Computation of Vimshottari dasa There is a lot of confusion regarding the year with respect to number of days per year

(360 Vs 365.25) in the computation of Vimshottari dasa. This study should clear that doubt. The fundamental basis of traditional astronomy as well as astrology is based on the concept of Kaal. This term has been well defined in vedangas including soorya sidhanta. The whole structure of astrology is built on this foundation. So when we talk about time, day, month, year etc , it should be based on these fundamentals. The final presentation could be changed according to the concept prevalent. We know that the term Vimshottari represents 120 years. Vimshat is 120 as per the Sanskrit language. Shatam is 100 and Vimsha is 20 : thus 100+20 is Vimshat. This is where the confusion arises. Whether to accept a figure of 360 days per year or 365.25 years per year. As per vedangas the jyotish chakra or kaal chakra is made of 360 spokes which denotes the 360 degrees as well as 360 days. This is one of the fundamental principles of vedanga jyotisha. Going further it is stated that Kalpa Sathyayuga Tretha Dwapara Kali Years 4000 3000 2000 1000 10000 Sandhya 800 600 400 200 2000 Total 4800 3600 2400 1200 12000 100 120 days 360 360 360 360 Total days 1728000 1296000 864000 432000 4320000 100 43200

The number of days for each yuga has been explicitly stated in the scriptures which clearly points to a 360 days system. The total days of a kalpa is also stated as 4320000 days.

If we divide this total figures by 100 we get 120 years & 43200 days. This is the total of number of days in vimshottari dasa too 120*360 = 43200 days.
Ketu Venus Sun Moon Mars Rahu Jupiter Saturn Mercury 7 20 6 10 7 18 16 19 17 120 360 360 360 360 360 360 360 360 360 2520 7200 2160 3600 2520 6480 5760 6840 6120 43200

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If we substitute the 360 with 365.25 days what we get is Kalpa Sathyayuga Tretha Dwapara Kali Years 4000 3000 2000 1000 10000 Sandhya 800 600 400 200 2000 Total 4800 3600 2400 1200 12000 days 365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25 Total days 1753200 1314900 876600 438300 4383000 100 43830

Ketu Venus Sun Moon Mars Rahu Jupiter Saturn Mercury

7 20 6 10 7 18 16 19 17 120

365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25 365.25

2556.75 7305 2191.5 3652.5 2556.75 6574.5 5844 6939.75 6209.25 43830

These figures of 43830 days does not tally with the days in kalpa =4320000 (4320000/100=43200) So it is clear that using a 360 days per year system is more appropriate for vimshottari dasa. Further if we use the 365.25 days system and try to bring the total to equate with Kalpa syatem, the value of years shall change (ex: 7 becomes 6.899384), total of which shall only be 118.27515 years . This cannot be called Vimshottari On the other hand if we simply adopt the 365.25 days per year system the total of days shall change and not tally with the kalpa syatem. Dasa Ketu Venus Sun Moon Mars Rahu Jupiter Saturn Mercury Yers 7 20 6 10 7 18 16 19 17 120 Soura 6.899384 19.712526 5.9137577 9.8562628 6.899384 17.741273 15.770021 18.726899 16.755647 118.27515 days-360 2520 7200 2160 3600 2520 6480 5760 6840 6120 43200 days-365.25 2556.75 7305 2191.5 3652.5 2556.75 6574.5 5844 6939.75 6209.25 43830 Difference 36.75 105 31.5 52.5 36.75 94.5 84 99.75 89.25 630

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Thus we can see that using the 365.25 days syatem either changes the number of years or changes the number of days. Thus again it is very clear that only 360 days per year system has to be adopted. There are numerous problems with calendars. Leap year, different days in a month , changing day due to timezone differences / changes adopted from time to time etc are some of them. However today we have simple tools like Microsoft excel or similar utilities to complex software programs to get dates accurately. For example For ex: one can add days to any date and get the resultant date as per our present system of 365.25 days per year

Date of birth 1-Jan-1900 1-Jan-1900 Difference

Ketu dasa 2520 2556.75

End of ketu dasa 25-Nov-1906 31-Dec-1906 36.75

The above date of ending of ketu dasa is got by adding number of days (of ketu dasa) to the date of birth on an excel sheet. Softwares can add seconds and get the resultant date. This is far more accurate than adding days particularly when we need to accommodate the birth time. In such cases the dasa can change in the middle of day or night also. To convert days into seconds one has to only multiply the days by 24*60*60 which are constant values. This can be added to the birth date: time in mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss format. Unfortunately Excel does not permit this directly. When we adopt a 365.25 system directly we can see that the dasa periods shall differ totaling to 630 days or approx 2 years. Each of dasa periods can also show a difference of 1 to 3 months time approximately. This can be misleading when analyzing the events or even trying to predict. Considering the above facts it is my solid belief that we should adopt only the 360 days system for computing the Vimshottari dasa. A.G.Suresh Babu Shenoy.

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