If two sites show different dates for your dasha, first check whether both show the same period level. Then see whether the date marks the start or the end. Only then compare the birth data and the calculation settings. Most of the time, the difference shows up in one of these four points.
1. Is it the same period level?
The major period is called Mahadasha. The sub-period inside it is called Antardasha or Bhukti. One table may highlight the planet of the major period, and another, the planet of the sub-period you are in.
In that case, the different names do not mean different calendars. You may be looking at two scales of the same sequence. The guide on Bhukti and Antardasha shows how one fits inside the other.
2. Is the date a start or an end?
The date next to the planet is not always the start. Look for the table header and check the next row.
An example: a row reading "Venus: 2030" may be marking the end of that stretch. If another tool says the next stretch starts in 2030, the two agree.
3. Is the data the same?
Compare the date, the time, the city and the time zone. Also check the date format, because a swapped day and month produce a different birth.
If one tool received 8 a.m. and the other 8 p.m., the difference is already explained before any interpretation.
4. Are the settings the same?
The most widely used period cycle, Vimshottari, starts from the position of the Moon within its lunar mansion at birth. That is why the ayanamsa, the adjustment that defines where the sidereal zodiac begins, changes the balance of the first period and shifts the whole calendar.
Write down each tool's ayanamsa, instead of relying only on the word "Vedic". Vedik uses Krishnamurti's ayanamsa, the one the KP method indicates, and calculates the lunar nodes by the mean position. The guide on Lahiri and Krishnamurti explains the difference between the two most common ones, and the one on how to calculate the Vimshottari balance shows the math step by step.
How to ask for a check
Gather the data you entered, the settings and the header of both tables. Point out exactly which start or end did not match. With that, the difference can be found in a few minutes.
To understand all the sources of divergence between calculations, see why predictions differ.
At Vedik, your calendar of periods appears in the reading, with the start and end of each phase. Create your account and see your current period.
