Explained · Kundli matching
Kundli matching: what the 36 points mean before you decide
Kundli matching, also called Ashtakoota or Guna Milan, is a traditional way of comparing two birth charts on eight counts that add up to 36 points. This page is for families and couples who have a score in hand and want to know what it does and does not say.
Questions people bring
- We got 16 out of 36. Should we say no?
- The app shows Nadi dosha. Is the match finished?
- Two websites gave us two different scores. Which one is right?
The consultation
What you can expect to leave with
- The koota-by-koota score, with every lost point explained
- Whether a Nadi, Bhakoot or Manglik finding stands or falls under an exception
- The 7th house, Venus and Jupiter in both charts
- The dashas each person is in, and what they suggest for the coming years
What the matching measures
Kundli matching compares two charts on eight counts, called kootas. Each koota carries a fixed number of points, from 1 for Varna to 8 for Nadi. Together they make 36.
All eight are worked out from one thing in each chart: the Moon. Its sign and its nakshatra at birth decide every point. The ascendant, the other planets and the houses play no part in the score.
South Indian practice, as B.V. Raman describes it, adds further checks such as Rajju and Vedha. These carry no points.
The number 18 and its limits
The commonly quoted minimum is 18 out of 36. It is a working convention, and astrologers differ on how strictly to hold it.
I do not think a score alone is a sound basis for a decision. The Moon stays in one nakshatra for about a day, so everyone born in that span scores the same against your child. And 24 points can arrive in two ways: one match loses all 8 on Nadi, another loses a point here and there.
Online calculators give you this score and little else. Their settings differ, so results differ, and most do not check exceptions. If the Moon was near the edge of a nakshatra, a small error in birth time can change the result.
Nadi and Bhakoot dosha
Nadi dosha is counted when both people have the same nadi: Adi, Madhya or Antya. The score is then 0 out of 8. Bhakoot dosha is counted when the two Moon signs fall 2nd and 12th, 5th and 9th, or 6th and 8th from each other. That is 0 out of 7.
The tradition that names these doshas also names exceptions. Bhakoot dosha is commonly set aside when both Moon signs have the same lord, or the lords are friends. For Nadi, the usual exceptions are the same nakshatra with different padas, or the same sign with different nakshatras. B.V. Raman applies the sign-lord exception to Nadi too. Sources differ, so I check before I call anything a dosha.
What a full comparison adds
The score tells you how comfortably two Moons sit with each other. Marriage in a chart is read from the 7th house. So I look at the 7th house and its lord in both charts, at the strength of Venus and Jupiter, and at Mars along with its cancellations.
Then I look at the periods, the dashas, each person will pass through in the coming years. They suggest which stretches tend to be easy and which may ask for more patience. A calculator gives you a number. A reading tells you where the points were lost, why, and how much weight that deserves.
The eight kootas
Each koota has a fixed maximum, and all eight are taken from the Moon's sign or nakshatra.
| Koota | Maximum points | What it compares |
|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | The class of each Moon sign. Traditionally read as outlook and attitude to work. |
| Vashya | 2 | The group each Moon sign belongs to. Traditionally read as mutual pull and who tends to yield. |
| Tara (Dina) | 3 | The count of nakshatras from one person to the other. Traditionally linked with well-being. |
| Yoni | 4 | The animal symbol of each nakshatra. Traditionally read as physical and instinctive compatibility. |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | Friendship between the lords of the two Moon signs. Traditionally read as mental rapport. |
| Gana | 6 | The nakshatra group: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. Traditionally read as temperament. |
| Bhakoot (Rashi) | 7 | The distance between the two Moon signs. Traditionally read as general harmony and family welfare. |
| Nadi | 8 | The nadi of each nakshatra: Adi, Madhya or Antya. Traditionally linked with constitution and health. |
What astrology can't tell you here
Astrology cannot tell you whether two people will be happy together, and no score guarantees a marriage or rules one out. The decision belongs to the two people and their families.
Bring your question.
Tell me what you need to decide, and I'll reply with the available times.