Draft. This lesson is being reviewed and may change before publication.
Lesson 15 of 20 · Reading a kundli
Kundli matching: the eight kootas
How Ashtakoot guna milan scores two charts out of 36 from the Moon positions: each koota, the nadi and bhakoot doshas, and what the score means. Lesson 15.
Written by Khushal ThakkarReviewed by Review pendingUpdated October 29, 2026
Ashtakoot guna milan is the North Indian method of scoring a prospective marriage from the two Moon positions. Eight tests, the kootas, each carry a weight from one to eight, and the total out of 36 is read against a threshold of 18. The Kundli matching tool computes all eight; this lesson explains what each one measures.
The eight kootas
| Koota | Points | Compares | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | Spiritual class of the Moon signs | Sign |
| Vashya | 2 | Group of the Moon signs (quadruped, human, water, wild, insect) | Sign |
| Tara | 3 | Count from each birth star to the other | Nakshatra |
| Yoni | 4 | Animal symbol of each birth star | Nakshatra |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | Friendship of the Moon-sign lords | Sign |
| Gana | 6 | Temperament of the birth stars (deva, manushya, rakshasa) | Nakshatra |
| Bhakoot | 7 | Distance between the Moon signs | Sign |
| Nadi | 8 | Constitution of the birth stars (aadi, madhya, antya) | Nakshatra |
- Varna gives the point when the boy's class is equal to or higher than the girl's.
- Vashya uses a matrix of the five groups; same group scores full.
- Tara counts from one star to the other and back; counts of 3, 5 and 7 (mod 9) are unfavourable.
- Yoni uses the fourteen animals and a matrix of friendship between them; enemy pairs (cat and rat, cow and tiger, horse and buffalo, elephant and lion, dog and deer, monkey and sheep, snake and mongoose) score zero.
- Graha Maitri uses the natural friendships of lesson 4.
- Gana scores same gana full; deva against rakshasa one; manushya against rakshasa zero.
- Bhakoot scores zero when the signs are 2/12, 5/9 or 6/8 apart, seven otherwise.
- Nadi scores zero when both stars share a nadi, eight otherwise.
The doshas
A zero in nadi or bhakoot is weighed beyond its points. Nadi dosha (same nadi) is the most discussed, with exceptions when the Moon signs are the same with different stars, or the stars the same with different signs. Bhakoot dosha is cancelled when the sign lords are the same or friends. These exceptions are an astrologer's work, and the tool names the dosha without applying them.
What the score is not
It is a comparison of two Moon positions, a screen that families have used for centuries to sort proposals. It does not know the two people, and a high score between strangers means only that their stars sit well in the tables. The lagnas, Mars, Venus and the dashas belong to a full matching.
Worked example
Boy born 14 August 1990, 12:00, Mumbai (Moon in Vrishabha, Krittika); girl born 9 September 1999, 06:30, Delhi (Moon in Simha, Magha). Varna 0 (Vaishya boy, Kshatriya girl), vashya 0 (quadruped and wild), tara 1.5, yoni 1 (sheep and rat), graha maitri 0 (Venus and the Sun are enemies), gana 6 (both rakshasa), bhakoot 7 (signs four apart), nadi 0 (both antya): 15.5 of 36, below the threshold, with a nadi dosha. The table shows where the two charts differ in style; it is not a verdict on two people.
Calculate yours
Try the calculator this lesson explains.