The Sun's is the shortest of the nine periods, and it burns bright. The Sun brings authority, pride and the need to lead, and its six years put the self forward: position, recognition, the father and figures of authority, health and vitality, government and public duty. People in a Sun mahadasha are more visible than before and more concerned with their standing; they rise if the Sun is strong and are humbled if it is not.
For those born with the Moon in Krittika, Uttara Phalguni or Uttara Ashadha the Sun period is the first six years of life, read as a childhood shaped by the father's position and presence; the Moon's ten gentler years follow. For everyone else it arrives after Venus's long ease, and the change of weather is sharp — the person is asked to stand up, take charge, be seen. Ambition wakes; so does ego.
The house the Sun holds from the lagna says where the six years are spent: in the 10th, a rise in rank; in the 1st, health and name; in the 9th, the father and fortune; in the 12th, service abroad or without applause. The Sun's dignity (exalted in Aries, debilitated in Libra) and the planets with it say whether the authority is real. The Sun–Sun, Sun–Moon and Sun–Jupiter antardashas are the brightest; Sun–Saturn and Sun–Rahu the most contested.
What Sun brings
Traditionally, the Sun brings authority, pride, a need to lead. A mahadasha is that graha's turn to colour the years: the house it holds from the lagna, the houses it rules and the planets it sits with all say what its 6 years are spent on. The antardasha inside it — each of the nine grahas in turn — sets the shorter weather.
Sun mahadasha by house
The tradition reads the period first from the house the lord holds in the birth chart, counted from the lagna in whole signs:
- 1st house. A Sun period from the 1st puts the self forward — health, name and confidence lead the years.
- 2nd house. A Sun period from the 2nd brings family and money into the light, with speech that carries authority.
- 3rd house. A Sun period from the 3rd rewards initiative, courage and siblings' matters.
- 4th house. A Sun period from the 4th turns to home, mother and property, and can feel hot at home.
- 5th house. A Sun period from the 5th brings recognition through intelligence, children or creative work.
- 6th house. A Sun period from the 6th is a season of effort — service, competition and health to manage.
- 7th house. A Sun period from the 7th brings partners and public dealings, with pride to negotiate.
- 8th house. A Sun period from the 8th brings hidden matters, the father's affairs and slow transformation.
- 9th house. A Sun period from the 9th brings fortune, teachers and the father to the fore.
- 10th house. A Sun period from the 10th is a rise in rank and public duty.
- 11th house. A Sun period from the 11th brings gains through position and elders.
- 12th house. A Sun period from the 12th spends the years abroad, in seclusion or in service without applause.
The antardashas of Sun
Each mahadasha is divided among the nine lords in the Vimshottari order, beginning with its own; the length of each is the mahadasha's years times the antardasha lord's, divided by 120:
| Antardasha | Length |
|---|---|
| Sun–Sun | 3 months 18 days |
| Sun–Moon | 6 months |
| Sun–Mars | 4 months 6 days |
| Sun–Rahu | 10 months 24 days |
| Sun–Jupiter | 9 months 18 days |
| Sun–Saturn | 11 months 12 days |
| Sun–Mercury | 10 months 6 days |
| Sun–Ketu | 4 months 6 days |
| Sun–Venus | 1 year |
Who begins life in the Sun mahadasha
Sun rules three nakshatras. A natal Moon in any of them starts the cycle in the Sun mahadasha, with the balance set by how far into the nakshatra the Moon stood:
- Krittika — 26°40′ Aries – 10°00′ Taurus
- Uttara Phalguni — 26°40′ Leo – 10°00′ Virgo
- Uttara Ashadha — 26°40′ Sagittarius – 10°00′ Capricorn