Ashtakoot Guna Milan Table: All 8 Kootas and Full Charts

The Ashtakoot (eight-koota) Guna Milan table gives Varna 1 point, Vashya 2, Tara 3, Yoni 4, Graha Maitri 5, Gana 6, Bhakoot 7 and Nadi 8, for 36 in all. Each koota is scored from the two people’s Moon signs or birth nakshatras using a fixed chart, and this page sets out every chart in full, exactly as our Kundli matching tool uses them.

For what each koota means and a worked example, read the 36 gunas explained.

The eight kootas at a glance

Nadi, Bhakoot and Gana together hold 21 of the 36 points, so these three decide most totals. Four kootas use the birth nakshatras and four use the Moon signs or their lords, which is why both the Moon sign and the birth star must be right before any score means much.

Look up both Moons first

First the 27 nakshatras, with the gana, yoni and nadi of each:

Then the 12 Moon signs, with the lord, varna and vashya of each:

Varna follows the element of the sign: water signs are Brahmin, fire Kshatriya, earth Vaishya and air Shudra. These are traditional labels for temperament, not statements about caste.

Varna: 1 point

Varna ranks Brahmin first, then Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The point is given when the groom’s varna is the same as or higher than the bride’s, and withheld otherwise. It is the lightest koota and one of the three that change if the two partners are swapped.

Vashya: 2 points

Read the bride’s group down the left and the groom’s across the top:

The table is symmetrical except for one pair: a human Moon with an insect (Scorpio) Moon scores 1 when the bride’s is the human one, and 0 the other way round. Leo, the wild sign, scores 0 with every group except water.

Tara: 3 points

Count from the bride’s nakshatra to the groom’s, counting the first as 1, and divide by 9. Do the same from the groom’s to the bride’s. Each remainder names a tara:

Each favourable direction earns 1.5 points. Because the two counts can never both be unfavourable, the score is always 1.5 or 3.

Yoni: 4 points

Each nakshatra carries one of 14 animal symbols, its yoni. Two stars with the same animal score the full 4 points. For every other pairing, find your animal in the left column: if your partner’s animal is listed, the score is 3, 1 or 0 as shown, and if it is not listed, the pair is neutral and scores 2. This is the complete chart our tool uses, and it reads the same in either direction.

For example, Rohini (serpent) with Hasta (buffalo) scores 1, while Rohini with Bharani (elephant) scores 3, and Rohini with Ardra (dog) is not listed, so it scores 2.

The seven zeros are the traditional sworn enemies: horse and buffalo, elephant and lion, sheep and monkey, serpent and mongoose, dog and deer, cat and rat, and cow and tiger. Yoni is the koota that most often falls short of full marks, because few stars share an animal, so a modest Yoni score is normal. Charts differ slightly between traditions, and another report may differ here by a point.

Graha Maitri: 5 points

Find the lords of the two Moon signs. The score depends on how each lord regards the other under the classical natural friendships:

The rule behind the numbers: the same lord, or friends both ways, scores 5; friend and neutral 4; neutral both ways 3; friend and enemy 1; neutral and enemy 0.5; enemies both ways 0.

Gana: 6 points

Some southern tables swap the two Deva–Manushya cells. A score of 0 or 1 is called Gana dosha; see our guide to Gana dosha for when it is set aside.

Bhakoot: 7 points

Count from one Moon sign to the other, counting the first as 1, then back the other way.

A Bhakoot dosha is traditionally cancelled when both Moon signs share a lord or their lords are friends both ways. Our guide to Bhakoot dosha lists all 36 affected sign pairs.

Nadi: 8 points

Different Nadis score 8; the same Nadi scores 0, which is Nadi dosha. Find each Nadi in the nakshatra chart above. Classical exceptions cancel it when the two Moons share a sign but not a nakshatra, or share a nakshatra but not a sign or pada; our guide to Nadi dosha explains them.

Reading the total

Add the eight scores. Tradition treats 18 as the minimum, 25 or more as very good and 33 or more as excellent, but always look at which kootas lost points and whether a Nadi or Bhakoot zero is cancelled. How many gunas are needed for marriage explains the bands. South Indian families also check Rajju and Vedha, which sit outside the 36 points.

For a real decision, let our Kundli matching tool do it from both birth details: the score out of 36 is free, and the full report shows every koota with its reasoning. Each partner can also create a free Kundli to see their Moon sign and nakshatra.