nārāyaṇasthiradaśayor varṣayogārdhaṁ yogārdhadaśā | śūladaśāyāṁ tu pratirāśi nava varṣāṇi, rudro dvitīyāṣṭameśayor balī ||
The Yogardha Dasha takes for each sign half of the sum — that is, the average — of its Narayana Dasha and Sthira Dasha years; thus it blends the mobile and the fixed reckonings. In Shoola Dasha every sign is allotted nine years uniformly, and Rudra, the stronger of the lords of the 2nd and 8th houses, marks the point of the trident where danger, disease or death may strike within that period.
Shoola Dasha proceeds through trines: beginning from the Lagna's own set — Lagna, fifth, ninth — it then takes the second house's set, then the third's, completing twelve signs in four trine-triads. Each nine-year spear-period aims at one corner of life before rotating to the next.
Verse 3 — Death in the Third Shoola from Lagna
लग्नात्तृतीयशूलदशायां मृत्युः प्रायः ॥
lagnāt tṛtīya-śūladaśāyāṃ mṛtyuḥ prāyaḥ
The third shoola-dasa counted from the Lagna — spanning roughly ages eighteen to twenty-seven in the nine-year scheme — frequently carries the mortal test when afflicted by maraka-badhaka influence. Classical texts flag this span for vigilance; survival past it often marks the chart as long-lived.
Verse 4 — Rudra's Sign Marks the Spearhead
रुद्रस्थितिराशिशूले मृत्युव्याधी बलवन्तः ॥
rudra-sthitirāśi-śūle mṛtyu-vyādhī balavantaḥ
When a shoola-dasa runs through the sign occupied by Rudra, or his trines, disease and danger peak. The nature of planets afflicting that sign names the illness and the agent — Saturn chronic wasting, Mars acute trauma, Rahu poisoning or misdiagnosis.
Verse 5 — Antardashas Sharpen the Hour
शूलान्तर्दशाभिः समयः सूक्ष्मः क्रियते ॥
śūlāntardaśābhiḥ samayaḥ sūkṣmaḥ kriyate
Within the nine-year shoola span, antardashas refine the hour of crisis to months: the antardasa of a maraka-laden sign inside a Rudra-afflicted shoola concentrates the threat into a narrow window where caution, treatment and remedies must concentrate.
Verse 6 — Yogardha — The Reconciled Average
योगार्धदशा समत्वं दर्शयति कालगणनायाम् ॥
yogārdhadaśā samatvaṃ darśayati kālagahanāyām
Yogardha reconciles two rival clocks by averaging them: where Chara says nine and Sthira says seven, the native lives six-to-eight under blended law. Its periods suit questions of balanced development — education, gradual wealth, steady reputation — where extremes of speed are absent.
Verse 7 — Remedial Window Before the Spear Falls
शूलप्रहरणात्पूर्वं शान्तिः साध्या ॥
śūla-praharaṇāt pūrvaṃ śāntiḥ sādhyā
Peace-offerings succeed only before the spear strikes: propitiation of Rudra's lord, dana of the afflicting planet's items, and mantra-japa performed in advance can blunt even fatal shoola periods. Once the antardasa has begun its descent, remedies merely soften the landing.
Verse 8 — Blending Shoola with Ayurdaya Verdicts
आयुर्निश्चयेऽनन्तरं शूलदशाविचारः ॥
āyurniścaye 'nantaraṃ śūladaśāvicāraḥ
Examine shoola danger only after settling the ayurdaya class. A long-life chart treats every shoola spear as survivable turbulence; a short-life verdict makes even minor shoola afflictions terminal. Sequence of analysis protects clients from premature death-sentences.