What is Transit and Dasha of Planets in Astrology ?
Though our kundali do tell us about the position and effect of various planets on our life, but all the planets do not affect us all the time in an uniform manner. Their importance in our keeps on varying.
Consider a switch on and switch off button of these planets. A planet will become more active only during certain periods in our life. The planets that are active influence us the most.
There are two concepts related to this:
- Transit of Planets
- Dasha of Planets
Once we interpret one’s kundali, we also need to look at these two phenomena. Only then we will be able to tell whether we are going to face good times or bad times in the coming future.
But first of all, let’s understand these astrological concepts.
Table of Contents- Transit of Planets
- Dasha of Planets
Transit of Planets
Which planet will have more effect on our life will not only depend on their degrees in our kundali, but also which planet is in transit at the present (i.e. Gochar, गोचर).
Our Lagan kundali tells us the position of the planets at the time of our birth. That surely affects us, and is unique for us.
But where those planets are at present, will also affect us. It will increase or decrease the strength of various planets. Where the planets are now, will be the same for all. But it will have different effects on different people depending on their kundali.
Transit of 4 planets is the most important – Saturn, Jupiter, Rahu, and Ketu. That’s because these 4 planets move very slowly across zodiac signs (rashis) and so lay their influence for many years.
- Rahu and Ketu take 18 months to move from one zodiac sign to another.
- Saturn takes 2 and a half years to move from one zodiac sign to another (but its influence remains for 7 and a half years).
- Jupiter takes 13 months to move from one zodiac sign to another.
Other planets like Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus move pretty fast across zodiac signs (rashis), and so their effect is short-term.
Dasha of Planets
Apart from the transit of planets, we also need to see which planet has the most influence on you at a particular period of time. It is called Dasha (दशा).
Mahadasha – The planet having the most influence on you at a particular period of time.
Antardasha – The planet having the second most influence on you at a particular period of time. There are multiple layers of antardashas.
The online kundali software that will make your Lagna kundali, will also showcase the various Mahadashas and Antardashas of planets in your kundali.
Length of the time-period of Maha Dashas of various planets
- Sun – 6 years
- Mars – 7 years
- Ketu – 7 years
- Moon – 10 years
- Jupiter – 16 years
- Mercury – 17 years
- Rahu – 18 years
- Saturn - 19 years
- Venus – 20 years
Note- Maha Dasha – Lasts for years and decades
- Antar Dasha – Lasts for 1-2 years
- Pratyantar Dasha – Lasts for 1-2 months
- Sookshm Dasha – Lasts for a week or a fortnight
- Pran Dasha – Lasts for 1-2 days
Sequence of Mahadashas
The Maha dashas come in a fixed pattern. This sequence has been given below:
- Sun
- Moon
- Mars
- Rahu
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Mercury
- Ketu
- Venus
Maha dasha of which planet is on in your life right now will depend on when you were born. So, it may vary from one person to another. For example, when I was born Maha Dasha of Mercury was there for a few years, then came the Maha dasha of Ketu, then Venus, then Sun, and nowadays Maha Dasha of Moon is ongoing in my life.
Sequence of Antar DashasAntar Dasha of planets also follow the same sequence. When Maha Dasha of a planet starts, the first Antardasha is also of that planet only. For example, if Maha Dasha of Moon will start, then the first Antardasha within that Mahadasha will be of Moon only, and then Mars, Rahu, and so on.