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In short
A pratyantardasha is the third level of a dasha: the sub-period inside an antardasha. BPHS Ch. 51 and Ch. 61 divide an antardasha among the nine lords exactly as an antardasha divides a mahadasha. This app computes this third level and stops there; the deeper Sukshma and Prana levels BPHS goes on to describe are not computed.
What the term means
Pratyantardasha, often shortened to pratyantar, is the period inside an antardasha, which is itself inside a mahadasha. A full Vimshottari timing statement names all three lords, for example "Mars mahadasha, Venus antardasha, Rahu pratyantar". Where a mahadasha runs for years and an antardasha for months to a few years, a pratyantar usually lasts weeks to months.
Where the term comes from
BPHS Ch. 51 Sl. 1 gives the rule in one sentence with the antardasha rule: multiply the years of the antardasha by the other graha's dasha years and divide by the total. Sl. 2 says the order begins with the lord of the period and adds that "the same applies to Pratyantar Dasha". Ch. 61 Sl. 1 restates it with the divisor named, the 120 years of Vimshottari, and Sl. 2 says the listed effects are general ones, to be judged against the graha's placement. Chapters 62 and 63 carry the division two levels further, to Sukshma and Prana dashas.
How this app computes it
The engine uses one function for every level: a period is split among the nine lords in proportion to their Vimshottari years, starting from the period's own lord. Applied to an antardasha, that gives the pratyantardashas, placed inside the antardasha's real start and end dates rather than recomputed from the chart. The engine's own note explains why the level matters: an antardasha inside a 19-year Saturn mahadasha runs for about three years, while the pratyantar inside it is a window a person can act on. The app stops at this third level and computes no Sukshma or Prana periods.
A small illustration
For the chart of 19 January 1985, 11:14 IST, New Delhi, the Venus antardasha of the Mars mahadasha runs from 22 April 2026 to 22 June 2027. The engine divides it into nine pratyantars, opening with Venus to 2 July 2026. The one running on 13 October 2026 is Rahu's, from 22 September to 24 November 2026; Ketu's closes the antardasha on 22 June 2027.
Pages that use this term
- Antardasha and pratyantar - the essay on both sub-levels.
- What is a Mahadasha? - the top level the pratyantar sits inside.
- Vimshottari Dasha calculator - your dasha timeline and sub-periods.
- Saturn Mahadasha - where the three-year antardashas make the third level useful.
- Timing - the full three-lord statement for today.
Related terms
Dasha, Vimshottari Dasha and Nakshatra sub-lord (the same proportional split applied to arc instead of time).
Vimshottari Dasha
The 120-year cycle of nine lords, dated from the nakshatra your Moon held at birth.
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