What Is Kundali Matching? Gana Koota and Graha Maitri Explained

Kundali matching, also called Guna Milan or Ashtakoota matching, is the classical Vedic method for checking compatibility between two birth charts before marriage. It scores a couple across eight separate factors (kootas), each worth a different number of points, adding up to 36 total. Our free Compatibility Check runs two of those eight, here's what they actually measure and why we stopped there.

The eight kootas, briefly

The full system checks: Varna (1 point, work temperament), Vashya (2, mutual influence), Tara (3, birth-star counting and wellbeing), Yoni (4, instinctive nature), Graha Maitri (5, planetary friendship between rashi lords), Gana (6, temperament group), Bhakoot (7, emotional and financial compatibility from rashi placement), and Nadi (8, health and genetic compatibility, traditionally the single most important koota). A full 36-point reading also weighs Manglik (Mars) dosha separately, on top of the koota score.

Gana Koota: temperament

Every nakshatra belongs to one of three ganas: Deva (idealistic, gentle), Manushya (balanced, ambitious) or Rakshasa (assertive, independent). Neither is "better", they're just different operating styles. Two people from the same gana tend to move through life the same way, which is why same-gana pairs score highest. Deva and Manushya are considered a workable pairing too. Rakshasa paired with either of the other two is traditionally read as the combination needing the most conscious effort, not because Rakshasa is a lesser temperament, but because the styles pull in different directions.

Graha Maitri Koota: planetary friendship

Every rashi (moon sign) has a ruling planet, its lord, drawn from the seven classical grahas (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn). Vedic astrology maps a fixed set of natural friendships between these seven, Naisargika Maitri, where each planet is a friend, neutral, or enemy to each other planet. This isn't symmetric, Mercury considers the Moon a friend, but the Moon doesn't return the favour in this table, which is why a real compatibility read checks both directions rather than just one. When a couple's rashi lords are natural friends, the theory goes, their core drives tend to support rather than compete with each other.

Why we check just these two

Gana and Graha Maitri are both meaningful on their own and can be calculated precisely from birth date, time and place, the same inputs the rest of AstroKismat already uses. Kootas like Nadi and Bhakoot carry more traditional weight but depend on finer distinctions that are easy to get subtly wrong without a professional's full chart review, and we'd rather show two factors accurately than eight factors approximately. Our Compatibility Check is honest about this, it's a real, useful signal, not a substitute for a complete 36-point Guna Milan from a qualified astrologer, especially before a decision as significant as marriage.

Check your own compatibility

You can run the Gana and Graha Maitri check between any two birth charts with our free Compatibility Check, it takes about a minute and needs both people's birth date, time and place.