Naisargika Dasha

sanskrit: नैसर्गिक दशा (Naisargika Daśā)

Definition

Naisargika Dasha — the 'natural' or 'innate' period — is a planetary timing scheme that applies to all creatures: each graha (planet) is given a fixed span of years by its own nature, rather than worked out from a chart. Brihat Jataka and Phaladeepika set the spans, in planet order, as the Moon 1, Mars 2, Mercury 9, Venus 20, Jupiter 18, the Sun 20, and Saturn 50 years — adding up to the 120-year human maximum. The periods run in the order of the planets' natural strength.

In Tradition

Brihat Jataka and Phaladeepika give matching figures: each planet holds a fixed natural number of years — the Moon 1, Mars 2, Mercury 9, Venus 20, Jupiter 18, the Sun 20, and Saturn 50. What sets this 'natural' scheme apart is that the lengths come from the planets themselves, rather than from where a planet happens to sit in a given chart.

In Practice

When a period's lord is strong and sits in an Upachaya house (a growing house), Brihat Jataka reads the period as bringing prosperity; a weak lord in an Anupachaya house (a non-growing one) brings difficulty. Per Brihat Jataka, Manittha and Saravali advise choosing this method when the Moon is the strongest of the Lagna (ascendant), Sun, and Moon; Phaladeepika links it under the same condition to the Naisargikayurdaya longevity reckoning. Jataka Parijata applies it to childhood death: Mars, which governs childhood, is said to cause death without fail when joined to the rising or setting Moon, and the Moon's one-year span is why early-death yogas (combinations) often resolve within a year. Cole sorts the planets into age-ranges and weaves the scheme into the Vimshottari dasa, so an afflicted planet brings suffering in its natural age-range.

Historical Origin

The scheme is attested across the classical Sanskrit texts: Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka (Ch.VIII Sl.9, trans. Usha & Shashi), Vaidyanatha Dikshita's Jataka Parijata (Adh.IV, trans. Sastri), and Mantreswara's Phaladeepika (Ch.22 Sl.17, 28, trans. Sastri), which also cites the Yavanas, Manittha, and Saravali. A modern treatment is found in Cole's Science of Light (2020).

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading