The eight kootas
Guna Milan reads compatibility from the Moon — the mind and emotional nature — in each chart. Eight factors are weighed and added to a maximum of 36 points. Each koota carries a fixed classical weight, and the heavier a koota, the graver the question it settles:
| Koota | Max points | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | Varna koota measures spiritual and ego temperament, checking that the couple's inner refinement and work ethic sit at compatible levels. |
| Vashya | 2 | Vashya koota measures mutual magnetism and control — how naturally each partner draws, holds, and is influenced by the other. |
| Tara | 3 | Tara koota measures birth-star compatibility, reading health and shared fortune from the count between the two Moon nakshatras. |
| Yoni | 4 | Yoni koota measures instinctive and physical compatibility through the animal symbol classically assigned to each nakshatra. |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | Graha Maitri koota measures mental and intellectual affinity through the natural friendship between the two Moon-sign lords. |
| Gana | 6 | Gana koota measures temperament by class — Deva (divine), Manushya (human), or Rakshasa (demonic) — and how the two natures meet. |
| Bhakoota | 7 | Bhakoota koota measures the emotional bond, household, and prosperity from the sign-distance between the two Moons. |
| Nadi | 8 | Nadi koota measures physiological and constitutional compatibility governing health and progeny, and carries the most weight of the eight. |
| Total | 36 | The maximum Guna Milan score across all eight kootas. |
A worked example, koota by koota
To see how the 36 points are actually produced, here is one match scored factor by factor. Every value below is read from the same tables the calculator above uses.
Male / Groom: Moon in Rohini (Taurus)
Female / Bride: Moon in Dhanishtha (Aquarius)
Traditional Ashtakoota assigns a male/groom role and a female/bride role because several kootas are scored directionally: the tables are read as the bride’s row against the groom’s column, so the two charts are not interchangeable. Reversing who is the groom and who is the bride can change Vashya, Yoni and Gana in particular. Throughout the scoring below, the groom stays Rohini/Taurus and the bride stays Dhanishtha/Aquarius.
Groom: Rohini in Taurus falls in the Vaishya varna. (Signs map to four varnas: Brahmin for Cancer/Scorpio/Pisces, Kshatriya for Aries/Leo/Sagittarius, Vaishya for Taurus/Virgo/Capricorn, Shudra for Gemini/Libra/Aquarius.)
Bride: Dhanishtha in Aquarius falls in the Shudra varna.
Rule: Directional: score 1 only if the groom's varna is equal to or higher than the bride's, otherwise 0.
Points: Vaishya (groom) ranks above Shudra (bride), so the groom is not the lower varna, giving 1 of 1.
Groom: Taurus belongs to the Chatushpada (four-footed) group.
Bride: Aquarius belongs to the Jalachara (water-dwelling) group. (The five groups: Chatushpada = Aries, Taurus, first-half Capricorn, latter-half Sagittarius; Nara/human = Gemini, Virgo, Libra, first-half Sagittarius; Jalachara = Cancer, Pisces, Aquarius, latter-half Capricorn; Banachara = Leo; Keeta = Scorpio.)
Rule: Directional 5x5 lookup: the bride's group is the row and the groom's group is the column, and the table is deliberately not symmetric.
Points: Bride Jalachara (row) against groom Chatushpada (column) gives 1 of 2.
Groom: Rohini, the 4th nakshatra.
Bride: Dhanishtha, the 23rd nakshatra.
Rule: Directional and counted both ways: the offset between the two Moon-stars is reduced modulo 9 to a tara number, groom to bride and bride to groom. Taras 3 (Vipat), 5 (Pratyari) and 7 (Vadha) are inauspicious; the rest are auspicious. Both auspicious scores 3, one scores 1.5, neither scores 0.
Points: Groom to bride is 23 - 4 = 19, and 19 mod 9 = 1 (Janma, auspicious). Bride to groom is 27 - 19 = 8, and 8 mod 9 = 8 (Mitra, auspicious). Both auspicious gives 3 of 3.
Groom: Rohini carries the Serpent yoni.
Bride: Dhanishtha carries the Lion yoni.
Rule: Directional lookup in the 14-animal table, the bride's animal (row) against the groom's animal (column). Same animal scores 4; a sworn-enemy (mahabair) pair scores 0 (the seven pairs include Serpent with Mongoose and Lion with Elephant); the other cells grade 1 to 3.
Points: Serpent and Lion are neither identical nor a sworn-enemy pair, so the cell bride Lion against groom Serpent gives 2 of 4, a neutral pairing.
Groom: Taurus, ruled by Venus.
Bride: Aquarius, ruled by Saturn.
Rule: Compare the two Moon-sign lords by natural (naisargika) friendship in both directions: mutual friends score 5, grading down through the mixed tiers to mutual enemies at 0.
Points: Venus counts Saturn a friend and Saturn counts Venus a friend, a mutual friendship, giving 5 of 5.
Groom: Rohini belongs to the Manushya (human) gana.
Bride: Dhanishtha belongs to the Rakshasa (demonic) gana. (The three ganas are Deva/divine, Manushya/human and Rakshasa/demonic.)
Rule: Directional lookup, the bride's gana (row) against the groom's gana (column), which is not symmetric across ganas (bride-Deva against groom-Manushya scores 6, the reverse scores 5). A Rakshasa and Manushya meeting is the tradition's severest, death-flavoured clash.
Points: Bride Rakshasa (row) against groom Manushya (column) gives 0 of 6, and a score of 1 or less raises a Gana dosha.
Groom: Taurus, the 2nd sign.
Bride: Aquarius, the 11th sign.
Rule: Count the bride's sign from the groom's and the groom's from the bride's around the twelve signs. Only three mutual axes are defects scoring 0 (6/8, 5/9 and 2/12); every other axis scores the full 7.
Points: Taurus to Aquarius is the 10th sign and Aquarius to Taurus is the 4th, a 10/4 axis, which is none of the three defects, giving 7 of 7.
Groom: Rohini carries the Antya nadi.
Bride: Dhanishtha carries the Madhya nadi. (Adi, Madhya and Antya repeat across the 27 nakshatras.)
Rule: Sharing the same nadi is Nadi dosha and scores 0; different nadis score the full 8.
Points: Antya (groom) and Madhya (bride) differ, giving 8 of 8 with no Nadi dosha.
Total: 1 (Varna) + 1 (Vashya) + 3 (Tara) + 2 (Yoni) + 5 (Graha Maitri) + 0 (Gana) + 7 (Bhakoota) + 8 (Nadi) = 27 of 36.
The plain-language read. 27 of 36 lands in the classical excellent band (21 to 36). Every heavily weighted koota scores full: Nadi 8 (different nadis, no Nadi dosha), Bhakoota 7 (a clean 10/4 axis), and Graha Maitri 5 (Venus and Saturn are mutual friends). The one real caveat is Gana. Rohini (Manushya) against Dhanishtha (Rakshasa) is the harshest temperament pairing in the table and scores 0, and here it stands as an active Gana dosha, because its classical cancellation (a shared Moon sign or a shared nakshatra) does not apply to two people in different signs and different stars. That single 0 of 6 is the nuance a bare 27/36 hides, which is why the score is a starting point rather than a verdict.
Doshas and their cancellations
A high total can still carry an active Nadi or Bhakoota dosha, and a low one can be softened by classical cancellations (parihara). This calculator keeps the two separate: the eight raw scores are never quietly adjusted, and each dosha is shown alongside the specific cancellation rule that removes it — with the text and page it comes from. So a 20/36 with a cancelled Nadi dosha reads very differently from a 20/36 where it is active, and you can see exactly why.
Nadi parihara. Nadi dosha is removed when the two Moons share the same rashi in different nakshatras, the same nakshatra in different rashis, or the same nakshatra in different padas.
Bhakoota parihara. Bhakoota dosha is removed — once the Nadi is favourable — when the Moon signs share a lord, when the Moon-sign lords are natural friends, when the Navamsa lords of the Moons are natural friends, or when both partners have an excellent Tara.
Beyond the score
Is your dosha actually cancelled?
Whether a Nadi, Bhakoota, Gana or Mangal dosha stands depends on details the 36-point total never inspects — the two Moon-sign lords, their Navamsa, and where Mars actually sits. Match both charts properly rather than reading it off the score.
Match your charts→Casting your chart is free.
Why this differs from other Kundali-matching tools
Nearly every matching site ships the same 36-point math with no citation — and often presents the score as a promise about the marriage. Our koota tables were rebuilt cell-by-cell from the Muhurta Chintamani and its commentary, each cell traceable to a page and a documented ruling. Just as important, we hold the line the classics do: the total is a measure of Moon-based affinity, not a forecast. In our own validation the guna score did not predict whether a marriage would last — so we report the koota math plainly and leave the meaning to a reading that weighs both whole charts.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ashtakoota Guna Milan?
Ashtakoota ("eight factors") Guna Milan is the classical Vedic method of matching two horoscopes for marriage from the position of each person's Moon. Eight kootas — Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gana, Bhakoota and Nadi — are scored and added to a maximum of 36 gunas (points). It is also called Kundali Milan, Kundli Matching, Gun Milan, or Melapaka.
Is Kundali Milan the same as Guna Milan and horoscope matching?
Yes. Kundali Milan (also spelled Kundli Milan), Guna Milan, Gun Milan, Ashtakoot matching, horoscope matching, and kundali matchmaking all name the same thing: matching two birth charts for marriage by scoring the eight kootas out of 36 gunas from each person's Moon. Melapaka and Patrika matching are older names for the same method.
Can I match kundali by name, or do I need the date of birth?
Matching by date, time, and place of birth is the most accurate, because the Moon's exact nakshatra and pada — which several kootas depend on — are read from the birth chart. Kundli matching "by name" alone cannot fix the Moon precisely; where only a date is known, the Moon's nakshatra is worked out from the date. This calculator uses the birth details you enter to place both Moons before scoring the eight kootas.
How many points does each koota carry?
The eight kootas carry fixed classical maxima that add to 36: Varna 1, Vashya 2, Tara 3, Yoni 4, Graha Maitri 5, Gana 6, Bhakoota 7, and Nadi 8. Nadi and Bhakoota are the most heavily weighted because the tradition treats health, progeny, and the emotional bond as the gravest questions in a match.
What is a good Guna Milan score?
Classically, below 18 is considered weak, 18–24 middling, 24–32 good, and above 32 excellent. But the raw total is only the opening reading: an active Nadi or Bhakoota dosha can outweigh a high score, and many doshas are cancelled by other placements. The number is a starting point, never a verdict on whether a marriage will last.
What are Nadi and Bhakoota dosha?
Nadi (8 points) and Bhakoota (7 points) carry the most weight. Nadi dosha arises when both Moons share the same Nadi; Bhakoota dosha from certain Moon-sign distances (6/8, 5/9, 2/12). Both have classical cancellation (parihara) rules — for example, the same Moon sign in different nakshatras removes Nadi dosha. This calculator identifies each dosha and shows which cancellation applies and its source, rather than silently crediting the points back.
What cancels Nadi dosha?
Nadi dosha is cancelled (Nadi parihara) when the two Moons share the same rashi but fall in different nakshatras, when they share the same nakshatra but sit in different rashis, or when they share the same nakshatra in different padas. In any of these cases the classical texts remove the defect even though both Moons carry the same Nadi.
What cancels Bhakoota dosha?
Bhakoota dosha is cancelled when the two Moon signs share the same planetary lord, when the Moon-sign lords are natural friends, when the Navamsa (D9) lords of the two Moons are natural friends, or when both partners have an excellent Tara — provided the Nadi is favourable (no active Nadi dosha). The tradition requires the Nadi to be clear before any Bhakoota cancellation applies.
What is Mangal (Manglik) dosha?
Mangal dosha (Manglik / Kuja dosha) is present when Mars sits in the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house — a signal read for friction in married life. It has its own cancellations (Mars in its own or exalted sign, Jupiter's aspect, or both partners being Manglik). This tool flags it as a signal for each person; what it means together is read in the full chart, not asserted here.
Can a low Guna Milan score still be a good match?
Yes. A modest total with the Nadi and Bhakoota clear — or with their doshas cancelled by parihara — can be a stronger match than a high total that hides an active Nadi dosha. Because the raw number weighs Varna and Vashya the same as it weighs the doshas, two matches with identical scores can mean very different things once the cancellations are read.
Which tradition or text does this calculator follow?
The koota tables here are rebuilt cell-by-cell from the Muhurta Chintamani (vivāha chapter) and its commentary, with the doshas and their cancellations evaluated as a separate, cited layer (schema ashtakoota.v2). Other schools — North Indian versus South Indian editions, or the AstroSage convention — differ on a few Vashya, Bhakoota, and cancellation cells, so a point or two of divergence between calculators is an edition difference, not an error.
Does a high score guarantee a happy marriage?
No — and no honest reading claims it does. Guna Milan measures classical Moon-based affinity; it says nothing on its own about the timing, the two full charts, or the people. In our own validation, the koota total did not predict marriage stability. Treat it as one grounded input among several — that is exactly why the full compatibility reading weighs both charts, the doshas, and the dashas together.
Read it in context
36 points is a screen, not a verdict.
Guna Milan scores eight koota from the two Moons. It says nothing about the 7th house in either chart, where Venus and Mars sit, or the periods you are each running, which is where a marriage actually lives. Match both charts properly.
Match both charts in full→Casting your chart is free.
Related: the Upapada Lagna calculator (the image of marriage in a single chart), the Atmakaraka & Darakaraka calculator (the spouse significator), and the full set of Vedic calculators. For the whole picture, get a full compatibility reading.
Reference: Muhurta Chintamani (vivāha), BPHS Stree Jataka, classical Ashtakoota doctrine — schema ashtakoota.v2.