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AstroJyoti
✦ Chapter 3 of 9 · authority ✦

Sun Mahadasha

Surya Mahadasha · 6 years · the chapter of authority

✦ The chapter

A Mahadasha is a chapter of life ruled by one planet. Sun (Surya) is the planet of selfhood, vitality and authority — the part of you that wants to matter, to lead, and to be seen doing something worthwhile.

Where the Sun stands, you seek dignity and cannot fake enthusiasm. A Sun chapter asks you to act like the person you already are, not the one waiting to be appointed.

A year inside it: a year of standing taller — visibility, responsibility, and being seen as the one who carries it.

✦ At a glance
Length6 years of the 120-year Vimshottari cycle
Place in the orderThe third of nine — after Venus (20 years), before Moon (10 years)
Birth stars that begin in itKrittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha
When the turn comesVisibility rises
As a sub-chapterInside another planet's chapter, a Sun sub-chapter reads push. Be visible: lead the meeting, present the result, own the decision.
✦ In working life

A Sun chapter brings visibility and tests of leadership. Recognition comes — but so does scrutiny. Step toward the front; this period rewards being seen owning your work.

The move it rewards: Take the visible role. Present, publish, lead the meeting that matters.

✦ The nine sub-chapters

Every Mahadasha is divided into nine sub-chapters (Antardasha), one for each planet, beginning with its own. Each length is fixed by the two planets' years.

Sub-chapterThe turnLengthBegins
Sun–Sunvisibility rises3 months 18 daysat the start
Sun–Moonfeeling deepens6 monthsafter 3 months 18 days
Sun–Marsthe pace quickens4 months 6 daysafter 9 months 18 days
Sun–Rahuambition surges10 months 24 daysafter 1 year 1 month 24 days
Sun–Jupiterdoors open9 months 18 daysafter 2 years 18 days
Sun–Saturnstructure calls11 months 12 daysafter 2 years 10 months 6 days
Sun–Mercurywords sharpen10 months 6 daysafter 3 years 9 months 18 days
Sun–Ketulife simplifies4 months 6 daysafter 4 years 7 months 24 days
Sun–Venussweetness returns1 yearafter 5 years

Lengths by the classical rule: the chapter's years times the sub-chapter's years, divided by ten, gives the months; the remainder times three gives the days. The nine add up to exactly 6 years.

✦ What the chapter tends to ask

When a day lights one part of your chart in this chapter, the counsel is to be seen doing it.

✦ Traditional supports

Gemstones are not prescribed on a page. A stone is a decision for a consultation with a practitioner who has your whole chart in front of them.

Am I in a Sun Mahadasha?

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✦ More free tools
Nakshatra calculatorMoon sign calculatorSade Sati checkManglik checkLove style quizMy cosmic year

Read next: Career astrology by date of birth — what your chart shows

Where the chapter leads

Your own timeline, datedEvery chapter and sub-chapter of your chart with its dates, and Jyoti to ask what this one means for you — free to start. The chapter in your working lifeYour next windows for a move, an ask or a build, read from your own sub-chapters. The book of your yearTwelve months from your birthday, every turn dated, written from your chart.
← VenusAll nine chaptersMoon →

Common questions

How long does the Sun Mahadasha last?Six years, out of the 120 years of the Vimshottari cycle. It opens with its own sub-chapter, Sun–Sun, which runs 3 months 18 days, and closes with Sun–Venus, which runs 1 year.

What comes after the Sun Mahadasha?The Moon Mahadasha, for 10 years. The order of the nine chapters never changes: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, and then Ketu again.

Who begins life in a Sun Mahadasha?Anyone whose Moon stood in Krittika, Uttara Phalguni or Uttara Ashadha at birth, the three birth stars Sun rules. How much of the six years remained at birth depends on how far the Moon had travelled through that star, which is why the birth time sharpens the dates.

What is a Sun Mahadasha like?A Sun chapter asks you to act like the person you already are, not the one waiting to be appointed. A Sun chapter brings visibility and tests of leadership. Recognition comes — but so does scrutiny. Step toward the front; this period rewards being seen owning your work.