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Daśās/ Dasas/ Dashas in Vedic Astrology/ Jyotisha


Daśās/ Dashas (popularly, Dasas) in Vedic Astrology are not only of frequent interest but of import and gravity in fact as well.

Daśā/ Dasha in the Hindi or Saṅskṛta/ Sanskrit literally means ‘state of being’. In other words, Daśās or the various periodicities comprise a part of the dynamics of the horoscope and thus of life.

In private and confidential consulting on individual horoscopes, they are often used as a part of the formulaic structure to interpret the circumstances influencing the subject at varying points in time.

Daśās are tools to indicate the state of being (of the person), nations, governments, organizations and any entity susceptible to change.

According to Parāśara/ Parashara in the Bṛhaṭ Pārāśara Horā Śāstra the Viṃśottarī Daśā/ Vimshottari Dasha is universally applicable to all horoscopes. It is another matter that there are variants to the Viṃśottarī Daśā contingent on the reference point from which it commences, such as Lagna Viṃśottarī Daśā  and the Tara/ Tārā Daśā.  

Daśās which commence from the Nakṣatra/ Nakshatra/ lunar asterism whether that occupied by the natal Moon or the Lagna or another determinant operate in the realm of societal and emotional or intellectual stimuli and are a function of desire in some way or the other.

Desire comes from the Mind and the Moon which is the significator of the Mind is the overlord of all the Nakṣatras which are its brides, Rohiṇī/ Rohini being the favourite.

Discerning readers can then derive that all, and there are very many, Nakṣatra Daśās in Vedic Astrology operate in the matrix of stimuli and desire.

There are many conditional Nakṣatra Daśās described in the Bṛhaṭ Pārāśara Horā Śāstra and other Vedic Astrology classics of India and as the term would suggest, they come into play only when certain conditions are satisfied. The Dwisaptati Sama Dasha for instance is applicable only when the Lagneśa is in the 7th and/or the 7th Lord is in the Lagna.

Just as the Viṃśottarī Daśā  is governed by Gurū or Jupiter, each conditional Daśā too has a planet ruling over it and in appropriate horoscopes if we are to use these Daśās then these considerations are all to be taken into account.

It would however be a mistake to suppose that it is only Daśās that dictate the state of being of the subject. This is not so, as the planets or the Grahas have their own age of maturity and so do the Bhāvas/Bhavas/ houses from the Lagna or the Ascendant.

Every horoscope which is interpreted in exclusive meditative silence commands its own procedure of interpretation and sometimes Daśās take a second place compared to the overarching combination or Yogas or the Pañcāṅga/ Panchanga factors which precede even these Yogas.

The Rāśi Daśās/ Rashi Dashas are not periodicities of the planets but of the signs instead and indicate a more fated or deterministic frame of reference as Rāśis necessarily indicate the field of play of circumstance and are not the constructs of desire per se.

Amongst these the Padakrama Daśā or the Narāyaṇa Daśā/Narayana Dasha occupies the primary place as it indicates the movement of the station of Nārāyaṇa in life.

All these Daśās are applicable both in the Rāśi Chakra and the Varga Chakra or the divisional charts as they must be; the divisions are independent areas ruling distinct areas of life having been derived in the first place from the division of the signs in the Rāśi Chakra. Some Daśās can be independently computed for the divisions apart from that for the Rāśi Chakra.

There are hugely important Daśās such as the Mūla Daśā/ Moola Dasha which can alter everything and make every Daśā run subservient to them as they indicate the fructification of blessings and curses in the horoscope, which are overarching Karmic constructs having great sway over the quality of time being experienced.

Change in Daśā can trigger major changes in life and the concluding part of one and the commencing part of the other is referred to as Daśā Saṅdhi/ Dasha Sandhi which is a junctional region, a kind of a twilight zone, where certain realities are changing to another set and the movement can be a trifle ambiguous as it unfolds.  

It is the planet, in the Viṃśottarī Daśā or other conditional Daśā which brings its own attributes to the subject, in proportion to its strength or Bala. (Strength or Bala is a very important aspect of Jyotiṣa but is beyond the scope of this paper). It is this fact that often leads to people saying about others or perceiving this in their own lives that ‘everything appears to have changed’.

Psychology and stimuli for instance are capable of diametrical shifts especially when the Daśās of Grahas that are very different in their natures and significations are in consideration. A case in point is the Rāhu/ Rahu Mahadasha/ Mahādaśā  which is followed by the Gurū Mahādaśā/ GuruMahadasha   and the two planets stand for matters on the opposing ends of the spectrum.

Another crucial determinant in the operation of the Daśā is that while the Daśā may be of one planet, it could be the results of an entirely different planet which may be forthcoming. This has been taught and described in the Daśāphalādhyāya in the Bṛhaṭ Pārāśara Horā Śāstra but requires clarification and Upadeśa from a competent teacher/ Gurū.

The foregoing effects accrue when the Daśā planet is conjoined another or others and then based on a rule of relationship, the Yuti Graha will give its results.

The other major aspect is the Bhāva placement of the lord of the Mahādaśā and the location of the lords of the various levels of the Daśās such as the Mahādaśā, Aṅtaradaśā and the Pratyaṅtaradaśā from the Lagna, Sun and the Moon, though not necessarily in that order.

An academic thrust may transform into a complete focus on attainment and action and aspiration.

There are some very advanced principles that teach us magical things in the nature of findings that while a Graha might be promising the world in the Rāśi Chakra there are Varga Chakra where the same planet may be indicating nothing less than a struggle for life itself and what is more both indications will manifest fully in their own realm without any paradoxical strains.

Suffice it to say there is an unbelievable level of knowledge which has been kept hidden very carefully by the esoteric traditions of India when it comes to Vedic astrology and things are revealed at their own pace to the seeker.

We apply all these as they present themselves to us when we undertake our examination of horoscopes belonging to the contemporary men and women participating at diverse levels in the material and spiritual worlds. When it is the career which is under scrutiny then we traverse the static Karma through the placement and the Yogas and apply the traditional knowledge to the Kārakas and the lord of the crucial Bhāvas, examine placement from the Viśeṣa Lagna such as the Ārūḍha Lagna and the Varṇadā/Varnada and progress from the Rāśi Chakra to the Navāmśa Chakra and the Daśāmśa Chakra.

It is in this manner that Daśās (and Gocara) and used as a part on an entire gamut of techniques which appear as applicable to us as we engage with lives from across the globe through their horoscopes. As things speed up, this blessing of the Ṛṣis from India is perhaps more valuable than ever before, in the opaque Kaliyuga.
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Onwards,
Anurag Sharma
(C) Anurag Sharma
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Disclaimer: For those who have glimpsed the magic of Jyotish, magnificent treasures await in the vast ocean of this knowledge. Hindu Astrology Analyses offered by the Consultant are not empirical pronouncements of the type made in the realm of the physical sciences. The Analyses are not in the true or false format but delve into the horoscope to derive insights about the life of the native in a spiritual reference frame. These insights should be used by those availing them at their sole discretion and responsibility. 
 

 

 

 

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