Articles

Dashamsha (D10)

The dashamsha, D10, is the divisional chart of the tenth part: each sign is cut into ten pieces of 3°, and each piece gives a planet a new sign. Tradition reads it for work, public life and what a person achieves, beside the 10th house of the main chart. It is built by a short rule, and it is the most time-sensitive of the charts people commonly read: its lagna changes about every twelve minutes.

JyotiSoft editorial team · dates checked by calculation

In short

Each sign is divided into ten parts of 3°; the part a planet is in gives its D10 sign.
Odd signs count from the sign itself, even signs from the 9th sign from it.
Tradition reads D10 for work, public life and achievement, with the 10th house of the main chart.
The D10 lagna changes about every 12 minutes; the Moon changes its D10 sign about every 5½ hours.
D10 supports the main chart and the dasha; it does not decide anything alone.

How D10 is built

A divisional chart (varga) takes the main chart's positions and re-reads them in finer pieces. For D10, Parashara divides each sign into ten parts of 3° (3° × 10 = 30°). The planet's part number counts signs from a starting sign: for an odd sign (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius) the count starts from the sign itself; for an even sign (Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces) it starts from the 9th sign from it. A planet at 16°52′ of Sagittarius (odd) is in the sixth part (15°–18°); counting six signs from Sagittarius gives Taurus.

A worked example

The sample chart again: 1 January 1990, 12:00, Delhi. The engine gives these positions in the main chart and their D10 signs:

Point	Main chart	D10 sign
Lagna	Pisces 13°55′	Pisces
Sun	Sagittarius 16°52′	Taurus
Moon	Aquarius 6°28′	Aries
Mars	Scorpio 16°07′	Sagittarius
Mercury	Capricorn 2°01′	Virgo
Jupiter	Gemini 11°28′	Virgo
Venus	Capricorn 12°32′	Capricorn
Saturn	Sagittarius 21°55′	Cancer
Rahu	Capricorn 23°09′	Aries
Ketu	Cancer 23°09′	Libra

Notice how little the D10 resembles the main chart: the Sun in Sagittarius lands in Taurus, Saturn in the same sign lands in Cancer — three degrees decide the sign, which is why the lagna of the chart changes so quickly.

What D10 is read for

Tradition reads the dashamsha for the sphere of work: the profession, public standing, responsibility and what a person accomplishes. It is read beside the main chart, not instead of it. Astrologers look at the 10th house of the main chart and its lord, then at the D10 lagna, the 10th house of D10 and the planets standing in its angles, at the strength of the planets that rule them (see Shadbala), and at the running dasha: a period of a planet well placed in D10 is read as a good time for the work it signifies. For the questions people ask about work, see work and calling.

How sensitive it is to the birth time

The lagna moves about 1° in 4 minutes, so a 3° piece lasts about 12 minutes: the D10 lagna changes about five times in an hour (compare the main chart's lagna, which changes once in two hours). The Moon, at about half a degree an hour, changes its D10 sign about every 5½ hours; the Sun about every three days; Saturn only every few months. A time given to the nearest quarter of an hour therefore leaves the D10 lagna and the Moon's D10 sign uncertain; before reading the dashamsha, check the time (rectification).

Questions

How is a planet's D10 sign found?

Divide its sign into ten parts of 3° and find its part; odd signs count from the sign itself, even signs from the 9th sign from it.

Is D10 more important than the 10th house?

No. It is read beside the 10th house of the main chart and the dasha. D10 refines the picture of work; it does not replace the main chart.

Why does D10 need an exact birth time?

A piece of D10 is only 3°, about 12 minutes of the lagna's motion. A few minutes of error change the D10 lagna and everything counted from it.

Does a strong D10 promise success at work?

No. It shows which planets support the sphere of work and when their periods run; success depends on far more than a chart.

Does JyotiSoft calculate D10?

Yes. The dashamsha is calculated for every chart together with the other divisional charts.

What you can do next with your chart

Free

Chart calculator

Lagna, planets by sign and house, nakshatras and dashas — in a minute, no sign-up.

Calculate my chart — free

PDF · pay at once

Complete Natal Chart

Your whole chart in one document of 60–100 pages — to read, reread and share with people close to you.

Character, work, relationships, health, money
A Vedic interpretation of current and coming periods
An audio edition if you like

1499 ⭐

Buy

You pay with Telegram Stars right after the form; the PDF arrives in the chat.