Ashtakoot Milan, also called Guna Milan, is the Vedic astrology system that compares the Moon sign and Nakshatra of two prospective partners across eight categories, Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gana, Bhakoot and Nadi, for a maximum of 36 points. The total is a summary, and which kootas lost points matters more than how many, because the eight are not interchangeable. For the term itself, see Ashtakoot.
Also spelled Ashtakuta or Ashta Koota (अष्टकूट मिलान), and called kundli matching or kundli milan in everyday use. It is a compatibility score built from the Moon, not a prediction of how long a marriage lasts, and it is separate from the Manglik check. To get your own score, enter both birth details in Kundli Milan.
The point values rise from 1 to 8 for a reason: the higher-weighted kootas are the ones classical sources treat as having the longest reach into a marriage.
The eight kootas at a glance
Koota
Points
What it measures
Varna
1
Inner tempo, basic temperamental congruence
Vashya
2
Mutual influence: who adjusts toward whom
Tara
3
Nakshatra-cycle resonance between the two birth moments
Yoni
4
Bodily and sexual compatibility
Graha Maitri
5
Friendship between the two Moon-sign lords ("mental wavelength")
Gana
6
Temperamental class: calm, balanced or intense
Bhakoot
7
Mutual material and emotional welfare
Nadi
8
Constitutional compatibility
Total
36
Why is Ashtakoot Milan built on the Moon?
Ashtakoot Milan is built on the Moon because all eight kootas are computed from the Moon's Nakshatra and Rashi, not from the Sun or the ascendant. The choice is deliberate. The Moon is classically the seat of manas, the emotional and reactive mind, while the Sun represents the more public, directional self.
A system built on the Moon is a system about emotional compatibility: not shared goals or values, but the smaller daily question of how two nervous systems behave around each other when one partner is anxious and the other is exhausted at eleven at night.
What does each of the eight kootas measure?
Each koota answers a different question.
Varna (1 point) sorts the Moon sign into one of four temperamental categories and checks whether the two natures are broadly congruent in inner tempo: contemplative, assertive, pragmatic or sociable. It is worth the least because a tempo mismatch is the most workable of the eight.
Vashya (2 points) asks who will adjust toward whom in small daily negotiations such as routines, meals and social pace. A strong score describes a couple who each soften toward the other's preferences without a prolonged tug.
Tara (3 points) measures the distance in Nakshatras between the two Moon placements, mapped onto a nine-step cycle of helper and obstacle positions. Read plainly, it asks whether each partner's presence tends to open up the other's life or quietly constrict it.
Yoni (4 points) compares the animal symbol of each partner's Nakshatra against a classical friend, neutral or enemy matrix. It measures bodily and sexual compatibility, and a low score describes a pairing that needs conscious attention there, not a doomed one.
Graha Maitri (5 points) compares the planetary rulers of the two Moon signs for classical friendship. It is, in plain language, the koota for whether two minds find each other interesting on an ordinary afternoon with no occasion, and marriages that struggle quietly for years with nothing overtly wrong often show a mismatch here.
Gana (6 points) sorts each Nakshatra into Deva (refined, harmony-seeking), Manushya (mixed) or Rakshasa (intense, confrontational). Deva with Rakshasa is the classical worst case, not because either temperament is wrong but because a harmony-seeking partner and a friction-tolerant one read each other's default mode as a problem.
Bhakoot (7 points) measures the sign distance between the two Moons and its bearing on mutual prosperity and emotional welfare. It scores 0 when the signs stand at 6 and 8, 9 and 5, or 2 and 12 from each other, and 7 otherwise, with nothing in between. Bhakoot Dosha Effects and Cancellation: A Realistic Reading covers this koota in detail.
Nadi (8 points), the heaviest koota, sorts Nakshatras into three constitutional categories drawn from Ayurvedic tridosha theory and requires the partners to fall in different categories. It also scores all or nothing. Same-Nadi pairings are the most-feared flag in the system, discussed in Nadi Dosha: Meaning, Cancellation and When It Matters, and the same texts describe conditions under which it is cancelled.
How to find your Ashtakoot Milan score
Finding your score needs both partners' exact birth details, and the steps follow standard arithmetic.
Enter each partner's birth date, time and place in Kundli Milan. The Moon moves about one degree every two hours, so a wrong birth time can put it in a different Nakshatra, or even a different sign.
The form finds each Moon sign and Nakshatra. You can check a single Nakshatra with the free Nakshatra finder.
Each of the eight kootas is scored from those two Moon placements, up to its maximum of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8.
The eight scores add up to the total out of 36. Read the eight scores as a pattern before reading the sum.
Why can the total Ashtakoot score mislead?
The total can mislead because it hides where the points were lost. Take two couples. Couple A scores 28 out of 36: full marks on every koota except Nadi, where it loses all 8. Couple B scores 26 out of 36: it loses 10 points across Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni and Gana, and keeps full marks on Graha Maitri, Bhakoot and Nadi, which are worth 20 points together.
A total-score reading favours Couple A by two points. A koota-aware reading reverses the judgement. A's loss sits on the heaviest, most carefully hedged koota in the system, while B's losses sit on lighter, more workable ones.
This is why the classical instruction was to read the eight scores as a pattern, not a sum. A strong Graha Maitri can compensate for several lighter weaknesses, and a strong Lagna lord in both charts compensates further. Whenever a Milan report shows only a single total, ask to see the eight individual scores before drawing any conclusion.
Ashtakoot Milan was also never meant to be the only layer. Classical practice reads it alongside Manglik status for both partners and the synastry of the 7th house, the marriage house, across both charts. A strong showing on those separate questions can carry a marriage that scored only modestly on the eight-fold table.
What does cancellation mean in Ashtakoot Milan?
Cancellation means a failed koota is considered neutralised by a separate feature of the chart. Classical sources do not simply flag a failure and stop; they also list parihara, the conditions under which a technical failure is buffered. The geometry does not change: the angular distance between two Moon signs, once calculated, is fixed.
A shared planetary ruler between the two Moon signs, for instance, is treated as evidence that the two natures speak the same inner language even where the raw angular count looks unfavourable. The match report on this site treats a Bhakoot loss as resolved when the two Moon-sign lords are the same planet or mutual friends, which is when Graha Maitri scores its full 5 points. The score itself stays 0 out of 7.
The practical consequence is that two matches with the identical numerical failure can be in very different positions once the rest of the chart is read. A one-page score sheet with no koota-by-koota breakdown shows the failure but not whether a cancellation applies.
What is a good Ashtakoot score, and when does a low one deserve caution?
Modern matchmaking treats 18 out of 36 as a rough threshold. The honest reading has two bands. Take the score seriously when the total sits below roughly 18 out of 36, the losses cluster on the heaviest kootas (Nadi, Bhakoot, Gana) with no classical cancellation available, and the wider chart shows extra stress such as a weak 7th-house lord in either chart. That combination is worth slowing down for.
Set the number aside, in most other cases. Scores between roughly 18 and 27 where the losses sit on lighter kootas, or where a heavy-koota loss has a documented cancellation, are workable in the great majority of real marriages. Low Ashtakoot Score: Can a Match Under 18 Still Work? walks through the cancellation conditions and classical patterns for anyone holding a score in this band.
Which other checks belong next to the 36-point score?
Read the score with the Navamsa chart and the Manglik check for both partners. The full reading at /kundli/new shows those alongside Venus and Jupiter placements, which a koota total does not. For matches across countries, where the birth time may have been recorded in another time zone, NRI Kundli Matching: Time Zones, Birth Time and Gotra explains how to get the charts right first. How the Manglik line is graded is in Manglik Dosha: How It Is Judged, House by House.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ashtakoot Milan?
Ashtakoot Milan is a classical Vedic astrology system that compares the Moon sign and Nakshatra of two prospective partners across eight weighted categories, producing a compatibility score out of 36. It is also called Guna Milan and is the most widely used astrological matching method in Indian arranged-marriage practice.
What are the eight kootas in Ashtakoot Milan?
Varna (1 point), Vashya (2), Tara (3), Yoni (4), Graha Maitri (5), Gana (6), Bhakoot (7) and Nadi (8), which add up to 36. Each measures a different dimension of compatibility, from basic temperament to constitutional health, and all are computed from the two partners' Moon placements.
Is a higher Ashtakoot score always a better match?
Not necessarily. Two scores that are numerically far apart can describe very different situations depending on which kootas were lost. A total of 28 that includes a full Nadi failure is generally read as more concerning than a total of 26 whose losses sit on lighter kootas such as Varna or Vashya.
What is considered a good Ashtakoot Milan score?
Modern matchmaking commonly treats 18 out of 36 as a rough threshold, with scores above the high twenties viewed favourably. The classical texts themselves stress reading the koota-by-koota pattern over the total, since the distribution of points matters more than the sum.
Which koota matters most in Ashtakoot Milan?
Nadi (8 points) and Bhakoot (7 points) carry the most classical weight, since they address constitutional compatibility and long-term mutual welfare. Both score all or nothing, and both come with documented cancellation conditions that one-page matchmaker reports often skip entirely.
Can a low Ashtakoot score still result in a good marriage?
Yes, in many classical patterns. When the losses sit on lighter kootas, or when a heavy-koota loss has an applicable cancellation such as Moon-sign lords who are the same planet or friends, a modest total does not carry the weight of an unmitigated Nadi or Bhakoot failure.
