Ashtakoot Guna Milan · Pair
Punarvasu and Dhanishta nakshatra matching
15.5–18.5 of 36 with Punarvasu as bride, 15.5–18.5 with Dhanishta as bride — then computed again for all sixteen pada combinations.
Punarvasu: Adi (Vata) nadi · Cat yoni · Deva gana | Dhanishta: Madhya (Pitta) nadi · Lion yoni · Rakshasa gana
Punarvasu as bride
15.5–18.5
of 36
Dhanishta as bride
15.5–18.5
of 36
Across all padas
13–22
spread of 9
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 Punarvasu with Dhanishta that leaves 2 of the eight at full marks — Varna and Nadi — and 6 carrying a deduction: Bhakoot (0 of 7), Gana (0 of 6), Tara (1.5 of 3), 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.
The pada decides part of this one. Punarvasu runs from Gemini into Cancer after pada 3 and Dhanishta runs from Capricorn into Aquarius after pada 2, and 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. Across the sixteen combinations the total moves between 13 and 22, a swing of 9 guna against a median of 2 for all 351 pairs.
Koota by Koota
All eight kootas for Punarvasu 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 | Punarvasu bride | Dhanishta bride | What it reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varna / 1 | 1 | 0 | Dhanishta: Vaishya · Punarvasu: Shudra |
| Vashya / 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | Dhanishta: Jalachar · Punarvasu: Manav |
| Tara / 3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | Counting from Punarvasu: Mitra (8) · from Dhanishta: Vipat (3) |
| Yoni / 4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | Dhanishta: Lion · Punarvasu: Cat |
| Graha Maitri / 5 | 4 | 4 | Dhanishta: Saturn · Punarvasu: Mercury |
| Gana / 6 | 0 | 1 | Dhanishta: Rakshasa · Punarvasu: Deva |
| Bhakoot / 7 | 0 | 0 | Capricorn and Gemini — 8/6 |
| Nadi / 8 | 8 | 8 | Dhanishta: Madhya (Pitta) · Punarvasu: Adi (Vata) |
| Total / 36 | 15.5–18.5 | 15.5–18.5 | Below the conventional threshold |
- 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 · Punarvasu: Deva. The gentle temperament is held to bear the cost of the forceful one unevenly.
- Tara, 1.5 of 3 — Counting from Punarvasu: Mitra (8) · from Dhanishta: Vipat (3). Half the koota, because the count is unfavourable in one direction only.
- Graha Maitri, 4 of 5 — Dhanishta: Saturn · Punarvasu: Mercury. The mental-compatibility koota, and the sign lords fall short of friendship.
- Yoni, 1–3 of 4 — Dhanishta: Lion · Punarvasu: Cat. The middle of this koota, where tables give one, two or three guna.
- Vashya, 0–1 of 2 — Dhanishta: Jalachar · Punarvasu: 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 Punarvasu’s table and Dhanishta’s.
All Sixteen Pada Combinations
Punarvasu runs Gemini 20°00′ – Cancer 3°20′ 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 133°20′ and 160°00′ apart. Every cell below holds two totals: Punarvasu as bride first, Dhanishta as bride second. The cells are not all the same, which is the point of printing them — 11 at the lowest and 22 at the highest.
| Punarvasu ↓ / Dhanishta → | Pada 1Capricorn | Pada 2Capricorn | Pada 3Aquarius | Pada 4Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pada 1Gemini | 15.5 / 15.5 | 15.5 / 15.5 | 17.5 / 18.5 | 17.5 / 18.5 |
| Pada 2Gemini | 15.5 / 15.5 | 15.5 / 15.5 | 17.5 / 18.5 | 17.5 / 18.5 |
| Pada 3Gemini | 15.5 / 15.5 | 15.5 / 15.5 | 17.5 / 18.5 | 17.5 / 18.5 |
| Pada 4Cancer | 20 / 22 | 20 / 22 | 11 / 13 | 11 / 13 |
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. 8 of the sixteen clear the conventional threshold of 18; the other 8 do not. 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
Fifteen of the 36 guna sit in these two, and both are all-or-nothing. Their cancellations are stated specifically enough to be checked for Punarvasu and Dhanishta rather than guessed at.
Nadi Koota — 8 of 8
Punarvasu 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 14 of the sixteen pada combinations, 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: Punarvasu to Dhanishta is 17 and back is 12, counting inclusively.
- Mahendra — absent. 17 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 — 17 with Punarvasu as bride, 12 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 — Punarvasu is Chara (movable), 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 15.5 of 36 reads differently from each side, because each star is being compared with a different 27: 23rd place in Punarvasu's table, 19th in Dhanishta's. Both positions can be checked by counting rows there — the figures are the ones those tables print.
In Punarvasu’s table
23rd of 27
Dhanishta scores 15.5 there, level with 1 other partner. Punarvasu’s 27 partners run from 4 to 28 with a median of 21.5, so this one sits below the middle of what Punarvasu can reach — all 27 rows.
In Dhanishta’s table
19th of 27
Punarvasu scores 15.5 there outright. Dhanishta’s 27 partners run from 6.5 to 29.5 with a median of 19, so this one sits below 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 Punarvasu 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 below the conventional threshold and the band above.
Written rather than computed, and worth the longer read: what the Navamsa adds that Guna Milan cannot and what a birth date alone can and cannot settle. The full profiles of the two stars — deities, symbols, temperament, the syllables used for naming — are on the Punarvasu page and the Dhanishta page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many guna do Punarvasu and Dhanishta score?
Are Punarvasu and Dhanishta compatible?
Does the pada change the result for Punarvasu and Dhanishta?
Do Punarvasu and Dhanishta have Bhakoot dosha?
Is it better for Punarvasu to be the bride or the groom?
Run It On the Real Padas
The grid above narrows Punarvasu and Dhanishta to sixteen answers between 13 and 22. Two birth times pick one of them.
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