Gun Milan: each of the 8 koots, what they actually measure
Ashtakoot Gun Milan is the 8-factor 36-point compatibility test. Most articles list the koots without depth. Here is what each of the 8 koots is actually testing, and why.
Reviewed by Vidhata Editorial Desk · Updated
The 8 koots
| Koot | Points | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | Spiritual evolution / caste-equivalent |
| Vashya | 2 | Mutual influence / dominance balance |
| Tara | 3 | Health and well-being |
| Yoni | 4 | Sexual compatibility |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | Mental compatibility / friendship |
| Gana | 6 | Temperamental compatibility |
| Bhakoot | 7 | Family welfare and finances |
| Nadi | 8 | Genetic / progeny compatibility |
Total: 36 points. Threshold for marriage: 18+. Excellent: 28+.
Each koot in depth
1. Varna (1 point) - spiritual evolution
The four classical varnas (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) are derived from the Moon sign in Vedic astrology - not from the social caste system.
| Moon sign | Varna |
|---|---|
| Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces | Brahmin (spiritual) |
| Aries, Leo, Sagittarius | Kshatriya (warrior) |
| Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn | Vaishya (merchant) |
| Gemini, Libra, Aquarius | Shudra (service) |
Rule: bride's varna should be equal to or lower than groom's. Score 1 if equal or bride lower, 0 if bride higher.
What this actually measures: the spiritual evolution that the chart suggests. A Brahmin-varna woman marrying a Vaishya-varna man may experience some friction in the spiritual-priorities domain. The single point is more philosophical than predictive.
In modern matchmaking, varna is the least-emphasized koot. But its underlying message - that partners should share spiritual orientation - remains valid.
2. Vashya (2 points) - influence balance
Each Moon sign belongs to one of 5 Vashya groups based on classical animal/being assignments:
- Manava (human): Gemini, Virgo, Libra, first half of Sagittarius, first half of Pisces
- Chatushpada (quadruped): Aries, Taurus, Leo, second half of Sagittarius, first half of Capricorn
- Jalachara (aquatic): Cancer, second half of Capricorn, second half of Pisces
- Vanachara (wild): Scorpio, second half of Leo
- Keeta (insect): Scorpio (some traditions), parts of others
Compatible matches receive 2; partial 1; mismatched 0.
What this actually measures: the partners' instinctive dominance dynamic. Manava-Manava = balanced human exchange. Chatushpada-Manava = partial mismatch. The koot is testing whether one partner will instinctively try to dominate vs whether the dynamic will be reciprocal.
3. Tara (3 points) - health and well-being
From the bride's nakshatra, count to the groom's nakshatra. Mod 9. The result gives the Tara number:
- 1 = Janma - birth/identity
- 2 = Sampat - wealth (auspicious)
- 3 = Vipat - danger (inauspicious)
- 4 = Kshema - well-being (auspicious)
- 5 = Pratyari - obstacles (inauspicious)
- 6 = Sadhaka - accomplishment (auspicious)
- 7 = Vadha - death (inauspicious)
- 8 = Mitra - friend (auspicious)
- 9 = Atimitra - best friend (auspicious)
Both directions are checked: bride to groom, and groom to bride. Total Tara compatibility computed.
What this actually measures: how the partners' nakshatra-energy interacts. Mitra-Atimitra-Sadhaka = strong supportive interaction. Vipat-Pratyari-Vadha = friction at nakshatra-level which manifests as health and well-being challenges over the marriage.
4. Yoni (4 points) - sexual compatibility
Each nakshatra is assigned an animal symbol. There are 14 yoni-animals (some shared across nakshatras). Each animal pair has classical compatibility ratings:
- Same yoni = full 4 points (deep compatibility)
- Friendly yoni = 3 points
- Neutral yoni = 2 points
- Mild enemy = 1 point
- Bitter enemy (cow-tiger, deer-tiger, mouse-cat) = 0 points
Some classical "bitter enemy" pairs:
- Cow + Tiger (Krittika + Jyestha)
- Deer + Tiger (Hasta + Jyestha)
- Mouse + Cat (Magha + Bharani)
- Snake + Mongoose (Rohini + Mrigashira)
What this actually measures: the physical-instinctual compatibility of the partners. The animal pairings encode classical observations about which combinations work physically and which don't. Sexual chemistry is real and measurable; the yoni koot is the Vedic system's attempt to capture it.
5. Graha Maitri (5 points) - mental compatibility
Compares the Moon-sign rulers of bride and groom. Friendship between rulers is the most-relevant test.
Friendly pairs (full 5 points):
- Sun-Moon, Sun-Mars, Sun-Jupiter
- Moon-Sun, Moon-Mercury
- Mars-Sun, Mars-Moon, Mars-Jupiter
- Mercury-Sun, Mercury-Venus
- Jupiter-Sun, Jupiter-Moon, Jupiter-Mars
- Venus-Mercury, Venus-Saturn
- Saturn-Mercury, Saturn-Venus
Some specific enmities (0-1 points):
- Sun-Saturn (structural enmity)
- Moon-Mercury (in some readings)
- Mars-Mercury (Mars-restless meets Mercury-quick)
- Venus-Sun (Venus-pleasure meets Sun-discipline)
- Jupiter-Venus (the famous teacher-aesthete tension)
What this actually measures: how the partners' mental natures will get along. Strong Graha Maitri = sustained friendship deepening into companionship. Weak Graha Maitri = chronic mental friction.
6. Gana (6 points) - temperamental compatibility
Each nakshatra is classified into one of three Ganas:
- Deva Gana (godly) - 12 nakshatras: Ashwini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana, Revati...
- Manushya Gana (human) - 9 nakshatras: Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada
- Rakshasa Gana (demonic) - 6 nakshatras: Krittika, Ashlesha, Magha, Chitra, Vishakha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha
Same-Gana matches: 6 points Deva + Manushya: 5 points Manushya + Rakshasa: 1-3 points Deva + Rakshasa: 0 points (the most-cautioned mismatch)
What this actually measures: temperamental nature. Deva-Gana people are typically peaceful, ritual-oriented. Rakshasa-Gana people are typically intense, transformative. Marrying these together creates structural temperament-mismatch.
7. Bhakoot (7 points) - family/financial welfare
Counts the distance between Moon signs (1-12). Specific distances are auspicious; others are problematic:
- 1-1, 2-12, 3-11, 4-10 = full 7 points
- 5-9, 7-7 = 7 points (some traditions)
- 6-8, 9-5 = 0 points (Shadashtak - 6/8 affliction)
- 2-12, 12-2 = 0 points in some calculations
Bhakoot is the second-highest weighted koot for a reason: it tests whether the partners' wealth-and-family lives will harmonize.
What this actually measures: practical-life-together compatibility. Where do you live, how do you build wealth, how do you handle family obligations. Strong Bhakoot = aligned practical visions. Weak Bhakoot = fights about money, in-laws, children's choices.
8. Nadi (8 points) - progeny compatibility
The most-weighted koot. Each nakshatra is assigned to one of three Nadis:
- Adi Nadi (beginning) - 9 nakshatras
- Madhya Nadi (middle) - 9 nakshatras
- Antya Nadi (end) - 9 nakshatras
Same-Nadi match = 0 points = Nadi Dosha
This is the gravest single-koot risk. Same-Nadi marriages are classically held to lead to:
- Difficulty conceiving
- Children's health issues
- Marriage instability beyond what other koots predict
Cancellations exist (different Rashi, different padas of same nakshatra), but they are specific. Without explicit cancellation, Nadi Dosha is a serious red flag.
What this actually measures: the genetic / Ayurvedic compatibility of the partners. Same-Nadi suggests the partners share too-similar constitutional types, leading to amplified weaknesses in offspring. Different-Nadi suggests complementary constitutions producing healthy children.
This is the koot most-aligned with what modern medicine would recognize as genetic compatibility. The classical Vedic system encoded this 1500+ years before modern genetics.
How to read the total
A skilled astrologer doesn't just sum the points. They look at which koots scored low and what those mean:
- Low Tara - health watch
- Low Yoni - sexual mismatch concerns
- Low Graha Maitri - mental friction
- Low Gana - temperamental challenges
- Low Bhakoot - practical-life friction
- Low Nadi - STOP, get cancellation confirmed
A 22-point match with all individual koots scoring partially is different from a 22-point match with one koot at 0 and others at full.
For a shorter walk-through of the same eight koots with the pass or fail rule for each, see Kundli matching Ashtakoot, point by point.
When the score is borderline
If you're between 18-24 (acceptable but not strong), the questions to ask:
- Are the failing koots resolvable through awareness?
- Are there strong supporting factors elsewhere (Manglik cancellation, strong dasha alignment)?
- Is there genuine love and commitment between the partners?
- Are both partners aware of where their differences are structural?
These conversations are what good matchmaking actually is. The 36 points are the screening; the conversations are the substance.
Run the Ashtakoot score for two charts first to see the per-koot breakdown, then get a full chart-based consultation. The 36-point summary is a starting line.
Frequently asked
Common questions
What guna score is treated as acceptable for marriage?+
The article gives 18 out of 36 as the conventional minimum threshold, with 28 and above treated as an excellent match. It treats scores from the high teens through the mid twenties as a borderline band worth discussing rather than a fixed pass or fail line, and it recommends looking at which specific koots scored low, not just the total.
Which of the eight koots carries the most weight?+
Nadi, worth 8 of the 36 points, and Bhakoot, worth 7, are the two heaviest weighted koots. The article treats a same Nadi result, called Nadi Dosha, as the single most serious flag in the whole system because it maps to constitutional and genetic compatibility, while a weak Bhakoot is read as friction in shared financial and family life. A high total built on a weak Nadi or Bhakoot reads differently from the same total spread evenly across all eight.
Do astrologers agree on how every koot is scored?+
No. The article notes real variation between traditions, for instance in how certain Bhakoot sign distances such as 5-9 or 7-7 are scored, and in exactly which nakshatra pada differences count as a valid cancellation for Nadi Dosha. Where a family follows a specific lineage's method, that method's scoring can differ from a generic calculator, and the article treats both as legitimate rather than one being wrong.
Does a same Nadi result, with zero Nadi points, mean the marriage will fail?+
The article does not say that. It describes same Nadi as a serious point to investigate, classically associated with difficulty conceiving and with children's health, but it also notes that specific cancellations exist based on differing rashi or nakshatra pada. Its advice is to get any cancellation confirmed by an astrologer rather than to treat a zero Nadi result as an automatic verdict on the marriage.
What should we do if our guna score comes out borderline, like 20 or 22?+
The article suggests treating the number as the start of a conversation rather than the end of one: check whether the specific koots that scored low are ones the couple can navigate with awareness, whether other factors support the match such as a Manglik cancellation or dasha alignment, and whether there is genuine commitment between the two people. It frames the 36 point score as a screening tool, with the fuller conversation being what real matchmaking actually consists of.