Ashtakoot — literally "eight koots" — is the classical scoring system used to match two birth charts for marriage. It is also called Gun Milan or 36-guna matching. Each of the eight koots measures a different layer of compatibility and carries a different maximum score, and the weights run in a simple ascending sequence from 1 to 8. Add them and you get 36.
The whole system rests on one input from each chart: the position of the Moon — its sign (rashi) and the nakshatra it occupied at birth. Nothing else enters the calculation. That is worth holding onto, because it explains both what Ashtakoot does well and what it structurally cannot see.
The Eight Koots at a Glance
| # | Koot | Max Points | What It Compares | Derived From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Varna | 1 | Temperamental grade / inner orientation | Moon sign |
| 2 | Vashya | 2 | Mutual influence and pull | Moon sign |
| 3 | Tara | 3 | Well-being of each toward the other | Nakshatra |
| 4 | Yoni | 4 | Physical and instinctive fit | Nakshatra |
| 5 | Graha Maitri | 5 | Mental friendship | Moon-sign lords |
| 6 | Gana | 6 | Temperament type | Nakshatra |
| 7 | Bhakoot | 7 | Family welfare, prosperity, flow | Moon-sign distance |
| 8 | Nadi | 8 | Constitution, health, progeny | Nakshatra |
Why the weights matter more than the total: the top two koots — Bhakoot and Nadi — hold 15 of the 36 points between them. A couple can match cleanly on the six lighter koots and still land at 21/36 if those two both score zero. The same 21 could also come from broad, mild weakness spread across all eight. Those are very different situations, and the headline number cannot tell them apart. Always read the breakdown, never just the total.
Koot by Koot — How Each Score Is Actually Awarded
1. Varna — 1 point
Varna grades each Moon sign by element: water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) rank highest, then fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), then earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), then air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius). The single point is awarded when the groom's varna is equal to or above the bride's on that scale, and withheld when it is below. It is the lightest koot in the system by design — one point out of thirty-six — and it is best read as a note on orientation rather than as a statement about either person.
2. Vashya — 2 points
Vashya sorts the twelve Moon signs into five groups: Nara (human — Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Aquarius, and the first half of Sagittarius), Chatushpada (quadruped — Aries, Taurus, the second half of Sagittarius, and the first half of Capricorn), Jalachara (aquatic — Cancer, Pisces, and the second half of Capricorn), Vanachara (wild — Leo) and Keeta (insect — Scorpio). Note that Sagittarius and Capricorn split at 15° — the same sign belongs to a different group depending on the Moon's exact degree, which is one of several places where a rough birth time changes the answer. The two points measure how naturally each partner draws and holds the other's attention.
3. Tara — 3 points
Tara counts the distance from one birth nakshatra to the other, in both directions, and reduces each count modulo 9. Certain resulting positions are auspicious and others are not. When both directions land well, all 3 points are awarded; when only one direction is favourable, half — 1.5 points; when neither is, zero. It is the only koot that regularly produces a fractional score, and it is read as a mutual well-being indicator rather than a compatibility one.
4. Yoni — 4 points
Every nakshatra carries an animal symbol and a gender: Ashwini is a female horse, Bharani a male elephant, Rohini a female serpent, and so on across all 27. Yoni scores the relationship between the two animals — identical animals score the full 4, natural allies score high, and traditional opposites score low. It reads physical and instinctive compatibility. Uttara Ashadha's mongoose is the one animal in the set with no counterpart anywhere in the 27, a quirk of the classical table worth knowing if you have ever wondered why that nakshatra behaves oddly in matching reports.
5. Graha Maitri — 5 points
This koot leaves the Moon's position and looks at the planets that rule the two Moon signs. If both lords regard each other as friends, all 5 points are awarded. If both Moon signs share the same ruling planet, that also scores the full 5 — a planet is its own best friend. Friendly-to-neutral scores 4, neutral-to-neutral 3, friendly-to-inimical 1, neutral-to-inimical half a point, and mutual enmity zero. Graha Maitri is the koot most directly about mental and emotional rapport — the day-to-day question of whether two people find each other easy to be around.
6. Gana — 6 points
Gana Kuta sorts all 27 nakshatras into three temperament types and is one of the most frequently searched koots, so it is worth setting out in full.
| Gana | Character | Nakshatras |
|---|---|---|
| Deva | Refined, cooperative, principled | Ashwini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana, Revati |
| Manava | Human, balanced, mixed motives | Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada |
| Rakshasa | Intense, self-directed, unsentimental | Krittika, Ashlesha, Magha, Chitra, Vishakha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha |
The scoring grid is compact:
| Pairing | Points |
|---|---|
| Same gana (Deva–Deva, Manava–Manava, Rakshasa–Rakshasa) | 6 |
| Deva – Manava | 5 |
| Manava – Rakshasa | 1 |
| Deva – Rakshasa | 0 |
"Rakshasa" is routinely mistranslated as demonic in matching reports, which does a real disservice to nine of the twenty-seven nakshatras — a third of all people. In this context it denotes an intense, self-directed, unsentimental temperament, and Rakshasa paired with Rakshasa scores the full 6 points. What Gana measures is the distance between two styles, not the quality of either one.
7. Bhakoot — 7 points
Bhakoot counts the distance between the two Moon signs in both directions. Most relationships score the full 7. Three specific mutual counts do not: 6–8, 5–9 and 2–12. Any of those drops the koot to zero and raises Bhakoot Dosha, traditionally associated with the material and household dimension of a marriage rather than with affection.
Bhakoot Dosha has two clean classical cancellations (parihara): both Moon signs are ruled by the same planet — Taurus and Libra are both Venus, for instance — or the two Moon-sign lords are mutual friends. When either holds, the affliction is treated as nullified.
8. Nadi — 8 points
Nadi carries the heaviest weight in the system. Every nakshatra is permanently assigned to one of three Nadi groups — Aadi (Vata), Madhya (Pitta) or Antya (Kapha) — mapping onto Ayurvedic constitution. Different Nadis award all 8 points. The same Nadi awards zero and flags Nadi Dosha, classically tied to health and progeny.
The base rate almost no report shows you: the 27 nakshatras split evenly into three Nadi groups of nine, so two unrelated charts share a Nadi about one time in three — roughly 33% of all pairings, by construction. Nadi Dosha is not a rare affliction; it is the expected outcome for a third of couples. Any presentation of it as an extraordinary red flag is arguing with arithmetic. It is a prompt to check the cancellations and read the rest of both charts.
Nadi Dosha's cancellations are narrow but real: the couple share the same Moon rashi but different nakshatras, or they share the same nakshatra in different padas (quarters). The heaviest classical form — eka-nakshatra, the same nakshatra and the same pada — has no cancellation. We cover this koot in depth in the Nadi Dosha guide.
A note on cancelled doshas and the score
When a dosha is cancelled, the points stay at zero. This confuses people, and the reason is worth stating plainly: the point award is mechanical. Two people either share a Nadi or they don't; the sign-count either is 6–8 or it isn't. A cancellation clears the affliction — the thing the dosha was warning about — while leaving the arithmetic untouched. A careful report says "Nadi Dosha — cancelled, 0/8." A careless one says "Nadi Dosha" and stops.
Reading the Total: What 18 Actually Means
The traditional threshold is 18 out of 36. Below it, the match is said to need careful consideration; above it, it is considered workable. The usual bands:
| Score | Conventional Reading |
|---|---|
| 32–36 | Exceptional |
| 27–31 | Very good |
| 21–26 | Good |
| 18–20 | Average — workable with awareness |
| Below 18 | Needs a closer look before proceeding |
Two honest caveats belong next to that table. First, 18 is a screening line, not a gate. It was designed to sort a shortlist of proposals quickly, in a context where the two families had little other information to go on. Second, the bands compress very different situations into one label — a 22 built on strong Graha Maitri and Gana with a Nadi zero is a different marriage from a 22 built on mild weakness everywhere.
The most useful question is never "is my score good?" It is "where did the points go, and does the rest of the chart support or contradict what the missing koot is pointing at?"
What Ashtakoot Cannot See
This is the section that matters most, and it follows directly from how the system is built. Ashtakoot reads two Moon positions. Everything below is outside its field of view entirely:
- The ascendant (lagna) and therefore the whole house structure of either chart.
- The 7th house and its lord — the primary marriage indicators in both charts.
- Venus and Jupiter, the natural significators of partnership.
- Mangal Dosha and its own set of cancellations, which is calculated separately.
- The Navamsa (D9) — the divisional chart the tradition treats as the confirming layer for marriage.
- The dasha periods each partner is running, and when those periods change.
That last one is the important omission. Ashtakoot is a static score: two people who match at 26 today matched at 26 twenty years ago and will match at 26 in twenty more years. It has no time axis at all. But the questions people actually bring to a matching — when is this supported, what period are we each in, what changes and when — are entirely timing questions. Those are read from the Vimshottari dasha system and the transits, not from the koots.
Where the general rule stops being personal: everything on this page can be worked out from two Moon positions, and you can do it by hand with the tables above. What cannot be worked out from a general rule is your dasha sequence — which period you are each in right now, the exact date it ends, and which of the coming windows actually supports a marriage. That requires both full birth charts, computed to the day.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ashtakoot matching?
Ashtakoot — also called Gun Milan or 36-guna matching — is the classical Vedic system for scoring two birth charts for marriage. It compares eight factors (koots) derived from the Moon's position in each chart and awards a total out of 36: Varna 1, Vashya 2, Tara 3, Yoni 4, Graha Maitri 5, Gana 6, Bhakoot 7, Nadi 8. It is a screening tool built on the two Moon positions, not a full chart-to-chart analysis.
What are the 8 koots in 36 guna matching?
Varna (1) compares Moon signs by element. Vashya (2) measures mutual influence by Moon-sign group. Tara (3) counts nakshatra distance in both directions. Yoni (4) compares the animal symbols of the two birth nakshatras. Graha Maitri (5) tests friendship between the two Moon-sign lords. Gana (6) compares temperament — Deva, Manava or Rakshasa. Bhakoot (7) reads the sign-count relationship between the Moon signs. Nadi (8) compares constitution group. The weights are cumulative: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8 = 36.
What is Gana Kuta in kundli matching?
Gana Kuta carries 6 of the 36 points and measures temperament. Every nakshatra is Deva (refined, cooperative), Manava (human, mixed) or Rakshasa (intense, self-directed). Same gana scores the full 6. Deva with Manava scores 5, Manava with Rakshasa scores 1, and Deva with Rakshasa scores 0 — the widest gap in the system. Gana describes how two people meet friction, not whether the marriage succeeds.
How many gunas out of 36 are good for marriage?
18 is the traditional minimum. 21+ is good, 27+ very good, 32+ exceptional. But 18 is a screening line, not a pass/fail gate — a 22 with a clean 7th house and a supportive dasha period is a stronger position than a 30 sitting on an afflicted Navamsa. The number opens the analysis; it does not close it.
Why is Nadi worth 8 points and Varna only 1?
The koots are weighted 1 through 8 in ascending order, with the heaviest weight on what the tradition treated as the deepest layer of a union. Varna, at 1 point, is the most surface-level comparison; Nadi, at 8, was tied to constitution, health and progeny. The consequence is that one Nadi mismatch removes 8 points at once, which is why so many reports appear to fail on Nadi alone.
Which doshas does Ashtakoot flag?
Two. Nadi Dosha, when both partners share the same Nadi group. Bhakoot Dosha, when the two Moon signs fall in a 6–8, 5–9 or 2–12 relationship. Both have classical cancellations: Nadi cancels on same rashi with different nakshatras, or same nakshatra in different padas; Bhakoot cancels when both Moon signs share a ruling planet or their lords are mutual friends. A cancellation clears the affliction while the points stay at zero, because the point award is mechanical.
How common is Nadi Dosha?
About one pairing in three. The 27 nakshatras divide evenly into three Nadi groups of nine, so two unrelated charts share a Nadi roughly 33% of the time by construction. A flag that fires on a third of all couples is a prompt to look closer, not evidence of a rare affliction.
What does Ashtakoot not check?
It uses only the Moon's sign and nakshatra in each chart. It never sees the ascendant, the 7th house or its lord, Venus and Jupiter, Mangal Dosha, the Navamsa (D9), or the dasha periods each partner is running. So it cannot say when a marriage is supported or which years are stronger — Ashtakoot has no time axis at all. Timing comes from the dasha system; durability is read from the 7th house across D1 and D9.
Is Ashtakoot matching accurate?
The calculation is deterministic — the same two charts always give the same score, and an accurate birth time is what makes it reliable, since the Moon changes nakshatra roughly every day. The interpretation is where accuracy claims overreach. Ashtakoot measures eight specific things well; treating its total as a prediction of marital happiness asks it for something it was never built to give.
Can you marry with a low guna score?
Yes. Many lasting marriages score in the high teens and low twenties, and many high scores belong to difficult marriages. A low score is a reason to do the full analysis — Mangal Dosha and its cancellations, the 7th house and lord in D1 and D9, and both partners' dasha periods — not a reason to stop.