What is Guna Milan?
Guna Milan (also written Gun Milan, and known as Ashtakoot Milan or kundli matching) is the classical Vedic method of checking marriage compatibility. It compares the Moon's nakshatra (birth star) and Moon sign of the two partners across eight factors, the kootas, and awards up to 36 points, the gunas. Because it rests on the Moon, it needs only the date, time and place of birth of each person.
The 8 kootas and their points
| Koota | Points | What it compares |
|---|---|---|
| Varna | 1 | Temperament and outlook, from the Moon sign's varna. |
| Vashya | 2 | Mutual attraction and influence, from the Moon sign's group. |
| Tara | 3 | Wellbeing and fortune, counted from one birth star to the other. |
| Yoni | 4 | Physical and intimate nature, from each nakshatra's animal. |
| Graha Maitri | 5 | Mental friendship, from the lords of the two Moon signs. |
| Gana | 6 | Temperament: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. |
| Bhakoot | 7 | Family welfare and shared finances, from the distance between the Moon signs. |
| Nadi | 8 | Constitution; traditionally health and children. |
| Total | 36 |
How to read a Guna Milan score
- Below 18 weak by tradition
- 18 to 24.5 acceptable
- 25 to 32.5 good
- 33 to 36 excellent
A total is not a verdict. Nadi and Bhakoot zeros are traditionally treated as concerns of their own rather than ordinary deductions, so this calculator reports them separately: 24 with a Nadi zero is not the same as 24 without one. Where a classical exception cancels a dosha, the report names it and shows the points it restores.
Nadi dosha and Bhakoot dosha
Nadi dosha arises when both Moon nakshatras belong to the same Nadi (Adi, Madhya or Antya), so Nadi scores 0 of 8. Tradition ties it to health and children. If you plan children, a carrier-screening test with a doctor gives real information that no chart can.
Bhakoot dosha arises when the Moon signs are 6-8, 9-5 or 2-12 from each other, so Bhakoot scores 0 of 7. Tradition ties it to family welfare and money, and it is eased when the two Moon-sign lords are the same planet or natural friends of each other.
Mangal dosha (Manglik)
A person is called Manglik when Mars occupies the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house. The calculator checks this from the Ascendant (Lagna), from the Moon and from Venus for both partners, and shows each. By tradition, when both partners are Manglik the dosha is considered cancelled.
What the Karmik reading adds
Ashtakoot looks only at the two Moons. The Karmik reading is our own 100-point system, built at Karmik Architect, that reads the two full charts:
- Life Arc, 30 how each planet moves from the birth chart to the Navamsha (D9), and whether the two of you rise and fall together.
- Mahadasha timeline, 25 how your planetary periods fit together over the next 20 years.
- Ego profile, 15 the two Suns: pride, leadership and who leads.
- Emotional profile, 15 the two Moons: feelings, reactions and Gana.
- Promise of marriage, 15 the 7th house, its lord, the Navamsha, Venus and Jupiter in each chart.
It is shown beside the classical score, never mixed into it, so you can see where the two agree and where they do not. The classical calculation follows the standard Ashtakoot tables and is checked koota by koota against Jagannatha Hora.
What our own test found
We scored 155 couples whose outcome is known, 79 lasting marriages and 76 that ended, without looking at which was which. Neither the 36-guna score nor the Karmik score told the two groups apart better than chance. We say so because it is true, and because it is why we are asking people to tell us about their own marriages: a matching method should earn trust with evidence. Read any score here as something to talk about together, not as a forecast.
Open a reading from a link
Any reading can be opened straight from a link, which is handy for sharing two births with family or for an AI assistant answering a question about Gun Milan. Give each birth's local date and time and the town:
karmikarchitect.com/guna-milan?m=1990-05-14T08:30&mplace=Mumbai&f=1992-11-02T21:10&fplace=Delhi
m is the male (groom) and f the female (bride). Developers and
assistants can also get the same reading as JSON; see llms.txt.