Guna Milan Explained: How Kundli Milan Counts 36 Points Across 8 Kootas

Guna milan is the points system at the heart of kundli milan, the traditional matching of two horoscopes before marriage. In the Ashtakoota method, astrologers compare eight factors, called kootas, and give each a maximum score from 1 to 8. Added together, the maximum is 36. Every one of those factors is read from just one planet in each chart: the Moon, by its sign and by its nakshatra (birth star).

That one fact explains most of what a guna milan score can and cannot tell you. This guide walks through the eight kootas in order, shows which four depend on the Moon signs and which four on the nakshatras, and then scores a sample pair completely so you can see where every point comes from. When you are ready to try your own, the kundli matching tool does the same count from both birth details.

The eight kootas of guna milan at a glance

Classical texts list the kootas in a fixed order, from the lightest to the heaviest. Their maximum points rise from 1 to 8, which is why the total comes to 36 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8).

The "reflects" column is the traditional reading, not a measurement. A koota scoring low does not mean the quality it names is missing between two people; it means the two Moons fall in a combination that tradition marks for attention.

15 points from the Moon signs, 21 from the nakshatras

The split matters because it tells you what kind of information each part of the score needs.

• Moon-sign kootas (15 points): Varna (1), Vashya (2), Graha Maitri (5) and Bhakoot (7). These need only the two rashis. Two people with the same pair of Moon signs score the same here, whatever their stars.
• Nakshatra kootas (21 points): Tara (3), Yoni (4), Gana (6) and Nadi (8). These need the exact birth star of each person. Each sign holds parts of three nakshatras, so the same sign pair can produce very different totals.

This is why a sign-only reading is at best a partial guna milan. If you want to understand the 15 sign-based points in depth, with a table of which rashi pairs lose Bhakoot, see rashi compatibility for marriage. The other 21 points are where most of the variation between couples actually happens.

How each koota is scored

Below are the rules as Astroliya's matching engine applies them. Published tables disagree in a few cells (for Vashya and Gana in particular), so a different calculator can occasionally differ by a point or so on the same pair. That is a difference in tables, not an error on either side.

Varna (1 point)

Each Moon sign belongs to a varna by element: water signs Brahmin, fire signs Kshatriya, earth signs Vaishya, air signs Shudra. The koota scores 1 when the groom's varna ranks the same as or above the bride's, otherwise 0. It is read by side, so swapping bride and groom can change it.

Vashya (2 points)

Signs fall into five groups: quadruped, human, water, wild and insect. Sagittarius and Capricorn change group halfway through the sign, so for those two the Moon's degree matters. The score comes from a five-by-five table read with the bride's group on one side and the groom's on the other: 2 for the same group, down to 0 for groups traditionally seen as incompatible.

Tara (3 points)

Count from one person's nakshatra to the other's, inclusive, and take the remainder after dividing by 9. Remainders 3, 5 and 7 (the Vipat, Pratyari and Naidhana taras) are inauspicious. The count is done both ways, and each auspicious direction earns 1.5, so Tara scores 0, 1.5 or 3.

Yoni (4 points)

Each nakshatra has an animal symbol, fourteen in all. The pair is scored from a fourteen-by-fourteen table: 4 for the same animal, 3 friendly, 2 neutral, 1 unfriendly, 0 for the seven "sworn enemy" pairs such as Cat and Rat or Cow and Tiger.

Graha Maitri (5 points)

Each Moon sign has a ruling planet. Using the natural friendships of the planets in the Parashari tradition, the engine checks how each lord regards the other: friend and friend 5, friend and neutral 4, both neutral 3, friend and enemy 1, neutral and enemy 0.5, both enemies 0. Two people with the same Moon-sign lord score the full 5.

Gana (6 points)

Each nakshatra is Deva (gentle), Manushya (human) or Rakshasa (intense). A three-by-three table, read by side, gives the score: Deva with Deva or Manushya, and Manushya with Manushya, score high, and two Rakshasas score the full 6; a Rakshasa groom with a Deva or Manushya bride scores 0.

Bhakoot (7 points)

Count the house of one Moon sign from the other. If the two signs sit 2/12, 5/9 or 6/8 from each other, Bhakoot scores 0; every other relation scores the full 7. The detail on those three pairs, and when tradition softens them, is in the Bhakoot dosha guide.

Nadi (8 points)

The 27 nakshatras run through three Nadis, Adi, Madhya and Antya, in a zig-zag. Different Nadis score 8; the same Nadi scores 0. That zero is what people call Nadi dosha, and because it is the heaviest koota it often drives the conversation. The Nadi dosha guide covers its traditional cancellations in full.

A worked guna milan, line by line

Sample bride: born 14 March 1998 at 06:42 in Jaipur. Her Moon is in Virgo, in Uttara Phalguni nakshatra. Sample groom: born 2 June 1996 at 21:15 in Delhi. His Moon is in Scorpio, in Jyeshtha nakshatra.

Read the table by its two halves. The Moon-sign kootas give 9.5 of a possible 15, helped by a full Bhakoot. The nakshatra kootas give only 4.5 of 21, because Gana and Nadi both score zero. Two heavy kootas at zero cost 14 points between them, which is the whole story of this total.

Now the reading. On the traditional scale, 14 is under the 18-point mark, so the tool labels it "Needs a closer look". That label is deliberate: it is not "rejected". The tool's notes for this pair would say that Bhakoot, Yoni and Varna score high, and that Nadi and Gana are the factors worth a closer look. Neither of the two Nadi exceptions the tool checks applies here (they need either the same birth star in different signs, or the same sign with different birth stars), so the tool simply names the shared Adi Nadi and says astrologers usually look at the full charts before reading much into it.

What how many gunas should match means for scores like 14, 22 or 30 is covered in its own guide, including why astrologers rarely decide on the total alone.

How the matching tool reports traditional exceptions

Classical practice has always softened some low scores. Astroliya's matching tool handles these in words, not by quietly changing the number. You see the raw 36-point count and, beside it, the traditional reason it may matter less.

1. Strong points: up to three of the heaviest kootas that score at least 75% of their maximum are named with what they traditionally reflect.
2. Worth a closer look: the one or two heaviest kootas scoring under 40% are named.
3. Bhakoot or Gana at a low score: if the two Moon-sign lords are the same planet or friends, the tool says this is traditionally said to soften it. If not, it says astrologers often check for exactly that.
4. Nadi at zero: if the pair shares a birth star but not a sign, or a sign but not a birth star, the tool names it as an exception many astrologers say cancels the dosha.
5. Manglik: shown separately, because it is not one of the eight kootas (see below).
6. No birth time: the Moon is read at local noon, and the result is marked approximate if the Moon changed nakshatra, sign or Vashya group during that day.

The last point surprises people. The Moon moves roughly one nakshatra a day, so for most dates an unknown birth time really does leave the match uncertain. The tool says so instead of hiding it.

Bride and groom sides change the score

Three kootas, Varna, Vashya and Gana, are read from a side: the bride's sign or star in one role, the groom's in the other. So the same two people can score differently if the roles are swapped.

With the bride's Moon in Magha (Leo) and the groom's in Revati (Pisces), the total is 13. Swap the roles and it drops to 11: Varna falls from 1 to 0, because a Brahmin-varna bride with a Kshatriya-varna groom does not meet the rule, and Gana falls from 1 to 0, because a Deva bride with a Rakshasa groom scores nothing in the table. Nothing about the two people changed; only which side each sits on.

If a calculator asks "boy" and "girl" in a fixed order, this is why. Enter the details in the right roles.

Manglik is a separate check

Families often treat Manglik status as part of guna milan, but it is not one of the eight kootas. Astroliya's tool reads it from Mars's house counted from the lagna (ascendant), so it needs a birth time, while the koota count can still be estimated without one.

In the worked example above, the sample bride has Mars in the 2nd house and the groom does not, so the tool reports that only one of them is Manglik and suggests weighing it with the full charts. Not every tradition counts the 2nd house: many lists use only the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th and 12th, and under those she would not be Manglik at all. To check your own chart first, see am I Manglik, and for what a one-sided result does and does not mean, read Manglik and non-Manglik marriage.

What guna milan does not tell you

Guna milan compares two Moons. It does not look at the 7th house of marriage, Venus, the dasha periods each person is running, or anything about how two people actually talk, decide and treat each other. Astrologers in the Parashari tradition generally treat the 36-point count as a first screen, not a verdict, and a high score does not promise a happy marriage any more than a low one rules it out.

If you want the wider chart read, the marriage compatibility report goes beyond the kootas into both full kundlis. For a quick question about your own score, you can ask Astroliya's AI astrologer in chat, in Hindi or English. And no remedy or score is a substitute for honest conversation between two families, or for medical or legal advice where those apply.

Questions people ask

Is a guna milan calculator accurate?

The arithmetic is exact once the two Moon positions are known; the uncertainty lies elsewhere. Without a birth time the Moon may have changed nakshatra that day, and different calculators use slightly different Vashya and Gana tables. Check that both birth details are right and that the bride and groom are entered in the right roles.

Which kootas depend on the Moon sign and which on the nakshatra?

Varna, Vashya, Graha Maitri and Bhakoot come from the two Moon signs, worth 15 points together. Tara, Yoni, Gana and Nadi come from the two nakshatras, worth 21. That is why matching by sign alone cannot give you the full score.

Does the tool change my score when an exception applies?

No. Astroliya shows the plain 36-point count and states any traditional exception in words beside it, such as a Nadi cancellation or friendly Moon-sign lords softening Bhakoot. That way you see both the number and the reasoning, and can weigh them yourself.

Is my partner's birth data saved when we match?

Details you type in for a match are used to calculate that match and are not stored or logged. Only a profile you choose to save is kept on your account.

What are the koota names in Hindi?

Varna is वर्ण, Vashya वश्य, Tara तारा, Yoni योनि, Graha Maitri ग्रह मैत्री, Gana गण, Bhakoot भकूट and Nadi नाड़ी. The full explanation in Hindi is in कुंडली मिलान.