Free tool
Kundli Matching
Classical guna milan compares two birth charts through eight kutas — thirty-six gunas in all — read from each partner’s Moon. Enter both sets of birth details and this tool computes the full ashta-kuta score from precise sidereal positions, explains what every kuta measures, and puts traditional cautions in honest context.
The classical tables score two of the eight kutas (Varna and Gana) from the groom’s side, so enter the groom first. For a couple of the same gender, the order changes the total by at most 1–2 points.
Groom (or first partner)
Bride (or second partner)
What guna milan measures — and what it can't
Ashta-kuta is the most widely used compatibility method in India and one of the most widely misunderstood. It is a genuine classical technique with a real internal logic, and it is also a much narrower instrument than the confidence around it implies.
The eight kutas, briefly
- Varna (1 point) — broad temperament class, in the sense of natural disposition rather than social caste.
- Vashya (2) — which partner naturally holds influence over the other.
- Tara (3) — the relationship between the two birth stars, counted in both directions.
- Yoni (4) — instinctive and physical compatibility, expressed through animal symbols attached to each nakshatra.
- Graha Maitri (5) — friendship between the planets ruling each moon sign, read as mental and emotional affinity.
- Gana (6) — temperament type, traditionally labelled deva, manushya and rakshasa.
- Bhakoot (7) — the angular distance between the two moon signs, associated with the household's prosperity.
- Nadi (8) — constitutional type, carrying the largest single weight and the most anxiety.
How to read the number you get
Convention puts the pass mark at 18 of 36. But the number is a sum of eight unrelated sub-measures, and two couples with identical totals can have completely different profiles — one strong on mental affinity and weak on temperament, the other the reverse. The breakdown is more informative than the total, which is why we show every kuta separately with what it was reading.
It is also worth knowing that the thresholds are conventional. Nothing in the classical literature establishes that 18 is where compatibility begins, and the difference between 17 and 18 is a single point on a single sub-score that may itself be disputed between regional traditions.
Curious how two Moon signs score before you have both birth details? See the guna range for all 144 Moon-sign pairs.
The limitation that matters most
All eight kutas are computed from the two Moons and nothing else. Guna milan does not look at either person's ascendant, their 7th house — which is the house of marriage — their Venus or Mars, the dasha periods they are each running, or the state of their charts in any other respect. It is a comparison of two lunar positions, and it was designed as an opening filter in an era when families needed a quick way to shortlist proposals.
A competent astrologer treats a guna score as the beginning of the work, not the end of it. Reducing a marriage decision to this one number gives it far more authority than the technique was ever built to carry.
On low scores and dosha
If your score came out low, or if nadi or bhakoot scored zero, the honest response is proportion rather than alarm. The tradition itself lists cancellations for both — nadi dosha is held to be cancelled when the two share a moon sign but different nakshatras, or the same nakshatra in different padas, among other conditions. Our tool flags the cancellations it finds in your charts.
And the broader point stands regardless of the arithmetic. Marriages succeed and fail for reasons that are visible to the people in them: how two people handle money, conflict, families, illness and boredom. A score computed from two lunar longitudes cannot see any of that. Use it as a conversation starter if you find it interesting, and be sceptical of anyone who wants payment to improve it.
Common questions
What score is considered a good match?
The conventional threshold is 18 out of 36. Below 18 falls under the traditional threshold; this site then labels 18 to 23 a good match, 24 to 29 very good and 30 or more excellent (almanacs word these bands slightly differently). It is worth knowing that these bands are conventions rather than anything derived from evidence, and that a score of 17 versus 18 represents a single point on one of eight sub-scores. Treat it as a rough signal, not a threshold with a cliff on one side.
What are the eight kutas?
Varna (one point) compares broad temperament class. Vashya (two) looks at mutual influence. Tara (three) compares the two birth stars for auspiciousness. Yoni (four) is a compatibility of instinct and physical nature, using animal symbols assigned to each nakshatra. Graha Maitri (five) compares the friendship between the ruling planets of the two moon signs. Gana (six) compares temperament type — divine, human or demonic in the traditional labels. Bhakoot (seven) compares the distance between the two moon signs. Nadi (eight) compares constitutional type. They total thirty-six.
Why do different websites give different scores?
Because the tradition genuinely disagrees with itself on several intermediate values, particularly in Vashya and Tara, and because regional schools differ over which cancellations to apply for Bhakoot and Nadi dosha. We follow the common North Indian convention and say so. A difference of one or two points between sites is normal; a large difference usually means a different ayanamsa has placed one of the Moons in a different nakshatra.
What is nadi dosha and does it matter?
Nadi carries the largest single weight — eight of thirty-six points — and scores zero when both partners share the same nadi. It is traditionally associated with concerns about progeny. It is also the single most common reason matches are rejected, which is out of proportion to its evidential basis. Classical texts list cancellations for it, including the two people sharing a moon sign but different nakshatras, or sharing a nakshatra but different padas. A zero here is not a verdict.
Does guna milan look at the whole chart?
No, and this is its most important limitation. Every one of the eight kutas is computed from the two Moon positions alone. It does not see the ascendant, the seventh house that actually governs marriage, Venus, Mars, the dashas either person is running, or anything else. An astrologer doing serious compatibility work treats guna milan as a first filter and then reads both charts properly. A score by itself is a very partial view.
Do we both need accurate birth times?
Less than you might expect. Because the whole calculation rests on the Moon, and the Moon takes over two days to change sign and about a day to change nakshatra, most births give the same result whatever time of day is used. Times matter only when one partner was born close to a nakshatra boundary. You can leave the time blank for either person and the tool will use noon.