio and Aquarius dual-lord handling and a worked sample lagna computed under both recorded counting schools, because the classical chapters preserve two and settle neither.

Chara dasha is Jaimini's rasi dasha. Where Vimshottari runs nine planetary periods from the Moon's nakshatra, Chara runs the twelve zodiac signs themselves as the periods, anchored to the lagna. That single design choice changes what a calculator needs. A Vimshottari calculator needs one input, the Moon's nakshatra, and then reads fixed durations from a table. A Chara calculator needs the whole chart, because every sign's duration depends on where that sign's lord sits at birth. This page lays out the rules a Chara calculator applies, in the order it applies them, alongside the reference tables and a fully worked sample. For the reading side of the system, the companion pieces on Chara dasha as a prediction system and Jaimini Chara dasha explained cover the karakas and the cross-reading with Vimshottari.

Your lagna (ascendant) sign

Computes instantly in your browser. The lagna sign sets the sequence order only; each sign's duration needs the full chart, per the count-to-lord rule below.

The direction rule: which way each sign counts

Two directions matter in Chara dasha and a calculator must keep them separate. The first is the order of the twelve mahadashas from the lagna. The second is the direction of the count from each sign to its lord, which sets that sign's duration. The common shorthand handles both with sign parity: odd signs run and count forward, even signs run and count reverse.

#	Sign	Parity	Count direction (shorthand)	Lord
1	Aries	Odd	Forward	Mars
2	Taurus	Even	Reverse	Venus
3	Gemini	Odd	Forward	Mercury
4	Cancer	Even	Reverse	Moon
5	Leo	Odd	Forward	Sun
6	Virgo	Even	Reverse	Mercury
7	Libra	Odd	Forward	Venus
8	Scorpio	Even	Reverse	Mars and Ketu
9	Sagittarius	Odd	Forward	Jupiter
10	Capricorn	Even	Reverse	Saturn
11	Aquarius	Odd	Forward	Saturn and Rahu
12	Pisces	Even	Reverse	Jupiter

The shorthand is a simplification and the classical source carries more structure. In the chara dasha section of the BPHS dasha chapters, read here in the Santhanam translation, the count to the lord runs by pada: the twelve signs group in threes from Aries into four padas, and signs in odd padas count forward while signs in even padas count in reverse. The order of the twelve dashas is set separately, from the sign in the ninth from the lagna, forward when that sign falls in an odd pada and reverse when it falls in an even one. The odd-forward, even-reverse shorthand and the pada rule agree on many charts and diverge on others, so an implementation should state which form it follows. The tables and the worked sample on this page follow the shorthand throughout, and Tempora's engine declares its convention in the reading output.

The duration rule: count to the lord, then finish per school

Each sign's mahadasha length comes from counting signs, starting at the sign in question and ending at the sign occupied by its lord, in the direction the table above gives. The count includes both endpoints. What happens next is where the two recorded schools part ways. The count-minus-one school subtracts one from the count to get the years. The inclusive school takes the count itself as the years. A lord in its own sign gives the full twelve years under the convention this page follows. B. Suryanarain Rao's 1955 translation of the Jaimini Sutras adds two adjustments on Adhyaya 1 Pada 1 Sutra 28: an exalted lord adds a year and a debilitated lord removes one.

Situation	Count-minus-one school	Inclusive school
Lord in its own sign	12 years	12 years
Lord in the 2nd sign (count 2)	1 year	2 years
Lord in the 5th sign (count 5)	4 years	5 years
Lord in the 10th sign (count 10)	9 years	10 years
Exalted lord (per Rao's note)	add 1 year	add 1 year
Debilitated lord (per Rao's note)	subtract 1 year	subtract 1 year

Because every sign's years depend on a chart-specific count, the twelve durations sum to a chart-specific total rather than a fixed cycle. The chapters state no fixed total; the familiar figure near 144 years is a convention laid over the arithmetic, and real charts land above or below it depending on how far each lord sits from its sign.

Scorpio and Aquarius: the dual-lord handling

Two signs carry two lords each and the count needs a tie-break rule. Scorpio answers to Mars and Ketu together and Aquarius to Saturn and Rahu. The chara dasha section of the BPHS dasha chapters, as read for the companion pages, resolves the cases this way: both lords at home give the sign twelve years, and lords in separate signs send the count to the stronger sign, where an occupied sign beats an empty one, more planets beat fewer and an exalted occupant settles it outright. When both lords happen to share one sign, the count simply runs to that sign and no tie-break is needed.

The two counting schools, recorded and unresolved

The disagreement over how to finish the count is not a modern software bug. It sits in the classical layer itself. Rao's translation of the Jaimini Sutras works its own example inclusively: Aries counted to its lord Mars in Leo is five, and Aries receives five years. The worked examples in Tempora's companion explainer subtract one from the same count. Rao's note on the sutra then records the split in a single sentence: a lord in the second sign gives one year, and some say he gives two. The count-minus-one school and the inclusive school stand side by side in the translation, and the chara dasha section of the BPHS dasha chapters leaves the same point open.

The practical consequence is exact and checkable. Two calculators can both be faithful to the sources and still differ by one year on every sign, which compounds to twelve years across a full cycle. A reader comparing Chara timelines from different tools should expect this offset before suspecting an error. Tempora uses the count-minus-one reading convention, consistent with the K N Rao reading convention its Jaimini pages follow, and declares the convention in the reading output so the arithmetic can be reproduced. This page does the same: the worked sample below shows both schools' years in parallel columns rather than presenting either as the settled answer, because the chapters read for these pages do not settle it.

Worked example: a sample Aries lagna, both schools

Everything below is a SAMPLE chart constructed to exercise the rules, not a real birth. Lagna Aries, so the mahadasha sequence runs forward under the shorthand. Sample placements: Sun and Mars in Gemini, Moon in Leo, Mercury in Aquarius, Venus in Cancer, Jupiter in Libra, Saturn and Rahu in Scorpio, Ketu in Taurus. No planet is exalted or debilitated in this sample, so no year adjustments apply and the two schools differ by exactly the finishing rule.

One count in full, both ways. Aries is odd, so it counts forward to its lord Mars in Gemini: Aries 1, Taurus 2, Gemini 3. The count is 3. The count-minus-one school gives Aries 3 minus 1, so 2 years. The inclusive school gives Aries the count itself, 3 years. One more with a tie-break. Scorpio's lords sit in separate signs, Mars in Gemini and Ketu in Taurus. Gemini holds two planets and Taurus holds one, so more planets beat fewer and the count runs to Gemini. Scorpio is even, so it counts in reverse: Scorpio 1, Libra 2, Virgo 3, Leo 4, Cancer 5, Gemini 6. Count 6, giving 5 years or 6 years by school.

Sign (SAMPLE)	Lord	Lord's sign	Direction	Count	Count-minus-one	Inclusive
Aries	Mars	Gemini	Forward	3	2y	3y
Taurus	Venus	Cancer	Reverse	11	10y	11y
Gemini	Mercury	Aquarius	Forward	9	8y	9y
Cancer	Moon	Leo	Reverse	12	11y	12y
Leo	Sun	Gemini	Forward	11	10y	11y
Virgo	Mercury	Aquarius	Reverse	8	7y	8y
Libra	Venus	Cancer	Forward	10	9y	10y
Scorpio	Mars + Ketu	Gemini (stronger)	Reverse	6	5y	6y
Sagittarius	Jupiter	Libra	Forward	11	10y	11y
Capricorn	Saturn	Scorpio	Reverse	3	2y	3y
Aquarius	Saturn + Rahu	Scorpio (both lords)	Forward	10	9y	10y
Pisces	Jupiter	Libra	Reverse	6	5y	6y
Total					88 years	100 years

Note the structure of the divergence. Every row differs by exactly one year, so the totals differ by exactly twelve. The Cancer row also shows why direction matters: Leo sits one sign forward of Cancer, but Cancer is even and counts in reverse, so the count runs the long way round and lands at 12, giving Cancer nearly its maximum period. And the totals of 88 and 100 years illustrate the chart-specific cycle: this sample's lords sit relatively close to their signs, so both totals land well under the conventional 144.

Read your Chara and Vimshottari timelines together

Tempora computes both dasha systems from your birth data with True Pushya Paksha ayanamsa, declares its counting convention in the output and flags the windows where the two systems agree.

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How the count works, start to finish

A Chara calculator runs five steps for any chart.

Fix the lagna sign. The ascendant's sidereal longitude at birth, computed here with True Pushya Paksha ayanamsa via Swiss Ephemeris, names the lagna sign and how much of it has risen. The elapsed fraction of the sign sets how much of the first mahadasha is already spent at birth.
Set the sequence. Under the shorthand, odd lagna signs run the twelve mahadashas forward and even lagna signs run them in reverse. The BPHS pada rule sets the order from the ninth from the lagna instead; state which form is in use.
Count each sign to its lord. Forward for odd signs, reverse for even signs, including both endpoints. Resolve Scorpio and Aquarius through the dual-lord rule first.
Finish per school. Subtract one under the count-minus-one convention or keep the count under the inclusive convention, give twelve years for a lord at home and apply the exaltation and debilitation adjustments Rao's translation records.
Lay the timeline. Run the durations in sequence from birth. Each mahadasha then divides into its sub-periods.

Antardasha within Chara dasha

Each Chara mahadasha contains twelve antardashas, one per sign, and they are sign sub-periods just as the mahadashas are sign periods. The twelve sub-periods share the mahadasha's length equally, so a twelve-year mahadasha carries twelve one-year antardashas and a four-year mahadasha carries twelve sub-periods of roughly four months each. The sub-period sequence runs in the same direction as the mahadasha sequence. Reading them follows the same house logic as the main periods: the antardasha sign points at whichever house it occupies in the natal chart, and windows where the mahadasha sign and antardasha sign share a lord or a natal occupant are read as the timed windows inside the period. The one-year-per-sign gap between the counting schools shrinks proportionally at this level, to a month or less per antardasha, but it still shifts every sub-period boundary, which is another reason calculators should say which school they follow.

When analysts reach for Chara dasha vs Vimshottari

The two systems answer differently shaped questions. Vimshottari is nakshatra-based and planet-centred: the Moon's mansion at birth fixes a sequence of nine planetary periods, and each period reads through its lord's significations. Chara is sign-based and house-centred: the running sign lights up whichever house it occupies in the natal chart, so the timeline reads as a sequence of house themes rather than planetary signatures. Analysts reach for Chara when the question is a house question, such as when a partnership window opens or when a career house activates, and for charts where tightly clustered planets make the Vimshottari sequence repetitive while the twelve-sign cycle still differentiates the timing. They reach for Vimshottari when the question is planet-driven. In practice most run both and weight the windows where the systems agree, which is the cross-validation rule Tempora's framework applies before any dated call. The comparison page on which dasha system to use maps that choice question by question, and the reference tables for the other two systems sit on the Vimshottari dasha calculator table and the Yogini dasha calculator table.

Sources and conventions

The rules on this page trace to two named places, the same two the companion Jaimini pages read. The first is the chara dasha section of the dasha chapters of Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, in the second volume of the Santhanam translation, which carries the pada direction rules, the dual-lord handling and the count-to-lord core. The second is the Jaimini Sutras, Adhyaya 1 Pada 1 Sutra 28, in B. Suryanarain Rao's 1955 translation, which carries the length rule, the exaltation and debilitation adjustments and the note preserving both counting schools. Where the sources leave a choice open, this page records the choice Tempora makes and shows the alternative beside it rather than silently folding it in.

Frequently asked

What is Chara dasha?

Chara dasha is the principal timing system of the Jaimini school of Vedic astrology. It is a rasi dasha: the dasha lords are the twelve zodiac signs rather than the nine planets Vimshottari uses. Each sign holds the active period for a number of years computed by counting from the sign to the sign occupied by its lord, and the sequence is anchored to the lagna, running forward for odd-sign ascendants and reverse for even-sign ascendants under the common shorthand. Where Vimshottari is keyed to the Moon's nakshatra, Chara is keyed to the ascendant sign, so it reads house themes directly.

How does a Chara dasha calculator work out each sign's years?

For each sign the calculator counts from the sign to the sign holding its lord, forward for odd signs and reverse for even signs under the common shorthand, then applies the school's finishing rule. Under the count-minus-one convention a count of ten gives nine years; under the inclusive convention it gives ten. A lord in its own sign gives the full twelve years. B. Suryanarain Rao's 1955 translation of the Jaimini Sutras records an exalted lord adding a year and a debilitated lord removing one. The counting convention has to be declared because the two schools differ by one year per sign.

Why do two Chara dasha calculators give different years for the same chart?

Because the classical chapters record two counting schools without settling them. Rao's note on Adhyaya 1 Pada 1 Sutra 28 of the Jaimini Sutras says a lord in the second sign gives one year, and that some say he gives two. That single sentence preserves the count-minus-one school beside the inclusive school, and the chara dasha section of the BPHS dasha chapters leaves the same point open. Two correct calculators can therefore differ by a year per sign, and by twelve years across the full cycle. Tempora uses the count-minus-one reading convention as its default and declares it in the reading output so the arithmetic can be checked.

How do Scorpio and Aquarius work in Chara dasha?

They carry two lords each. Scorpio answers to Mars and Ketu together and Aquarius to Saturn and Rahu. Per the chara dasha section of the BPHS dasha chapters, both lords at home give the sign twelve years, and lords in separate signs send the count to the stronger sign, where an occupied sign beats an empty one, more planets beat fewer and an exalted occupant settles it outright. When both lords share one sign the count simply runs to that sign.

Does Chara dasha have antardashas?

Yes. Each Chara mahadasha divides into twelve sign sub-periods of equal length, so a nine-year mahadasha carries twelve nine-month antardashas. The sub-period sequence runs in the same direction as the mahadasha sequence. The antardasha sign is read alongside the mahadasha sign, and windows where the two signs share a lord or a natal occupant are read as the timed windows within the period.

When should I use Chara dasha instead of Vimshottari?

When the question maps to a house theme rather than a planetary signature. Chara lights up whichever house the running sign occupies in the natal chart, so questions about partnership, career houses or foreign settlement read directly off the sign sequence. Vimshottari reads planet-driven events more cleanly. Most practitioners run both and treat windows where the two systems agree as the higher-confidence signal, which is how Tempora's framework uses them.