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Ashtakoot Guna Milan

Nakshatra matching

All 36 guna computed for every nakshatra against all 27, in both directions — 729 combinations, each with its koota-by-koota reasoning.

What Nakshatra Matching Measures

Ashtakoot Guna Milan scores a prospective marriage out of 36 across eight kootas. Every one of them is a function of a single point in each chart — the Moon’s sidereal longitude, expressed as a nakshatra and a pada within it. Nothing else enters the calculation: not the ascendant, not the Sun, not even the date of birth once the Moon’s position is known. That is what makes the tables here computable rather than a matter of opinion, and it is also the system’s limit.

63.6%

of all 11,664 possible Moon pairings reach the conventional threshold of 18

35

the highest total the eight kootas can produce — not one pairing reaches 36

562

of the 702 mixed-star pairs change total when bride and groom swap

The first two figures come from enumerating every one of the 108 Moon positions against every other, which is where the median total of 20.5 and the 0.8% of pairings above 32 also come from. The tables on the 27 pages below fix pada 1 on both sides so that a row is a single readable number: the pada matters because 9 nakshatras have padas in two different rashis, which moves 15 of the 36 guna.

Pick a Nakshatra

Each page scores that nakshatra against all 27, both as bride and as groom, and explains the three kootas the birth star fixes on its own — 18 of the 36 guna decided before the partner is known.

NakshatraNadiYoniGanaPartners ≥ 18Highest
Ashwiniअश्विनीAdiHorseDeva18 of 27Bharani (32)
BharaniभरणीMadhyaElephantManushya19 of 27Ashwini (32)
Krittikaकृत्तिका*AntyaSheepRakshasa18 of 27Bharani (30)
RohiniरोहिणीAntyaSerpentManushya18 of 27Mrigashira (35)
Mrigashiraमृगशिरा*MadhyaSerpentDeva17 of 27Rohini (35)
Ardraआर्द्राAdiDogManushya20 of 27Chitra (29)
Punarvasuपुनर्वसु*AdiCatDeva20 of 27Punarvasu (28)
Pushyaपुष्यMadhyaSheepDeva16 of 27Ashwini (28.5)
Ashleshaआश्लेषाAntyaCatRakshasa15 of 27Pushya (28)
MaghaमघाAntyaRatRakshasa16 of 27Purva Phalguni (33)
Purva Phalguniपूर्व फाल्गुनीMadhyaRatManushya18 of 27Magha (33)
Uttara Phalguniउत्तर फाल्गुनी*AdiCowManushya19 of 27Purva Phalguni (33)
Hastaहस्तAdiBuffaloDeva18 of 27Hasta (28)
Chitraचित्रा*MadhyaTigerRakshasa17 of 27Ardra (29)
Swatiस्वातीAntyaBuffaloDeva19 of 27Swati (28)
Vishakhaविशाखा*AntyaTigerRakshasa18 of 27Dhanishta (29.5)
AnuradhaअनुराधाMadhyaDeerDeva17 of 27Jyeshtha (31)
Jyeshthaज्येष्ठाAdiDeerRakshasa18 of 27Magha (31)
MulaमूलAdiDogRakshasa16 of 27Purva Ashadha (30)
Purva Ashadhaपूर्वाषाढ़ाMadhyaMonkeyManushya19 of 27Uttara Ashadha (31)
Uttara Ashadhaउत्तराषाढ़ा*AntyaMongooseManushya19 of 27Purva Ashadha (31)
Shravanaश्रवणAntyaMonkeyDeva18 of 27Shravana (28)
Dhanishtaधनिष्ठा*MadhyaLionRakshasa16 of 27Vishakha (29.5)
ShatabhishaशतभिषाAdiHorseRakshasa17 of 27Shatabhisha (28)
Purva Bhadrapadaपूर्व भाद्रपद*AdiLionManushya19 of 27Rohini (29.5)
Uttara Bhadrapadaउत्तर भाद्रपदMadhyaCowManushya18 of 27Revati (32)
RevatiरेवतीAntyaElephantDeva20 of 27Uttara Bhadrapada (32)

Rows marked * have padas in two different rashis, so the real pada shifts four of the eight kootas. “Partners ≥ 18” takes the better of the two directions at pada 1 — Ardra has the most at 20, Ashlesha the fewest at 15, which is a consequence of how many nakshatras share its nadi and gana rather than anything about the star itself.

The Eight Kootas and Their Guna

Varna — 1 guna

Whether the groom's varna — derived from the Moon sign, not from caste — reaches or exceeds the bride's. Deliberately one-way, which is one of the two reasons a pair scores differently when you swap the partners.

Vashya — 2 guna

The relation between the two Moon signs by class: quadruped, human, watery, insect and wild. Its extremes are agreed everywhere; the graded middle differs between lineages, so this koota is shown as a range.

Tara — 3 guna

Counts the nakshatra distance in both directions and takes the remainder on 9. The third, fifth and seventh positions — Vipat, Pratyari and Vadha — are the inauspicious ones, and both counts are scored, so one bad direction halves the koota to 1.5 rather than failing it. This is where the half-guna totals come from.

Yoni — 4 guna

Pairs the two nakshatra animals. Same animal scores the full 4, the classical enemy pair scores 0, and the middle grades vary by source — the second koota shown as a range.

Graha Maitri — 5 guna

Friendship between the lords of the two Moon signs. Mutual friends score 5, mutual enemies 0, with the mixed cases in between.

Gana — 6 guna

Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa — nine nakshatras each. Deva with Rakshasa is scored differently depending on which partner holds which, the other reason swapping matters.

Bhakoot — 7 guna

The distance between the two Moon signs. Three distances — 6/8, 5/9 and 2/12 — score zero, and this is an all-or-nothing koota with two recognised cancellations.

Nadi — 8 guna

Adi, Madhya or Antya, the Ayurvedic humour. The heaviest single koota and all-or-nothing: same nadi scores 0 of 8, which is what most low totals are made of.

Nadi, Bhakoot and Gana carry 21 of the 36 between them, and two of the three are all-or-nothing. That is why a total in isolation says so little: the same 20 guna can mean an even spread or two total failures propped up by the small kootas.

What Ashtakoot Does Not Look At

Worth stating plainly, because it is most of a chart:

  • The seventh house of either chart, its lord, and any planet sitting in it — the house of marriage itself contributes nothing to the 36 guna.
  • Venus and Mars, which between them carry most of what an astrologer reads about attraction, desire and marital friction.
  • Mangal Dosha. It is checked separately and is not one of the eight kootas, despite being the objection families raise most often.
  • The running Vimshottari dasha of either partner, which decides when a marriage is favoured rather than whether the pair matches.
  • Every planet's strength, aspect and dignity — Ashtakoot uses only the Moon, so two people with identical Moons score identically no matter what the rest of their charts say.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is nakshatra matching?
Scoring a prospective marriage from the two Moons alone. The Moon's sidereal longitude at birth gives a nakshatra and a pada, and the eight kootas of Ashtakoot Guna Milan are all functions of those two positions — 36 guna in total, with Nadi worth 8, Bhakoot 7 and Gana 6 between them accounting for more than half. In the south the same idea is worked as ten poruthams rather than eight kootas, with the nakshatra doing most of the work in both systems.
What is a good nakshatra matching score?
Eighteen of 36 is the threshold most families use, and it is a convention rather than a rule from any classical text. Enumerating all 11,664 possible pairings of two Moon positions, 63.6% clear 18 on the strict reading of the two disputed kootas and 76.5% on the generous one, and the median total is 20.5 — so clearing the bar is the ordinary case rather than a distinction. The bands break down as 36.4% below 18, 43.4% between 18 and 24, 19.4% between 25 and 32, 0.8% above 32. Which kootas produced the total matters more than the total: 20 guna with Nadi and Bhakoot intact is a different situation from 20 guna where both scored zero.
Can two nakshatras score 36 out of 36?
No pairing of Moon positions can. Working out all 11,664 of them, the highest total the eight kootas produce is 35. The kootas pull against each other: Yoni's full four guna want the same animal and Gana's full six the same gana, both of which need the two stars alike, while Nadi's eight need the nadis different. A result of 36 means something has been added to Ashtakoot or a total has been rounded up.
Does it matter who is the bride and who is the groom?
Yes, and most tables ignore it. Varna tests only whether the groom's rank reaches the bride's, and Gana scores Deva with Rakshasa differently depending on which side holds which. Of the 702 ordered combinations where the two nakshatras differ, 562 change their total when the two partners are swapped. Every page here gives both directions in separate columns rather than picking one silently.
Why is the pada needed as well as the nakshatra?
Because four of the eight kootas — Varna, Vashya, Graha Maitri and Bhakoot, 15 of the 36 guna — run off the Moon rashi rather than the nakshatra, and 9 of the 27 nakshatras have padas falling in two different rashis. Krittika pada 1 is Aries while padas 2 to 4 are Taurus. A pada is 3°20′ and never crosses a 30° boundary, so the pada always fixes the rashi where the nakshatra alone may not. The tables on these pages fix pada 1 and say so; the calculator takes the real padas.
Why are some scores shown as a range?
Six of the eight kootas, worth 30 of the 36 guna, have rules identical in every source. Yoni and Vashya do not — their extremes are agreed but the intermediate grades differ between lineages, so the honest output is a range. 670 of the 729 combinations here carry one, and across the whole grid it never exceeds three guna. A range that was computed is worth more than a single number that was picked. Separately, some totals end in a half: Tara Koota is classically scored in half units out of its 3, so a total of 24.5 is a correct result and not a rounding artefact.
Can a low score be cancelled?
For the two heaviest kootas, yes, and the cancellations are specific rather than a general escape clause. Nadi dosha is held cancelled when both partners share the same nakshatra in different padas, when the two nakshatras share a rashi lord, or when both sit in the same rashi. Bhakoot dosha is cancelled when both signs share a lord, or when the two lords are mutual friends. Whether either applies is a question about the two charts, not about the total.
Is Ashtakoot enough on its own?
No. It reads one point from each chart, so it cannot see the seventh house or its lord, Venus, Mars, Mangal dosha, or the dasha running for either partner. Two people with the same Moon score identically however different the rest of their charts are. Ashtakoot narrows a list of candidates; a chart reading is what answers the question.

Match the Actual Padas

These tables fix pada 1. Your real padas come from the two birth times and places, and for 9 of the 27 nakshatras they move up to 15 of the 36 guna.

Run the full 36-guna matchFind your nakshatra and pada

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