ashtakoot · guna milan score
18 Out of 36 Guna Milan: What a 18 Is Made Of
718 of 11,664 pairings · 6.2% · strict reading
Guna milan compares two Moon positions, and there are only 108 of them — 27 nakshatras of four padas each — so every possible pairing can be scored. Of the 11,664 bride-and-groom pairings, 444 total exactly 18 and 274 total 18.5, on the strict reading that takes the bottom of the two kootas whose middle grades lineages dispute. Together that is 6.2% of all pairings; 63.6% score 18 or more and 36.4% score less. On the generous reading of the same two kootas, 541 pairings land on 18 or 18.5.
Families commonly read 18 as “acceptable”, the band between 18 and 24; it clears the 18 that many treat as the minimum. That threshold and those bands are a convention, not a rule in any classical text, and a total says nothing about which kootas it lost — which is what follows.
What a 18 Usually Loses
Averaged over the 718 pairings at 18 and 18.5, the guna lost to each koota are: Bhakoot 4.72 of 7, Gana 3.55 of 6, Yoni 2.89 of 4, Graha Maitri 1.94 of 5, Nadi 1.77 of 8, Vashya 1.72 of 2, Tara 0.81 of 3 and Varna 0.41 of 1. So a 18 is mostly made by what Bhakoot, Gana, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Nadi, Vashya and Tara take away.
| Koota | Out of | Scores 0 | Scores full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | 40.8% | 59.2% |
| Vashya | 2 | 86.1% | 13.9% |
| Tara | 3 | 0.0% | 46.2% |
| Yoni | 4 | 3.2% | 4.6% |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | 6.5% | 40.4% |
| Gana | 6 | 41.4% | 22.0% |
| Bhakoot | 7 | 67.4% | 32.6% |
| Nadi | 8 | 22.1% | 77.9% |
Nadi and Bhakoot at 18
159 of the 718 pairings at 18 (22.1%) score nothing on Nadi, the condition called Nadi dosha; 21 of those meet one of the recognised cancellations (the same star in different padas, the same Moon sign, or two signs with one lord). 484 (67.4%) score nothing on Bhakoot, and 273 of those have the sign lords that cancel it. 49 carry both at once. A 18 with Nadi dosha and a 18 without it are different matches that print the same number, which is why the total alone is never the reading.
Which Birth Stars Produce a 18
79 pairs of birth stars produce 18 or 18.5 for at least one combination of padas and direction, including 17 pairings of a star with itself. The most frequent: Bharani and Purva Ashadha (24), Ashwini and Magha (16), Ashwini and Dhanishta (16), Bharani and Magha (16), Bharani and Mula (16), Bharani and Shatabhisha (16), Ashlesha and Anuradha (16), Purva Phalguni and Mula (16). Each pair’s page shows all sixteen pada combinations scored both ways.
To see whether your own total is a 18, and which kootas it lost, you need both Moon positions. The Free Kundli Matching tool gives the eight koota scores and the total, which is the headline answer; the Kundali Milan detailed report works the same arithmetic further from your own birth details, and its page lists what it contains.
17 out of 36 · every total · 19 out of 36. For how the eight kootas work, see the 36 gunas explained and the kundli milan guide. In Hindi: 36 में से 18 गुण.