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Yogini dasha explained — the 36-year cycle
Kundaligram education desk · About · Updated 2026-09-26
Yogini dasha is a classical timing cycle of 36 years and eight yoginis: Mangala 1 year, Pingala 2, Dhanya 3, Bhramari 4, Bhadrika 5, Ulka 6, Siddha 7, and Sankata 8. Kundaligram starts it from the birth Moon’s nakshatra by the Parasara rule (add 3, divide by 8) and carries the remaining balance the same way Vimshottari does. It is a second clock beside Vimshottari, not a replacement and not a fear label.
Educational guidance — not medical, legal, or financial advice. Read the disclaimer.
Eight names, years that match the order
The sequence is fixed: Mangala, Pingala, Dhanya, Bhramari, Bhadrika, Ulka, Siddha, Sankata. The first lasts 1 year, and each next yogini lasts one year longer, so Sankata lasts 8. The eight lengths sum to 36, then the cycle repeats.
Kundaligram follows Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra on this list and on the start rule. It does not rename Sankata into a misfortune sentence.
How the starting yogini is chosen
Take the birth nakshatra’s number in the 1-to-27 list, add 3, and divide by 8. The remainder selects the yogini, and a remainder of 0 selects Sankata, the eighth. A worked classical case is Mrigashira, nakshatra 5: 5 + 3 = 8, remainder 0, so the dasha at that nakshatra’s start is Sankata.
Birth rarely falls on a nakshatra boundary. The opening period is only the leftover fraction of that yogini’s years, computed from how far the Moon has already travelled in the nakshatra — the same balance idea as Vimshottari.
Antardashas inside the 36-year cycle
Kundaligram also nests antardashas by the proportion (major years × sub years) / 36. That proportion is the natural extension of the Vimshottari method. Parashara states the major years explicitly; the antardasha split is the same proportional idea applied one level down.
Use the antardasha to see which two yogini themes overlap. Do not treat a short sub-period as louder than the major yogini that contains it.
Read it beside Vimshottari, not instead of the chart
Vimshottari remains the 120-year clock most questions expect. Yogini is shorter, so it turns over faster and is useful when you want a second classical timing opinion on the same Moon nakshatra.
Neither clock creates events by itself. On Kundaligram both are computed from the stored birth chart. Ask what the current Vimshottari lords and the current yogini are doing in your houses, rather than collecting period names.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Sankata dasha always difficult?
- The name is traditional and the period is the longest, 8 years. Difficulty depends on the birth chart, not on the label alone.
- Does Yogini use Lahiri like the rest of the chart?
- Yes. The starting nakshatra is the Lahiri sidereal Moon nakshatra already stored on the chart.
- Where do I see it?
- In the kundali timing sections after your chart is created, and as context when a chart-grounded answer is discussing periods.