Ashtakoot Gun Milan
Discover marriage compatibility through the time-honored 36-point Ashtakoot system.
The Eight Koots
Spiritual compatibility (1 point)
Mutual attraction (2 points)
Health & longevity (3 points)
Physical compatibility (4 points)
Mental compatibility (5 points)
Temperament (6 points)
Love & affection (7 points)
Health & progeny (8 points) *Critical
With a Bhakoot dosha standing the total is read lower (26–29 Very Good, 21–25 Average, 0–20 Poor), and with a Nadi dosha standing the match is read as inauspicious whatever the total. A dosha that is cancelled does not count against the match.
This is Drik Panchang's reading. Another common one, which AstroSage prints, puts the pass mark at 18.
Calculating Gun Milan (8 Koots)
Understanding Gun Milan
Ashtakoota Milan — "matching by eight groups" — is the compatibility method used across most of northern India. It compares the birth Moon of each partner across eight factors, each carrying a different weight, for a maximum of 36 points. It is worth understanding what the score does and does not claim: it is a traditional index built almost entirely from the Moon, not an assessment of two personalities.
All eight kootas are computed from the Moon's sign and nakshatra in each chart. Nothing else — not the ascendant, not Venus, not the 7th house — enters the 36 points.
That is why an accurate birth time matters less here than for a full chart reading, but also why a high score alone is a narrow verdict. Experienced astrologers read Gun Milan alongside the 7th house, its lord, and the condition of Venus and Jupiter.
This page reads the total as Drik Panchang does: 31 and above is an excellent union, 21 to 30 very good, 17 to 20 middling, and 16 or below inauspicious. That holds when Bhakoot is favourable. With a Bhakoot dosha standing the same almanac never calls a union excellent and reads 26 to 29 as very good, 21 to 25 as middling and 20 or below as inauspicious; with a Nadi dosha standing it reads the match as inauspicious even at 28.
It is not the only reading. Another in wide use, the one AstroSage prints, sets the pass mark at 18: below that not recommended, 18 to 24 average, 24 to 32 very good, above that excellent. Very few real pairings score a perfect 36. Half points occur legitimately — Graha Maitri awards 0.5 where one lord is an enemy and the other neutral — so a total of 28.5 is normal, not a rounding error.
Nadi alone is worth 8 points and Bhakoot 7, so together they are nearly half the total. A Nadi dosha, where both partners share the same nadi, is the most commonly cited objection in traditional matching, and classical texts describe conditions under which it is considered cancelled.
This page checks three of them for Nadi: the same nakshatra in different signs, the same sign in different nakshatras, and the same nakshatra in different quarters. For Bhakoot — Moon signs second and twelfth, fifth and ninth, or sixth and eighth from each other — it checks whether one planet rules both signs or the two lords are friends to each other. A dosha that is cancelled is shown as cancelled, with the reason; its points stay what the table gives.
Mangal (or Kuja) dosha is assessed separately from the 36 points. It arises when Mars occupies the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house, and this page counts those houses from the ascendant, from the Moon and from Venus: a chart is free of it only when none of the three finds it.
Most charts that form the dosha also cancel it. The cancellations checked here are Mars in its own sign or exalted, Jupiter in the same sign as Mars or aspecting it, Mars as the yogakaraka of the ascendant (Cancer and Leo rising), and the signs that spare a single house — the 2nd in Gemini or Virgo, the 7th in Cancer, the 8th in Sagittarius or Pisces, the 12th in Taurus or Libra. Classical practice also holds the dosha balanced when both partners have it. It is a factor to weigh, not a verdict.
Gun Milan says nothing about whether two people communicate well, share values, or want the same life. It is one traditional input among many, and it should never be the sole basis for a decision about a relationship.
Ashtakoota is the northern method. In much of southern India, Dashakoota — a ten-factor system — is preferred, and its weightings differ. Neither is more correct; they are different regional traditions, and a match may score differently under each.
Each koota tests a different dimension of compatibility, and the points are not evenly distributed — Nadi and Bhakoot together account for 15 of the 36.
| Koota | Points | What it compares |
|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | Spiritual disposition and temperament, derived from the Moon sign |
| Vashya | 2 | Mutual attraction and natural influence between the partners |
| Tara | 3 | Birth-star compatibility, indicating fortune and health in the union |
| Yoni | 4 | Physical and instinctive compatibility, by nakshatra animal symbol |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | Friendship between the lords of the two Moon signs — mental affinity |
| Gana | 6 | Temperament group: deva, manushya or rakshasa |
| Bhakoot | 7 | Relative position of the two Moon signs; affects prosperity and family |
| Nadi | 8 | Constitutional type; the heaviest single factor and the usual objection |