Antardasha 2 of 9 in Mercury mahadasha · 11 mo 27 d
Mercury-Ketu antardasha बुध-केतु अंतर्दशा
Mercury-Ketu lasts about eleven months and twenty-seven days. Mars, and by convention Ketu, counts Mercury as an enemy, while Mercury is neutral toward Mars, so the pairing is one-sidedly hostile: intuition distrusts intellect. Tradition expects scattered focus, misunderstandings, losses through carelessness, and sudden changes in study or work. Research, coding, and occult study can benefit. Nervous strain is listed. Documents need a second reading before anything is signed.
- Length
- 11 mo 27 d
- Position
- 2 of 9 in Mercury
- Natural relation
- Mercury is neutral to Ketu
The mahadasha behind it
Mercury mahadasha is a seventeen year period that tradition associates with intellect, communication, commerce, learning, and adaptability. After the heavy Saturn period it feels lighter, quicker, and more social. Classical texts read a strong Mercury as bringing success in trade, writing, and study, and a wide network of useful contacts, while a weak or afflicted Mercury brings nervous strain, scattered effort, and losses through miscommunication. Read the full Mercury mahadasha.
What Ketu adds as sub-lord
Ketu mahadasha is a seven year period that tradition associates with detachment, sudden turns, and a loosening of attachments to things that no longer serve. It usually opens quietly after the busy Mercury period and asks for inward focus rather than expansion. Classical texts read it as a time of spiritual gain and material uncertainty, with results depending heavily on the house and sign Ketu occupies. As an antardasha lord it colours the mahadasha's agenda rather than replacing it: the houses Ketu owns and occupies in the birth chart become the stage for Mercury's themes for 11 mo 27 d. See Ketu as a mahadasha.
How the length is computed
Mercury runs 17 years and Ketu runs 7 years in the 120-year cycle, so Mercury-Ketu lasts 17 × 7 ÷ 120 = 0.992 years, about 11 mo 27 d. The exact calendar boundaries depend on the Moon's degree at birth; the free kundli lists them.