ashtakoot · guna milan score
21 Out of 36 Guna Milan: What a 21 Is Made Of
708 of 11,664 pairings · 6.1% · 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, 254 total exactly 21 and 454 total 21.5, on the strict reading that takes the bottom of the two kootas whose middle grades lineages dispute. Together that is 6.1% of all pairings; 46.3% score 21 or more and 53.7% score less. On the generous reading of the same two kootas, 754 pairings land on 21 or 21.5.
Families commonly read 21 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 21 Usually Loses
Averaged over the 708 pairings at 21 and 21.5, the guna lost to each koota are: Bhakoot 4.13 of 7, Yoni 2.92 of 4, Gana 2.36 of 6, Vashya 1.46 of 2, Graha Maitri 1.37 of 5, Tara 1.1 of 3, Nadi 1.01 of 8 and Varna 0.34 of 1. So a 21 is mostly made by what Bhakoot, Yoni, Gana, Vashya, Graha Maitri, Tara and Nadi take away.
| Koota | Out of | Scores 0 | Scores full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | 34.3% | 65.7% |
| Vashya | 2 | 72.9% | 27.1% |
| Tara | 3 | 0.0% | 26.8% |
| Yoni | 4 | 5.1% | 4.5% |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | 4.2% | 52.3% |
| Gana | 6 | 11.7% | 28.8% |
| Bhakoot | 7 | 59.0% | 41.0% |
| Nadi | 8 | 12.6% | 87.4% |
Nadi and Bhakoot at 21
89 of the 708 pairings at 21 (12.6%) score nothing on Nadi, the condition called Nadi dosha; 45 of those meet one of the recognised cancellations (the same star in different padas, the same Moon sign, or two signs with one lord). 418 (59.0%) score nothing on Bhakoot, and 309 of those have the sign lords that cancel it. 4 carry both at once. A 21 with Nadi dosha and a 21 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 21
67 pairs of birth stars produce 21 or 21.5 for at least one combination of padas and direction, including 4 pairings of a star with itself. The most frequent: Swati and Mula (32), Punarvasu and Magha (24), Mrigashira and Mula (16), Bharani and Magha (16), Magha and Purva Ashadha (16), Rohini and Chitra (16), Jyeshtha and Uttara Bhadrapada (16), Bharani and Mula (16). Each pair’s page shows all sixteen pada combinations scored both ways.
To see whether your own total is a 21, 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.
20 out of 36 · every total · 22 out of 36. For how the eight kootas work, see the 36 gunas explained and the kundli milan guide. In Hindi: 36 में से 21 गुण.