Ashtakoot Guna Milan · Pair
Ardra and Dhanishta nakshatra matching
17–20 of 36 with Ardra as bride, 19–22 with Dhanishta as bride — then computed again for all sixteen pada combinations.
Ardra: Adi (Vata) nadi · Dog yoni · Manushya gana | Dhanishta: Madhya (Pitta) nadi · Lion yoni · Rakshasa gana
Ardra as bride
17–20
of 36
Dhanishta as bride
19–22
of 36
Across all padas
19–22
spread of 3
Four of the eight kootas — Tara, Yoni, Gana and Nadi — are settled by the two birth stars alone, before anyone asks about a pada; the other four are read from the Moon rashi, which a pada can move. For Ardra with Dhanishta that leaves 3 of the eight at full marks — Varna, Tara and Nadi — and 5 carrying a deduction: Bhakoot (0 of 7), Gana (0 of 6), Graha Maitri (4 of 5), Yoni (1–3 of 4) and Vashya (0–1 of 2). The heaviest of them is Bhakoot, where Capricorn and Gemini — 8/6 gives 0 of 7.
A swing of 3 guna separates the best and worst cells in the grid below — 19 at the bottom, 22 at the top. The cause is a boundary inside the four padas: Dhanishta runs from Capricorn into Aquarius after pada 2. Since Varna, Vashya, Graha Maitri and Bhakoot are all read from the Moon rashi rather than from the star, which puts 15 of the 36 guna on that boundary, which side of it the Moon fell on is not a detail.
Koota by Koota
All eight kootas for Ardra and Dhanishta, taken at pada 1 each. Two columns because Varna and Gana can score differently by direction where the other six cannot: Varna and Gana differ between them.
| Koota | Ardra bride | Dhanishta bride | What it reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varna / 1 | 1 | 0 | Dhanishta: Vaishya · Ardra: Shudra |
| Vashya / 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | Dhanishta: Jalachar · Ardra: Manav |
| Tara / 3 | 3 | 3 | Counting from Ardra: Ati-Mitra (9) · from Dhanishta: Sampat (2) |
| Yoni / 4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | Dhanishta: Lion · Ardra: Dog |
| Graha Maitri / 5 | 4 | 4 | Dhanishta: Saturn · Ardra: Mercury |
| Gana / 6 | 0 | 3 | Dhanishta: Rakshasa · Ardra: Manushya |
| Bhakoot / 7 | 0 | 0 | Capricorn and Gemini — 8/6 |
| Nadi / 8 | 8 | 8 | Dhanishta: Madhya (Pitta) · Ardra: Adi (Vata) |
| Total / 36 | 17–20 | 19–22 | Acceptable |
- Bhakoot, 0 of 7 — Capricorn and Gemini — 8/6. A forbidden rashi distance, so all seven guna go at once.
- Gana, 0 of 6 — Dhanishta: Rakshasa · Ardra: Manushya. The gentle temperament is held to bear the cost of the forceful one unevenly.
- Graha Maitri, 4 of 5 — Dhanishta: Saturn · Ardra: Mercury. The mental-compatibility koota, and the sign lords fall short of friendship.
- Yoni, 1–3 of 4 — Dhanishta: Lion · Ardra: Dog. The middle of this koota, where tables give one, two or three guna.
- Vashya, 0–1 of 2 — Dhanishta: Jalachar · Ardra: Manav. The middle of this koota: tables put a pair like this anywhere between half a guna and one.
Half-guna figures are exact rather than rounded. Each koota’s rule is set out in full on Ardra’s table and Dhanishta’s.
All Sixteen Pada Combinations
Ardra runs Gemini 6°40′ – 20°00′ and Dhanishta runs Capricorn 23°20′ – Aquarius 6°40′ — two arcs 13°20′ wide, each divided into four padas of 3°20′, which puts the two Moons anywhere between 120°00′ and 146°40′ apart. Every cell below holds two totals: Ardra as bride first, Dhanishta as bride second. The cells are not all the same, which is the point of printing them — 17 at the lowest and 22 at the highest.
| Ardra ↓ / Dhanishta → | Pada 1Capricorn | Pada 2Capricorn | Pada 3Aquarius | Pada 4Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pada 1Gemini | 17 / 19 | 17 / 19 | 19 / 22 | 19 / 22 |
| Pada 2Gemini | 17 / 19 | 17 / 19 | 19 / 22 | 19 / 22 |
| Pada 3Gemini | 17 / 19 | 17 / 19 | 19 / 22 | 19 / 22 |
| Pada 4Gemini | 17 / 19 | 17 / 19 | 19 / 22 | 19 / 22 |
Strict reading of the two disputed kootas throughout. The generous reading of Yoni and Vashya adds between 2 and 3 guna, depending on the cell. All sixteen combinations clear the conventional threshold of 18. Dimmed cells fall below it; the nakshatra finder returns the pada from a birth date, time and place.
The Two Doshas, and Whether They Are Cancelled
Nadi and Bhakoot between them decide the shape of a result more than the total does — and both come with classical relief clauses that two named birth stars are enough to test.
Nadi Koota — 8 of 8
Ardra is Adi (Vata) and Dhanishta is Madhya (Pitta). Different nadis take the full eight guna, and since Nadi alone is more than a fifth of the total, this pair starts from a position 108 of the 351 pairs never reach.
Bhakoot Koota — 0 of 7 at pada 1
In every pada combination, the two Moon signs stand at one of the three forbidden distances and Bhakoot gives nothing. Neither cancellation is available — the sign lords are Mercury and Saturn, neither the same planet nor mutual friends.
A cancellation is relief, not a score adjustment — the koota still reads zero above. The doshas Ashtakoot does not test for are a separate question — Mangal dosha among them.
Two Tests Outside the 36
Two tests the eight kootas leave out, both settled by the distance between the two stars: Ardra to Dhanishta is 18 and back is 11, counting inclusively.
- Mahendra — absent. 18 stars between them, against a favourable set of 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22 and 25. 108 of the 351 pairs land on one of those.
- Stri-Dirgha — satisfied both ways. The count from the bride's star should pass nine — 18 with Ardra as bride, 11 with Dhanishta — and 135 pairs clear it both ways against 216 that clear it one way. It holds either way round here.
Neither test touches the 36. Muhurta nature is a different question again — Ardra is Tikshna (sharp), Dhanishta is Chara (movable) — and it governs what each star suits doing, not who it marries.
How the Pair Ranks on Each Side
The same 19 of 36 reads differently from each side, because each star is being compared with a different 27: 19th place in Ardra's table, 14th in Dhanishta's. Both positions can be checked by counting rows there — the figures are the ones those tables print.
In Ardra’s table
19th of 27
Dhanishta scores 19 there outright. Ardra’s 27 partners run from 5 to 29 with a median of 22.5, so this one sits below the middle of what Ardra can reach — all 27 rows.
In Dhanishta’s table
14th of 27
Ardra scores 19 there outright. Dhanishta’s 27 partners run from 6.5 to 29.5 with a median of 19, so this one sits on the middle of what Dhanishta can reach — all 27 rows.
What This Total Is Not
One number cannot carry a marriage. Ashtakoot reads a single point from each chart — the Moon — so two people born hours apart with the Moon in Ardra score identically here whatever else their charts do. The seventh house and its lord, Venus, Mars and Mangal dosha, and the dasha each partner is running are all outside it, and any of them can matter more than the difference between acceptable and the band above.
Written rather than computed, and worth the longer read: the Kundli Milan guide written from these numbers and the guide to all 27 birth stars. The full profiles of the two stars — deities, symbols, temperament, the syllables used for naming — are on the Ardra page and the Dhanishta page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many guna do Ardra and Dhanishta score?
Are Ardra and Dhanishta compatible?
Does the pada change the result for Ardra and Dhanishta?
Do Ardra and Dhanishta have Bhakoot dosha?
Is it better for Ardra to be the bride or the groom?
Run It On the Real Padas
The grid above narrows Ardra and Dhanishta to sixteen answers between 19 and 22. Two birth times pick one of them.
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