Mercury antardasha in Jupiter mahadasha

The Mercury antardasha within the Jupiter mahadasha is also written Jupiter–Mercury.

Source: BPHS (Santhanam) 46.12–14, Vimshottari order from Krittika: Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus

In your chart

Mahadasha
Jupiter
Antardasha
Mercury
Mahadasha length
16 years
BPHS 46.15
Working
16×17/120 = 272/120 = 2.266667 years
BPHS 51.1
Duration
2 years, 3 months, 6 days
Position in the mahadasha
3

How long it lasts

The Jupiter mahadasha lasts 16 years. Antardasha = 16×17/120 = 272/120 = 2.266667 years, i.e. about 2 years, 3 months, 6 days.

Here 1 year = 365.25 days.

The order of the antardashas

The Jupiter mahadasha opens with Jupiter's own antardasha (BPHS ch. 51: the first antardasha belongs to the dasha lord), then the planets follow in Vimshottari order: Jupiter → Saturn → Mercury → Ketu → Venus → Sun → Moon → Mars → Rahu. The Mercury antardasha is the third in this sequence and begins 4 years, 8 months after the mahadasha starts.

What tradition holds

Tradition links the Jupiter mahadasha with knowledge, guidance and dharma, and reads the Mercury antardasha as adding a note of learning, communication and practical skill. Intellect meets wisdom, linked with study, writing and counsel. The real picture comes from the signs and houses of both planets in the chart.

In your chart

See when this period falls in your chart, and where both planets sit, in the free kundli.

Read next

Sources

  • BPHS (Santhanam) 46.12–14 · Vimshottari order from Krittika: Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus
  • BPHS (Santhanam) 46.15 · Dasha years 6, 10, 7, 18, 16, 19, 17, 7, 20 (OCR shows "6,lO, 7, 18, 16, 19,l'1,7 and20")
  • BPHS (Santhanam) 46.12–14, translator's note · 120 years in total
  • BPHS (Santhanam) 51.1 · Antardasha = MD years × AD years ÷ total dasha years (120)
  • BPHS (Santhanam) 51.1, notes · Worked example: Venus–Venus = 20×20/120 = 3 years 4 months
  • BPHS (Santhanam) 51.1, notes · Shortcut: MD×AD, drop the last digit as months, the last digit ×3 as days (360-day reckoning); Saturn–Mercury 17×19 = 323
  • BPHS (Santhanam) 51.2 · The first antardasha belongs to the dasha lord; the rest follow the dasha order
  • Praśna Mārga (Raman tr.) stanza 65, notes · An example of the 360-day year in a dasha context (the praśna daśā, not the natal one)

Checked against the classical texts · Last reviewed: 2026-10-14