How Guna Milan is calculated: the 36 points, koota by koota

When two families sit down with two kundlis, the first number anyone asks for is the guna score: how many of the 36 match. It sounds like one test, but it is eight small ones added up, each comparing a different part of the two charts. Knowing what each one checks makes the total much easier to read.

Everything below compares the Moon in the two charts: its nakshatra (one of 27) and its rashi (one of 12). The sun sign plays no part. If you don’t know your Moon sign yet, see how to find your Moon sign.

The eight kootas at a glance

Koota	Points	Compares
Varna	1	The varna of each Moon rashi
Vashya	2	Which group each rashi belongs to
Tara	3	The count between the two nakshatras
Yoni	4	The animal of each nakshatra
Graha Maitri	5	Friendship between the two rashi lords
Gana	6	Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa nature
Bhakoot	7	How many signs apart the two rashis are
Nadi	8	Which of three nadis each nakshatra belongs to
Total	36

The scores below are the rules Jyotish, our Vedic astrology app for Android, uses in its Kundli Milan.

Varna (1 point)

Each rashi has a varna: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra. The point is given when the groom’s varna ranks the same as or above the bride’s, and withheld otherwise. It is the smallest koota and rarely decides anything.

Vashya (2 points)

Rashis fall into groups such as Manava (human), Chatushpada (four-footed) and Jalachara (water). The same group scores 2. Manava with Chatushpada scores 1. Any other pair scores half a point.

Tara (3 points)

Count the nakshatras from the bride’s to the groom’s, and from the groom’s to the bride’s, and take each count in cycles of nine. A remainder of 3, 5 or 7 is inauspicious. If neither count is, Tara gives 3. If one is, 1.5. If both are, 0.

Yoni (4 points)

Each nakshatra has an animal. The same animal scores 4. A hostile pair scores 0: cow and tiger, elephant and lion, horse and buffalo, dog and deer, serpent and mongoose, cat and rat, monkey and sheep. Any other pair scores 2.

Graha Maitri (5 points)

Each rashi has a lord, and the lords have natural friendships. The same lord, or two lords that are friends with each other, scores 5. Friendship one way only scores 3. Otherwise half a point. Because this koota is about the two Moon signs’ rulers, it is often read as how easily two minds agree.

Gana (6 points)

Each nakshatra has a gana: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. The same gana scores 6. Deva with Manushya scores 5. A Rakshasa bride with a Manushya groom scores 1. Other pairs score 0.

Bhakoot (7 points)

Count how many signs apart the two Moon rashis are, in both directions. If they sit 6 and 8 apart, or 2 and 12 apart, Bhakoot scores 0; that is Bhakoot dosha. Any other position scores the full 7. Some almanacs also penalise the 5 and 9 pair; Jyotish does not.

Nadi (8 points)

Each nakshatra belongs to one of three nadis. Different nadis score the full 8. The same nadi scores 0, which is Nadi dosha, and because it is the largest koota it pulls the total down hard.

Reading the total

Score	Traditional reading
Below 18	Not recommended
18 to 24	Workable
25 to 32	Good
33 to 36	Excellent, and rare

Two cautions. First, a good total with Nadi or Bhakoot at 0 is read differently from the same total without, so look at the kootas, not only the sum. Second, Guna Milan says nothing about Mars. Manglik dosha is checked separately in each chart: Mars in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house. When both people are Manglik, it is traditionally treated as balanced.

Doing it yourself

You need both people’s date, time and place of birth, because the Moon moves through a nakshatra in about a day and a wrong time can change three or four kootas at once. Make each kundli first to see the Moon’s nakshatra and rashi.

In Jyotish, add both people under My charts and open Match. It scores all eight kootas, gives the total out of 36, and checks Manglik dosha in both charts. A match report uses credits.

Guna Milan is a tradition of reading, not a forecast. It cannot tell two people whether they will be happy, and no score should outweigh what they know of each other.