Kundli Milan: The 36 Gunas of Ashtakoot Explained

Last updated: September 2026 · By Pt. Alok Shastri, Divine Hindu, Jayanagar 3rd Block East, Bengaluru 560011 · ~15 min read

Ask any Indian family what happens before a marriage is fixed and "kundli milaana" will come up early. Two charts go to an astrologer, a number comes back out of 36, and a great deal of hope or worry attaches to that number. Twenty-eight is celebrated. Sixteen causes a crisis. Somebody mentions Nadi dosha and the room goes quiet.

The system behind the number is worth understanding properly: it shows what the score measures and how narrow that measurement is. This guide covers all eight koots, their points, their traditional interpretations, conventional thresholds, and differing approaches to Bhakoot and Nadi exceptions.

Before anything else, the framing we hold to. Kundli Milan is a traditional practice, followed as a matter of faith and custom. It does not predict the future as fact, no score is guaranteed to be accurate, and it is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, financial or relationship advice. Marriage ultimately requires the free consent of the two adults. Family support may matter to them, but a chart or family preference cannot replace that consent.

What Kundli Milan actually compares

Here is the point that reframes everything: almost the whole of Ashtakoot is computed from one thing in each chart — the position of the Moon. Specifically, the Moon's nakshatra (and in some koots its pada) and the Moon's rashi. The Sun is not used. The ascendant is not used. The other seven grahas do not enter the calculation at all except through the rulers of the two Moon signs.

That is why a full guna score can be produced from just a date, time and place for each person — and it is also why the score, taken alone, is a thin instrument. A chart contains a great deal that Ashtakoot never looks at. If you are new to the underlying structure, our guide to how to read your kundli covers the houses, grahas and nakshatras that the score leaves out.

Traditionally the bride's chart and the groom's chart are compared koot by koot, points are awarded for each, and the eight results are added. The classical source most often cited for the method is the Muhurta Chintamani tradition and the north Indian match-making manuals that follow it; south Indian practice uses an overlapping but not identical set of tests, which is one reason two astrologers can return different numbers for the same pair.

The eight koots and their points

Notice the weighting: Nadi carries 8 of 36 points, about 22.2%, and Bhakoot carries 7, about 19.4%. Together they account for 15 of 36, about 41.7%. A match can therefore score well on six koots and still finish in the low twenties; this explains why these two attract attention.

Koot by koot

1. Varna — 1 point

The conventional Moon-sign mapping is water to Brahmana, fire to Kshatriya, earth to Vaishya and air to Shudra. In the traditional directional scoring rule, the point is awarded when the groom’s category is the same as or ranked above the bride’s within that historical ordering; otherwise it is withheld.

These names come from a historical social hierarchy and should not be presented as free of that history. In this calculation the category is assigned from the Moon sign; it does not determine a person’s community, worth, character or right to marry. The test has the smallest weight in the system, a single point. Understanding an old scoring convention is not endorsing its hierarchy or applying caste restrictions to people.

2. Vashya — 2 points

Vashya uses five classes, commonly described as quadruped, human, aquatic, wild and insect. Some classifications depend on a portion of a sign, particularly Sagittarius and Capricorn, rather than a whole sign alone. The traditional interpretation concerns mutual influence. Use the chosen method’s directional scoring table: relationships between the two classes, and the resulting full or partial points, can differ by convention. Do not infer one universal table from the class names.

3. Tara — 3 points

Tara means star. Count inclusively from the bride’s nakshatra to the groom’s, counting the starting nakshatra as one, and repeat in the opposite direction. Divide each count by nine; the remainder identifies one of nine taras, of which some are traditionally auspicious and others not. Both directions are checked, and the points depend on how many of the two come out favourable — 3 if both are good, 1.5 if one is, 0 if neither.

Tara is worth knowing about because it is the koot most directly built on the 27-nakshatra cycle, which we cover in the 27 nakshatras and their ruling planets.

4. Yoni — 4 points

Each of the 27 nakshatras is assigned an animal — the yoni — using fourteen animal categories: horse, elephant, sheep, serpent, dog, cat, rat, cow, buffalo, tiger, deer, monkey, mongoose and lion. They are not all complete male–female pairs within a 27-nakshatra list: Uttara Ashadha’s mongoose is unpaired there; some 28-star versions pair it with Abhijit. A traditional scoring table gives 4 for the same yoni, lower points for friendly or neutral pairings, and 0 for specified opposing pairs such as cat and rat or cow and tiger. Check the table used by the chosen method.

Yoni koot is conventionally described as assessing physical and instinctive compatibility. It is a symbolic scheme built on animal temperaments, and it is best read as such.

5. Graha Maitri — 5 points

This one steps outside the nakshatra system and looks at planets. The lord of the bride's Moon sign and the lord of the groom's Moon sign are compared using the standard scheme of planetary friendship in jyotish, in which each graha has natural friends, neutrals and enemies. Full 5 points where both lords are mutual friends, descending through the combinations, 0 where both are mutual enemies.

Graha Maitri is traditionally read as mental rapport — whether two minds find each other easy company. Practitioners often regard it, along with Nadi and Bhakoot, as one of the koots that actually carries weight, partly because it is the only one grounded in planetary relationships rather than in categorical tables.

6. Gana — 6 points

The 27 nakshatras are divided into three ganas: Deva (divine — gentle, principled, inclined to harmony), Manushya (human — mixed, practical) and Rakshasa (a traditional name for a forceful, independent temperament, not a moral judgement). Same-gana pairs commonly receive 6. Mixed-gana scores depend on the directional table and method; Deva–Manushya, Manushya–Rakshasa and Deva–Rakshasa should not all be assigned universal partial or zero scores without stating that method.

The names are unfortunate in translation. Rakshasa gana does not make someone a bad person. It is a symbolic temperamental category, not a judgement of character, dignity or suitability as a partner.

7. Bhakoot — 7 points

Bhakoot, also called Rashi koot, compares the two Moon signs by counting from each to the other. Certain counts are treated as harmonious and score the full 7; three specific pairs score 0 and constitute Bhakoot dosha. We give it its own section below, because the exceptions matter.

8. Nadi — 8 points

The 27 nakshatras are divided into three nadis — Adi (first), Madhya (middle) and Antya (last), nine nakshatras in each. Different nadis score the full 8. Same nadi scores 0, which is called Nadi dosha or Eka Nadi dosha and is the single largest point loss available in the system.

Nadi is traditionally described in terms of constitution, and later literature sometimes correlates the three nadis with the three doshas of Ayurveda. It is also, in the same tradition, associated with progeny. None of this is a medical or genetic assessment and it should not be treated as one. It is a symbolic classification derived from a lunar position. Any actual question about health, fertility or heredity belongs with a qualified doctor or genetic counsellor, and nothing in a guna score should displace that.

What the score conventionally means

Two cautions about this table. First, a very high score is not automatically better. The number alone cannot establish the quality of a relationship. Similar categories do not automatically mean a better or worse partnership. Second, the number hides its own composition. A 20 made up of solid points across seven koots with one zero is a different situation from a 20 that scrapes through with partial credit everywhere. Ask which koots produced the number, not just what the number is.

Bhakoot dosha and differing approaches to its exceptions

Bhakoot compares the two Moon rashis by counting inclusively from one to the other. The conventional scheme treats three relationships as dosha and awards 0 of the 7 points:

The counts 1–1, 3–11, 4–10 and 7–7 are treated as harmonious and take the full 7.

Some manuals and practitioners apply additional cancellations — parihara — under which they consider Bhakoot dosha reduced or cancelled. The accepted conditions vary by method; ask which source and rule are being used:

• The two Moon signs share the same lord. Capricorn and Aquarius form a 2–12 relationship and share Saturn as lord. Taurus–Libra and Aries–Scorpio form 6–8 relationships and share Venus and Mars respectively. These are examples cited in same-lord exceptions. Gemini–Virgo and Sagittarius–Pisces are 4–10 relationships, already in the full-point group; they are not examples of cancelling a zero Bhakoot score.
• The two Moon-sign lords are natural friends. Some traditions reduce or set aside the dosha when the two Moon-sign rulers are natural friends. The practitioner should identify the friendship scheme and exception being applied.
• Graha Maitri is strong. Some practitioners consider strong Graha Maitri when interpreting Bhakoot. But a Bhakoot zero alongside a Graha Maitri five is not an arithmetic contradiction: one tests sign distance and the other planetary friendship. Whether one offsets the other is an interpretive rule that must be stated.

Ask for the raw score and the stated interpretive exceptions separately. A calculator may report only the basic score; check its documented method before assuming which cancellations it does or does not apply.

Nadi dosha and tradition-specific exceptions

Nadi dosha is the one that frightens people, because it costs 8 points in one stroke and because it is the koot most often described in ominous terms. The rule itself is simple: if both charts fall in the same nadi — both Adi, both Madhya or both Antya — the score is 0.

Different manuals and schools discuss different exceptions; there is no single universally accepted list. Conditions sometimes considered include:

• Same nakshatra, different rashi. Some methods set aside Eka Nadi dosha when the Moons share a nakshatra but occupy different rashis. Ask for the precise rule and its stated conditions.
• Same rashi, different nakshatra. Some methods discuss this mirror case as an exception: the same Moon sign but different nakshatras. It is not a universal cancellation in every school.
• Same nakshatra, different pada. Different padas within one nakshatra are treated as a mitigating condition by some practitioners, but not as an automatic cancellation by all. The chosen method needs to be stated.
• Same Moon sign lord, or friendly lords. Some practitioners consider identical or friendly sign lords, and some specify Mercury, Venus or Jupiter. These are method-dependent interpretive conditions, not an automatic rule for every same-nadi pair.
• Strong Graha Maitri. Some practitioners consider strong Graha Maitri as part of a wider judgement. Do not assume it universally cancels Nadi dosha; ask for the method and source.

Different schools accept different subsets of these, and some practitioners are stricter than others — that is normal and it is honest to say so rather than to present one list as settled. The useful conclusion is not "Nadi dosha does not matter" but rather: a reported Nadi 0 is the beginning of an examination, not the end of one. If a calculator reports Nadi dosha, ask a practitioner who uses a clearly stated method to explain the basic score, any claimed exception and its limits. This remains a traditional interpretation, not a medical assessment or a marriage decision.

Manglik dosha is a separate test

This confusion is worth heading off, because it comes up constantly. Mangal or Manglik dosha is not part of the 36 gunas. It is a separate check, based on the placement of Mars in specific houses in each chart, and it is examined alongside guna milan rather than inside it. A pair can score 30 out of 36 and still be flagged for Manglik dosha; a pair can score 19 with no Manglik consideration at all.

Manglik dosha has its own long list of traditional exceptions and cancellations, which we cover in Manglik dosh and its traditional remedies. Other configurations sometimes raised at the same stage, such as Kaal Sarp dosh, are likewise outside the Ashtakoot count.

What guna milan does not look at

This list is the honest counterweight to the score, and it is longer than most people expect. Ashtakoot does not examine:

• The lagna of either chart, or the lagna lords — see what the lagna means.
• The seventh house and its lord in either chart, which classical texts treat as the primary indicators of marriage.
• The condition of Venus and Jupiter, traditionally the significators of marriage for the two partners.
• The navamsha (D9) divisional chart, which many practitioners consider the most important chart of all for marriage.
• The dasha periods either person is running or about to enter — see how Vimshottari dasha works.
• Anything at all about the two people: their values, their families, their work, their health, their finances, or whether they actually want to be married to each other.

That last item is not a joke. The score is computed from two Moon positions. It cannot know anything else, and it does not claim to.

How to use the number sensibly

1. Ask for the koot-by-koot breakdown, not just the total. Which koots gave points and which did not is far more informative than the sum.
2. If a dosha is flagged, ask whether the cancellations were checked. Ask which, if any, Bhakoot or Nadi exceptions that method recognises. Same or friendly sign lords, differing rashis, nakshatras or padas, and Graha Maitri are discussed differently across traditions; they are not a universal checklist of automatic cancellations.
3. Have the full charts read, not only the gunas. Seventh house, seventh lord, Venus, Jupiter, the navamsha and the running dashas are where a competent practitioner spends most of the time.
4. Get the birth times right. A wrong birth time can move a Moon across a nakshatra boundary and change several koots at once.
5. Do not let the number make the decision. A 17 or a 32 cannot determine whether two people should marry. Discuss consent, values, communication, expectations and practical compatibility directly. Any traditional chart reading should remain one optional input, not a substitute for the adults’ decision.

Kundli Milan in the Divine Hindu app

The Kundli Milan report is available in the Divine Hindu Android app. You enter the date, exact time and place of birth for both people; the app generates the matching report and displays it to you inside the app after a short processing period. There is no emailed PDF and nothing is sent to you manually — the report opens in the app itself and stays available there. The individual Kundli report is also in the app, at ₹51, and if you would like to discuss what a result means you can consult an astrologer through the app directly.

What the report is not: a prediction of future events as fact, a guarantee of accuracy, or a substitute for professional medical, legal, financial or relationship advice. It certainly is not a verdict on whether two people should marry. It is a traditional calculation, offered as a devotional and cultural service, to be weighed alongside everything else that matters.

For a broader look at the matching report and what it covers, see Kundli matching for marriage, and our overview of which personalised report you need.

Traditional accompaniments

Some families choose optional devotional accompaniments, such as reciting the navagraha beej mantras , or a stone associated in their tradition with a graha. For example, Pukhrajis associated with Jupiter in some traditions; choosing or wearing it is an individual matter, not a requirement for marriage or compatibility. No purchase is necessary for a relationship decision, and no stone or mantra is promised to change an outcome. If you are independently considering a stone, our rashi stone chart and shop by rashi pages are the place to start, and before you buy, read Choosing Gemstone Weight and Ratti to Carat and check any quoted weight against the Ratti Carat Weight Guide. The full range is in our gemstone collection.

This guide is for educational and devotional purposes. Kundli Milan is a traditional practice followed as a matter of faith and custom; methods, thresholds and cancellations vary between schools, regions and practitioners. Nothing here predicts the future as fact, guarantees accuracy, or should be relied on in place of professional medical, legal, financial or relationship advice.