Jaimini Chara Dasha Explained

Most students meet only one timing system: the Vimshottari dasha, in which the nine planets rule periods of fixed length. Sage Jaimini's school works in another way. Its periods belong to the signs. The best known of these sign dashas is the Chara Dasha.

Chara means "movable" or "variable". The name fits, because nothing about this dasha is fixed: the order of the signs and the number of years each one rules are different for every chart.

This guide explains the method in the form most widely taught today. Jaimini's sutras are very brief, and commentators have read them in more than one way, so you will find other versions in books and software. The principle is the same in all of them.

How it differs from Vimshottari

	Vimshottari	Chara Dasha
Periods belong to	Planets	Signs
Starting point	The Moon's nakshatra	The Lagna sign
Length of a period	Fixed (Sun 6 years, Moon 10 and so on)	1 to 12 years, different in every chart
Order	Always the same	Forward or backward, by Lagna
Read with	House lords and planets	Chara karakas, sign aspects, arudhas

The Vimshottari method is described in Vimshottari Dasha Calculation Explained.

Step 1: The two groups of signs

Everything in the calculation depends on dividing the signs into two groups.

Group	Signs
Direct	Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius
Indirect	Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces

An easy way to remember it: three direct signs from Aries, three indirect from Cancer, three direct from Libra, three indirect from Capricorn.

Step 2: The order of the dashas

The first dasha is always the Lagna sign. The remaining signs follow either in zodiacal order or in reverse.

The rule: look at the 9th sign from the Lagna. If it is a direct sign, the dashas run forward. If it is an indirect sign, they run backward.

Worked out for each Lagna:

Dashas run	Lagna
Forward	Aries, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Aquarius, Pisces
Backward	Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn

So for an Aries Lagna the order is Aries, Taurus, Gemini and onward. For a Taurus Lagna it is Taurus, Aries, Pisces, Aquarius and so on.

Step 3: The years of each sign

For each sign, find where its lord is placed and count from the sign to the lord's sign, counting the starting sign as one.

• For a direct sign, count forward.
• For an indirect sign, count backward.
• Subtract one from the count. The result is the number of years.
• If the lord is in the sign itself, the period is 12 years.

The lords are the usual ones: Mars for Aries, Venus for Taurus, Mercury for Gemini, the Moon for Cancer, the Sun for Leo, Mercury for Virgo, Venus for Libra, Jupiter for Sagittarius and Pisces, Saturn for Capricorn.

Scorpio and Aquarius

In the Jaimini system these two signs have two lords each: Mars and Ketu for Scorpio, Saturn and Rahu for Aquarius.

• If one lord is in the sign and the other is elsewhere, count to the one that is elsewhere.
• If both are in the sign, the period is 12 years.
• If both are elsewhere, count to the stronger one. The first test of strength is the number of planets in the same sign with each lord; the one with more companions wins. Further tie-breaking rules exist for the cases where this does not settle it.

Variations

Some teachers add one year if the lord is exalted and take away one if it is debilitated. Others do not adjust at all. If two programs give periods that differ by a year here and there, this is usually why.

A worked example

Take an Aries Lagna with these planets:

Planet	Sign
Sun, Mercury	Aries
Moon	Taurus
Mars	Leo
Venus	Pisces

For Aries the 9th sign is Sagittarius, a direct sign, so the dashas run forward: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo and so on.

Dasha sign	Group	Lord is in	Count	Years
Aries	Direct	Mars in Leo	Aries to Leo, forward = 5	4
Taurus	Direct	Venus in Pisces	Taurus to Pisces, forward = 11	10
Gemini	Direct	Mercury in Aries	Gemini to Aries, forward = 11	10
Cancer	Indirect	Moon in Taurus	Cancer to Taurus, backward = 3	2
Leo	Indirect	Sun in Aries	Leo to Aries, backward = 5	4
Virgo	Indirect	Mercury in Aries	Virgo to Aries, backward = 6	5

So this person runs the Aries dasha from birth to age 4, Taurus from 4 to 14, Gemini from 14 to 24, Cancer from 24 to 26, Leo from 26 to 30 and Virgo from 30 to 35. The remaining six signs are worked out in the same way.

Unlike the Vimshottari dasha, there is no "balance" at birth. The first dasha runs for its full length from the moment of birth.

Sub-periods

Each dasha is divided into twelve equal sub-periods, one for each sign. This gives a convenient shortcut: a dasha of 10 years has sub-periods of 10 months each, and a dasha of 4 years has sub-periods of 4 months each.

How to read a Chara Dasha

The calculation is the easy part. Interpretation uses the tools of the Jaimini system.

1. Treat the dasha sign as the Lagna for that period. Count the houses from it. Planets in the kendras and trikonas from the dasha sign shape the period; benefics there support it.

2. Locate the chara karakas. These are the seven planets ranked by degree, from the Atmakaraka (the self) to the Darakaraka (the spouse), as explained in Atmakaraka and the Chara Karakas. The house a karaka falls in from the dasha sign shows what that period does for the matter it rules. For example, the Amatyakaraka (career) in the 10th or 11th from the dasha sign favours professional progress in that period.

3. Use sign aspects. In this system signs aspect signs. A dasha sign that holds or is aspected by the relevant karaka brings its matters forward. The rule for these aspects is in Jaimini Rasi Drishti Sign Aspects Explained.

4. Look at the arudhas. For marriage, astrologers check whether the dasha or sub-period sign is connected with the Darakaraka, the 7th house or the Upapada Lagna. For status and career they check the Arudha Lagna and the 10th from the dasha sign.

5. Narrow down with the sub-period. The dasha gives the span of years in which a matter is likely. The sub-period sign that repeats the same connection points to the months.

In the example chart, the Taurus dasha (age 4 to 14) has the Moon in the dasha sign and Venus, the lord of Taurus, exalted in Pisces in the 11th from it: a comfortable, well-supported period of childhood and schooling.

Points to keep in mind

• Be consistent. Choose one version of the rules and keep to it. Mixing rules from different teachers gives periods that belong to no system.
• The Lagna must be right. The whole sequence starts from the Lagna sign. If the birth time is so uncertain that the Lagna could be in either of two signs, the Chara Dasha cannot be trusted until that is settled.
• Use it as a cross-check. The strength of the Chara Dasha is that it is independent of the Moon's nakshatra. When the Vimshottari period and the Chara Dasha point to the same matter in the same years, the timing is much more reliable.

Summary

The Chara Dasha is Jaimini's sign-based timing system. It begins with the Lagna sign and runs forward or backward according to the Lagna. Each sign rules for the number of signs counted from it to its lord, less one, with twelve years when the lord is at home. Each dasha has twelve equal sub-periods. It is read by taking the dasha sign as a Lagna and studying the chara karakas, the sign aspects and the arudhas from it, and it works best as an independent check on the planetary dashas.

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