Guna Milan is the eight-point compatibility check used in Vedic marriage matching. It scores two birth charts out of 36 across eight koots, and it needs almost nothing to run: two birth dates, two birth times, and the time zones. Everything else follows from where the Moon was.
Groom · Vara
Bride · Vadhu
Enter both birth dates and press Match.
What the 36 points are
Each koot compares one property of the two birth charts and carries a different weight. They are always listed in this order, lightest first:
- Varna (1) — the four-fold temperament order derived from the Moon sign’s element. Scored only if the groom’s is not below the bride’s.
- Vashya (2) — which of five nature-groups each Moon sign falls in: quadruped, human, water-dwelling, wild, or insect.
- Tara (3) — each birth star counted from the other, divided by nine. Remainders of 3, 5 and 7 are the inauspicious ones.
- Yoni (4) — the animal symbol of each of the 27 nakshatras, scored against a fourteen-by-fourteen table of natural friendship and enmity.
- Graha Maitri (5) — natural friendship between the two Moon-sign lords.
- Gana (6) — whether each birth star is Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa in temperament.
- Bhakoot (7) — the distance between the two Moon signs. The 2–12, 5–9 and 6–8 pairs score nothing.
- Nadi (8) — constitutional type: Adi, Madhya or Antya. Same nadi scores nothing.
Nadi alone is worth 8 of the 36, which is why an otherwise strong match can drop sharply on that one line.
How the total is read
| Score | Customary reading |
|---|---|
| Below 18 | Not recommended by the traditional rule |
| 18 – 24 | Acceptable |
| 25 – 32 | Very good |
| 33 – 36 | Excellent, and rare |
Eighteen is the number almost every practitioner uses as the floor. It is worth knowing that a perfect 36 is close to impossible in practice: several koots exclude one another, and a pair that scores full marks on Nadi will usually give something up on Gana or Bhakoot.
Nadi dosha and Bhakoot dosha
These two are singled out because they are scored all-or-nothing. Getting zero on either is called a dosha, and traditional practice treats it as a finding to be examined rather than an automatic refusal.
Nadi dosha occurs when both charts share a nadi. The classical cancellations are well documented: the same Moon sign with different birth stars, the same birth star in different padas, or the two nakshatras being ruled by the same planet. The calculator tells you when the dosha is present so you can check whether a cancellation applies.
Bhakoot dosha occurs on the 2–12, 5–9 and 6–8 sign relationships. It is commonly treated as cancelled when the two sign lords are friends, or when both signs share a lord.
What Guna Milan does not cover
This is the part most calculators leave out, so it is worth stating plainly. Guna Milan reads the Moon and nothing else. It says nothing about:
- Mangal dosha (Manglik) — Mars in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house, which is checked separately and is often given more weight than the koot total.
- The seventh house and its lord in each chart, which is the actual house of marriage.
- Dasha timing — whether the period each person is running supports marriage now.
- Longevity, health and progeny indications, which have their own methods.
A high score with an unexamined Mangal dosha is not a green light, and a middling score is routinely accepted when the rest of the chart is sound. No competent astrologer decides on the number alone, and neither should you.
Guna Milan does not check Mars. Mangal dosha is a separate test, and it is the one most likely to change a traditional verdict. The Mangal dosha checker reads it from the ascendant, the Moon and Venus, and applies the classical cancellations.
Why another site may give a different total
Published koot tables genuinely differ between schools, most of all for Vashya and Graha Maitri, where several regional variants circulate. A one- or two-point difference between two honest calculators is normal and does not mean either is wrong. Larger differences usually come from one of two places: a different ayanamsa, or one site using tropical positions.
This one is sidereal, using the Lahiri ayanamsa, and it shows you the two Moon signs and nakshatras it derived — so if a result surprises you, the first thing to check is whether those match what you expect.
Getting the inputs right
Birth time matters more here than for a simple Moon sign. The Moon crosses a nakshatra roughly once a day, and six of the eight koots read the nakshatra rather than the sign. An hour of error is usually harmless; four hours can move the birth star.
Pick the time zone that was actually in force at the birth place and date, not today’s. If you are unsure of either person’s Moon sign, the Moon sign calculator shows the position and its degree, and warns you when a chart sits close to a boundary.
Related
- The 36 points explained in full — the longer written treatment of each koot.
- Moon sign calculator — find either person’s Janma Rashi, nakshatra and pada.
- The 27 nakshatras — rulers, ganas and nadis for each.
- Choosing a muhurat — how a wedding date is selected once a match is settled.
- Daily horoscope — today read from each Moon sign.
The planetary positions here are astronomy and are computed to well under an arcminute. The koot tables are the traditional ones. Nothing on this page is a prediction, and a compatibility score is not advice about a relationship, a marriage, or any other decision in your life.