Kundali Gun Milan

What is kundali matching?

Kundali matching, also called kundli milan, horoscope matching or Ashtakoot Guna Milan, is the traditional way many Indian families compare two birth charts before a marriage. It looks at the Moon in each chart: the Moon sign (rashi) and the birth star (nakshatra) the Moon stands in. From these it gives points out of 36 across eight areas called kootas.

Everything comes from the two Moons, so the result is only as good as the birth details behind it. The Moon moves on to a new birth star roughly every day, so a wrong birth time or birth place can change a koota, and with it the total. This calculator works from the birth details of both people, not from names.

The eight kootas and their points

Each koota checks one part of married life and carries its own maximum. The eight maximums add up to 36 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8).

Varna, 1 point

working temperament and ego: whose way of working leads and whether pride gets in the way of decisions. It says nothing about social class.

Vashya, 2 points

mutual influence: how naturally each one gives way to the other and how strong the pull between them is.

Tara, 3 points

well-being: whether each one's birth star is a supportive or a straining one for the other's health and fortune.

Yoni, 4 points

physical closeness and instinct: how natural and comfortable intimacy feels.

Graha Maitri, 5 points

mental rapport: whether the lords of the two Moon signs are friends, so the two can talk and think together as well as be partners.

Gana, 6 points

temperament, in three types: Deva (gentle), Manushya (practical and balanced) and Rakshasa (strong-willed and blunt). It shows how each reacts, argues and unwinds.

Bhakoot, 7 points

the emotional bond: love, family harmony and how the couple prospers together.

Nadi, 8 points

health and constitution: how well the two suit each other, traditionally also linked to the health of children.

What a Gun Milan score means

Tradition reads the total in four bands. A score of 0 to 17 is below the traditional minimum of 18. A score of 18 to 24 is an average match, 25 to 32 a good match and 33 to 36 an excellent match.

A perfect 36 is rare and is not needed. The total is one input, not a pass or fail mark. Astrologers also look at the Mars (Manglik) status of both people, the 7th house of each chart and the periods (dashas) each person is running. The overall reading here also follows the two big doshas: an uncancelled Nadi dosha keeps even a high total from reading better than average, and an uncancelled Bhakoot dosha stops an excellent rating.

Nadi dosha, Bhakoot dosha and Gana dosha

Nadi dosha shows when both people fall in the same Nadi (Adi, Madhya or Antya). Nadi then scores 0 of 8. It is the heaviest single loss in the table, which is why families ask about it first.

Bhakoot dosha shows when the two Moon signs sit 2 and 12, 5 and 9, or 6 and 8 signs apart. Bhakoot then scores 0 of 7. Gana dosha is raised when one partner is Rakshasa and the other is Deva or Manushya.

Tradition lists reasons a dosha is softened. For Nadi: the same Moon sign but a different birth star, or the same birth star but a different pada (quarter). For Bhakoot and Gana: the two Moon-sign lords are the same planet or friends. This page reports a possible cancellation next to the dosha and leaves the points as they are, so the score you see is the plain one.

Kundali matching by name or by date of birth

Matching by name estimates the Moon sign and star from the first syllable of a name. It is a fallback for when the birth time is not known, and it is less exact. Matching by date, time and place of birth calculates where the Moon actually stood, so it is the more reliable way.

If either birth time is uncertain, check the Moon sign and star shown in the reading against the kundli you hold. A Moon close to a sign or star boundary can change with a few minutes of birth time, and the reading tells you when that is the case.

What kundali matching does not show

Gun Milan compares two Moons. It is not a judgement of two people and it does not predict whether a marriage will last. For the rest of the picture, read each person's own chart: how steady relationships are likely to be, when marriage is supported, and what a future partner is likely to be like. The related tools below cover those.

The full reading goes one step beyond the points. It places each person's planets in the other's chart and shows where the two support each other and where they press, compares the hard planets each chart carries, reads what each chart promises for marriage (the 7th house, its lord, Venus or Jupiter and the Navamsa), checks whether the two running life phases are friendly or about to change (Dasha Sandhi), lists the months when neither chart says to hold off, and compares the strength of the marriage, children, money and health areas. These are areas to work on, not a verdict on whether two people should marry.