Ashtakoota (guna milan): all eight kootas and how they're scored

Published 9 Oct 2026

Ashtakoota, or guna milan, is the North Indian method of scoring a proposed match out of 36. After reading this you will be able to assign each of the eight kootas from two Moon positions, score them from the standard tables, and see exactly which choices change the total from one calculator to the next.

Definitions

• Koota: one of the eight factors compared. Each has a fixed maximum, rising from 1 (Varna) to 8 (Nadi).
• Moon sign (rashi) and Moon nakshatra: the only two inputs for most of the method. Vashya also needs the Moon's degree within its sign.
• Dosha: a koota scoring zero in a way the tradition treats as a fault in its own right, beyond the lost points. Bhakoot, Gana and Nadi are the three that carry this label.
• Cancellation (parihara): a condition under which a dosha is treated as not operating. Cancellations are covered in the companion article on Nadi, Bhakoot and Gana.
• Direction: several kootas are not symmetric. Tables are read with the bride on one axis and the groom on the other, and the axis matters.

The eight kootas at a glance

The method, koota by koota

1. Varna (1 point)

Each Moon sign has a varna:

Rank them Brahmin 4, Kshatriya 3, Vaishya 2, Shudra 1. The point is given when the groom's rank is equal to or higher than the bride's; otherwise it is zero. This is the first place where direction matters.

2. Vashya (2 points)

Signs fall into five groups. Two signs are split at 15°:

Points are read with the bride's group as the row and the groom's as the column:

The grid is symmetric except for one pair: a Manava bride with a Keeta groom scores 1, while a Keeta bride with a Manava groom scores 0.

3. Tara (3 points)

Count the nakshatras from one Moon to the other, inclusive, then reduce by 9 (a remainder of 0 counts as 9). The result is the tara number:

Do this twice: from the bride's nakshatra to the groom's, and from the groom's to the bride's. Each direction that avoids 3, 5 and 7 earns 1.5 points, so the koota scores 3, 1.5 or 0.

4. Yoni (4 points)

Each nakshatra has an animal:

The same animal scores 4. The seven sworn-enemy pairs score 0: Horse–Buffalo, Elephant–Lion, Sheep–Monkey, Serpent–Mongoose, Dog–Deer, Cat–Rat and Cow–Tiger. Every other pair scores 1, 2 or 3 from a 14×14 table. The table is symmetric, so direction does not matter here. It is too large to reproduce usefully in prose; the key facts are the 4s on the diagonal and the 0s for the enemy pairs.

5. Graha Maitri (5 points)

Take the lords of the two Moon signs and use the natural (naisargika) friendships from Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Judge each lord's view of the other:

Natural friendship is not always mutual. Mercury, for example, is neutral towards Saturn while Saturn counts Mercury as a friend, so the pair scores 4, not 5.

6. Gana (6 points)

Each nakshatra is Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa:

The table is read bride by groom and is not symmetric:

So a Deva groom with a Rakshasa bride scores 1, but a Rakshasa groom with a Deva bride scores 0. A zero here is the Gana dosha.

7. Bhakoot (7 points)

Count from the groom's Moon sign to the bride's, and from the bride's to the groom's, inclusive. The pair of counts is one of 1/1, 2/12, 3/11, 4/10, 5/9, 6/8 or 7/7. Three pairs are doshas and score 0:

There is no partial score: Bhakoot is all or nothing.

8. Nadi (8 points)

The nakshatras run through three Nadis in a zig-zag of six: Aadi, Madhya, Antya, Antya, Madhya, Aadi, then repeat.

Different Nadis score 8. The same Nadi scores 0 and is the Nadi dosha, the most heavily weighted fault in the system.

Adding up and reading the result

Sum the eight scores. The working convention is:

• 18 or more out of 36: acceptable, provided no Nadi or Bhakoot dosha is left standing after cancellations.
• Below 18: weak.
• 18 or more but with a live Nadi or Bhakoot dosha: not passed on the total alone; it needs the astrologer's judgement.

This is the rule AstroReads applies when it labels a match. A live Gana dosha lowers the total but does not by itself block a match that otherwise clears 18.

Worked example

Example A (groom) and Example B (bride) are fictional births used only to illustrate the method. Example A's Moon is at Virgo 28°28′ in Chitra pada 2. Example B's Moon is at Capricorn 18°33′ in Shravana pada 3.

Step by step:

1. Varna. Virgo and Capricorn are both Vaishya. Equal rank, so the groom's side is satisfied: 1.
2. Vashya. Virgo is Manava. Capricorn splits at 15°, and the bride's Moon at 18°33′ is in the Jalachara half. Bride Jalachara, groom Manava: 0.5. Had her Moon been before 15° Capricorn, she would be Chatushpada and the score would be 1.
3. Tara. Counting from Shravana to Chitra gives 20, which reduces to 2 (Sampat). Counting from Chitra to Shravana gives 9 (Parama Mitra). Neither is 3, 5 or 7, so both directions earn 1.5: 3.
4. Yoni. Chitra is Tiger, Shravana is Monkey. Not enemies, but not friendly: 1.
5. Graha Maitri. Virgo's lord is Mercury, Capricorn's is Saturn. Mercury is neutral to Saturn; Saturn is a friend to Mercury. Friend–neutral: 4.
6. Gana. Chitra is Rakshasa (groom), Shravana is Deva (bride). Bride Deva, groom Rakshasa: 0. Gana dosha.
7. Bhakoot. From Virgo to Capricorn is 5; from Capricorn to Virgo is 9. A 5/9 pair: 0. Bhakoot dosha.
8. Nadi. Chitra is Madhya, Shravana is Antya. Different Nadis: 8.

The total is 17.5, half a point under the 18 convention, with two doshas (Gana and Bhakoot) and no cancellation applying to either. The match is therefore read as weak on Ashtakoota. Notice how much the result hangs on two cells: the 5/9 Bhakoot costs 7 points, and the direction of the Gana pair costs the difference between 0 and 1. Why the available cancellations fail here, and what to examine next, is worked through in the companion article on Nadi, Bhakoot and Gana.

Ashtakoota is one input. Both fictional charts also need the individual marriage promise read on its own terms, and Manglik status checked separately.

Where traditions differ

North vs South. Ashtakoota is the North Indian system. In South India, the usual method is the dasha porutham (ten poruthams), with Rajju and Vedha among the factors and pass/fail logic rather than a 36-point sum. AstroReads implements Ashtakoota only and does not compute poruthams; astrologers working in the southern tradition should apply them separately.

Tables vary between sources. The overall structure is stable across texts and almanacs, but individual cells are not. Vashya is where sources disagree most: some use a sign-to-sign list of which sign is "vashya" to which instead of a group grid, and others give different half-point values. Yoni tables differ in a few non-zero cells. Gana is treated symmetrically by some (Deva–Rakshasa simply 0 both ways) and asymmetrically by others. The grids used here follow the bride-by-groom Vashya and Gana tables as published by OnlineJyotish, and are kept as data so a cell can be changed without touching the logic. Other tables are legitimate; if your almanac differs, expect half-point or one-point differences in Vashya, Yoni and Gana.

Which Bhakoot pairs are doshas. 2/12, 5/9 and 6/8 are the usual three. Practitioners differ on their severity: 6/8 is the most consistently treated as serious, while some regard 2/12 or 5/9 as milder. Here all three score 0.

Varna direction. Most tables give the point when the groom's varna is equal to or higher than the bride's, and that is the rule used here. With a maximum of 1, it rarely decides a match, and many practitioners give it little weight.

Cancelled doshas and the total. Some calculators restore full points to a koota once a cancellation applies, which can lift a 17.5 well above 18. The approach here keeps the score as computed and records the cancellation alongside it, so the astrologer sees both.

The 18-point line. The 18-of-36 threshold, and grades such as 18–24 "average" or above 24 "good", are conventions in wide use rather than rules stated in a classical verse. Many astrologers weigh Nadi and Bhakoot more than the raw total, and that is the logic followed here.

Common mistakes

• Swapping bride and groom. Varna, Vashya and Gana are directional. Entering the charts the wrong way round can change the total.
• Ignoring the Moon's degree in Sagittarius and Capricorn. The Vashya group changes at 15°, and with it the score.
• Counting Tara only once. The count must be made from both nakshatras.
• Treating 18 as a pass on its own. A score of 25 with a live Nadi dosha is not a clean match under the usual reading.
• Assuming a 36-point score settles the question. Ashtakoota compares Moons. It says nothing about either person's 7th house, 7th lord, Venus or dashas.

Sources

• Muhurta Chintamani (Daivajna Rama), the marriage section, as the classical basis for koota matching used in North Indian almanacs.
• Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, for the natural planetary friendships used in Graha Maitri.
• B.V. Raman, Muhurtha (Electional Astrology), for a modern English treatment of marriage compatibility.
• OnlineJyotish, published Vashya Kootam and Gana Kootam bride-by-groom grids, which the scoring tables above follow.