Kundali Matching (Kundli Milan)
The full 36-guna Ashtakoota report for two birth charts - every koota and dosha explained.
The full 36-guna Ashtakoota report for two birth charts - every koota and dosha explained.
Kundali matching - also called kundli milan or guna milan - compares two birth charts across the eight kootas of the Ashtakoota system. Enter both sets of birth details above for the complete report: the score out of 36, a koota-by-koota breakdown showing exactly which matched and which did not, and the dosha checks, each tested against the classical cancellation conditions that quick calculators usually skip. It is free, needs no sign-up, and works for a first marriage or a later one.
The eight kootas of guna milan run in a fixed order, and the list starts small. Varna is the first, and it carries a single point. It sorts each person's Moon sign into one of four groups by element: water signs count as brahmin, fire as kshatriya, earth as vaishya, air as shudra. This is a grouping of working temperament, not of family or community. The point is given when the groom's group stands level with or above the bride's.
Vashya, meaning natural sway or the hold one person has over another, is second and worth two. The old tables sort the twelve signs into five classes: four-footed, human, water-dwelling, wild and insect. Leo stands alone as the wild sign, Scorpio alone as the insect. The same class on both sides scores the full two, mixed classes score partly, and a few predator-and-prey pairings score nothing. Three points out of 36 is deliberate: both tests describe a broad type, not a person.
Tara means star, and the third koota leaves the signs behind for the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions the Moon passes through. Count forward from the bride's birth star to the groom's, divide that count by nine, and keep the remainder. Then count the other way, groom to bride, and do the same. Two directions give two answers, and both are needed before the three points are awarded.
Six of the nine positions read as supportive. Three do not: the 3rd, called vipat or misfortune, the 5th, pratyari or opposition, and the 7th, vadha or harm. Both directions clear gives the full three points, one direction gives one and a half, neither gives zero. The test weighs well-being, meaning whether each person's star position supports the other's health and luck. Because half credit exists, it shades the total instead of deciding it, which is not true of the last two kootas.
The fourth koota is worth four points and it works on symbols. Each of the 27 nakshatras carries one of 14 animals: horse, elephant, sheep, serpent, dog, cat, rat, cow, buffalo, tiger, deer, monkey, mongoose and lion. Each animal also counts as male or female. The score comes from how the two animals stand towards each other in a fixed table.
The same animal on both sides gives all four. Friendly pairs give three, indifferent pairs two, unfriendly pairs one, and seven natural enemy pairs give nothing at all, among them cat and rat, serpent and mongoose, and cow and tiger. Yoni is read for physical nature and bodily fit. Four points puts it above any single test before it, because this is the first item on the list that a couple meets head-on and keeps meeting.
The fifth koota drops symbols and goes to planets. Graha maitri means planetary friendship. Find the planet that rules the bride's Moon sign and the planet that rules the groom's, then read the fixed table of natural friendship between those two. Every planet holds a permanent view of every other, as friend, neutral or enemy, and that view is the same in every chart ever drawn.
Two natural friends score the full five, and so does a couple who share one Moon sign, since the ruler is then a single planet. A friend with a neutral scores a little less, two neutrals less again, two natural enemies nothing. The subject is mental fit: how two minds agree, disagree and settle. Five points is a large share for a test built on two planets and one table, but a household runs on daily agreement more than on broad classes.
Temperament gets a test of its own, and at six points it is the second heaviest on the list. Every one of the 27 birth stars belongs to one of three ganas, meaning classes of nature: deva, gentle and giving; manushya, mixed and ordinary; rakshasa, forceful and self-willed. Nine stars sit in each class. The same class on both sides scores the full six points.
A deva paired with a manushya loses only a little. A rakshasa paired with either of the other two loses most of the six or all of it, and several tables score that pairing differently depending on which partner holds the forceful class. Six points reflects how often this shows. Gana describes how a person behaves when tired, contradicted or under pressure, and that surfaces more often in a shared life than anything measured earlier.
Bhakoot is seventh and worth seven. It measures the distance between the two Moon signs, counted in both directions. Three relations score zero: signs 6 and 8 apart, 5 and 9 apart, and 2 and 12 apart. Every other relation scores the full seven, with nothing in between. It is read for family welfare, shared money and the staying power of the household.
One exception is applied very widely: the zero is set aside when both Moon signs are ruled by the same planet, or when their two rulers are natural friends of each other. Most kundali matching reports apply this quietly. It is worth checking whether a given zero has already been adjusted before treating the number as settled.
Nadi closes the list with eight points, the single largest weight, and it too pays all or nothing. The 27 stars divide into three nadis, called adi, madhya and antya, nine stars in each. Different nadis on the two sides give all eight. The same nadi gives none. The concern is bodily constitution and the health of children, which is why the tradition gave this one more weight than any other test.
How many gunas are needed for marriage?
18 out of 36 is the traditional minimum. 25 and above is treated as a strong match, and above 32 is rare. Below 18 is usually called a weak match, though the dosha checks matter as much as the number - a pair scoring 20 with an active Nadi dosha may be read more cautiously than a pair scoring 17 where every dosha present is cancelled.
What are the eight kootas and what is each worth?
Varna 1, Vashya 2, Tara 3, Yoni 4, Graha Maitri 5, Gana 6, Bhakoot 7 and Nadi 8 - adding to 36. They are not equal in weight or in subject: Graha Maitri measures mental friendship between the chart rulers, Gana measures temperament, Bhakoot the Moon-sign relationship, and Nadi is tied to constitution and progeny, which is why it carries the most points.
Can kundli milan be done by name only?
Not in the classical system. Guna Milan is calculated from the Moon's nakshatra in each chart, which requires the date, time and place of birth. Name-based matching tools substitute the first letter of a name for the birth star, which is a rough shortcut used when birth details are unavailable - it is not the same calculation and will not reproduce these results.
What is Nadi dosha and can it be cancelled?
Nadi dosha arises when both charts fall in the same Nadi group, and it costs all 8 of its points. Classical texts list several cancellations - same rasi with different nakshatras, same nakshatra with different padas, and certain lordship conditions among them. This report tests for those rather than simply flagging the dosha, so an annulled dosha is reported as annulled.
Does this check Manglik dosha too?
Yes. Manglik status is computed separately for each chart from Mars's house position, and the report shows whether it is one-sided or present in both. That distinction matters: classical opinion widely holds that when both charts carry it, the concern cancels out.
Is a high guna score enough on its own?
No. A pair can score well overall while failing a heavily weighted koota, or score modestly while every dosha present is cancelled. That is why this report shows the koota-by-koota breakdown rather than only the total - the number is a summary, not the reading.
Do I need exact birth times for both people?
Most of Guna Milan derives from the Moon, which moves about one nakshatra a day, so an approximate time usually still lands on the right birth star. An accurate time matters when either person was born near a nakshatra boundary, and it is needed for the Manglik and house-based checks.
Is this kundali matching free?
Yes. The full 36-guna report, the koota breakdown and every dosha check are free, with no sign-up and no limit on how many pairs you compare.