The question every family asks first is "kitne gun milne chahiye?" The short answer is that 18 out of 36 is the traditional minimum, and 24 or more is considered good. But the number alone is a poor guide, and this page explains why.
The scale in plain words
The 36 points come from eight kootas, each worth a fixed number of points: Varna 1, Vashya 2, Tara 3, Yoni 4, Graha Maitri 5, Gana 6, Bhakoot 7 and Nadi 8.
| Total | Traditional reading | |---|---| | Below 18 | Below the minimum; look closely before going ahead | | 18 to 23 | Acceptable, with attention to the weaker kootas | | 24 to 31 | Good | | 32 to 36 | Very good |
Hardly any couple scores 36. Most proposals that families go ahead with sit between 20 and 30, so a score of 26 is a perfectly ordinary, healthy result.
Why 18
Eighteen is exactly half of 36. Classical texts treat a match as acceptable once more than half the points are present. It is a threshold of convention, not a measurement, and many pandits apply it with judgement rather than as a hard line.
Why the total is not the whole story
The eight kootas are not equal. Nadi (8), Bhakoot (7) and Gana (6) together carry 21 of the 36 points and are the three kootas where traditional texts name a dosha. Consider two couples:
- Couple A scores 28, but both have the same Nadi, so they lose 8 points and the Nadi dosha applies.
- Couple B scores 22, with no dosha at all and small losses spread across Varna, Vashya and Tara.
Many pandits would look harder at Couple A than Couple B, even though A has the higher total. That is why the result you see should be read in this order: dosha lines first, then the total, then the individual kootas.
What a low score does and does not mean
A score under 18 does not close the door. Three checks come first:
- Is the birth time right? A wrong time changes the Moon's nakshatra and can move several kootas.
- Were Var and Kanya entered the right way round? Some kootas are not symmetric.
- Did the points go missing in one place or many? Losing 15 points to Nadi and Bhakoot, with the other six kootas full, is a different situation from being slightly short everywhere.
After that, see whether a cancellation rule applies. The classical rules, called parihar, can set a dosha aside. Dosha parihar kya hota hai lists them, and each dosha has its own page: Nadi, Bhakoot and Gana.
What a high score does and does not mean
A score of 30 does not guarantee anything, and it does not replace the Manglik check. Manglik is separate from the 36 points, so a couple can score high and still need to compare their Mars positions. See Manglik dosha.
A high score also says nothing about the things parents care about most day to day: whether the two people get along, whether the families are comfortable with each other, whether the girl and boy want the marriage. Those are covered in the checklist before fixing a rishta.
How the points are counted
A few koota details help when you read your own result:
- Tara is counted in both directions and gives 0, 1.5 or 3 points.
- Nadi gives 8 if the two have different Nadis and 0 if they match.
- Bhakoot gives 7 or 0, depending on the relation between the two Moon signs.
- Points for Varna, Vashya, Yoni, Graha Maitri and Gana can depend on which of the two is the boy and which is the girl.
Different websites sometimes show slightly different totals for the same couple. The usual reasons are a different ayanamsa, a different convention for Tara or Varna, or a different birth time. Compare the individual kootas before assuming one site is wrong.
A practical way to use the number
- Run the match with the best birth details you have: kundli milan by date of birth.
- If the total is 18 or above and no dosha stands uncancelled, the traditional picture is clear.
- If a dosha shows, read its cancellation page and note which rule applies.
- Print the report and discuss the specifics with your pandit. How to read the report helps you follow along.
The full step-by-step is in kundli milan kaise kare. The tool is free, online, with no sign-up and no ads, and birth details are never kept on our servers.