Nakshatra Compatibility — 27×27 Guna Milan

Free nakshatra compatibility for all 729 Janma nakshatra pairs. Real Ashtakoota scoring with Tara, Yoni, Gana, Nadi, and marriage dosha checks.

nakshatra compatibility, nakshatra matching, 27 nakshatra guna milan, ashtakoota

Nakshatra matching is the layer beneath rashi matching, and the difference in resolution is dramatic. Twelve rashis divide the zodiac into 30° blocks; twenty-seven nakshatras divide it into 13°20′ blocks, and each of those divides again into four padas. Two people can share a Moon sign and sit in entirely different nakshatras with entirely different matching results — which is precisely why traditional matching asks for the birth star rather than the sign.

The factor that belongs most distinctively to this layer is TARA KOOTA, worth 3 points in the classical 36-point system and computed in a way nothing else in the apparatus resembles. You count the nakshatras from the first person's birth star to the second's, divide by nine, and read the remainder against a list of nine taras — a cycle of favourable and unfavourable positions. Then you count the other way and do it again, because the relationship is not symmetric: A's star can be favourable to B while B's is unfavourable to A.

Two other factors are nakshatra-native rather than sign-derived, and they carry real weight: NADI at 8 points, the heaviest single factor in the whole system, and GANA at 6. Both are read directly off the birth star. Between Tara, Nadi and Gana, seventeen of the thirty-six points depend on the nakshatra — which is the plainest possible answer to why sign-level matching is only ever a first look.

The nine Taras — counted from one birth star to the other

Count forward from the first person's nakshatra to the second's, divide by 9, and take the remainder (a remainder of 0 counts as the 9th). The tara you land on is the classical relationship. Repeat in the opposite direction — the result is often different.

1 — Janma Tara (birth)

The same or corresponding star. Mixed in classical reading: deep familiarity and shared vulnerability. Not counted as favourable in the strict Tara scoring, though many practitioners read it as neutral.

2 — Sampat Tara (wealth)

Favourable. Traditionally associated with prosperity and gain flowing between the two people. One of the clearly auspicious positions.

3 — Vipat Tara (danger)

Unfavourable. Classically read as a position of difficulty and obstacle. One of the three positions the scoring counts against.

4 — Kshema Tara (well-being)

Favourable. Associated with comfort, security and mutual protection — a settling influence.

5 — Pratyari Tara (obstacle)

Unfavourable. Read as friction and resistance, the second of the three difficult positions.

6 — Sadhaka Tara (achievement)

Favourable. Associated with accomplishment and things being brought to completion together.

7 — Vadha Tara (obstruction)

Unfavourable and the most cautioned of the three. Traditionally the position given the most weight when it appears in both directions.

8 — Mitra Tara (friend)

Favourable. Read as natural friendship and ease — one of the more comfortable placements in the cycle.

9 — Ati-Mitra Tara (best friend)

Favourable and the strongest of the cycle. Classically the most harmonious tara relationship two birth stars can hold.

Nadi and Gana — the two heaviest nakshatra-native factors

Seventeen of the thirty-six points come from the nakshatra rather than the sign. These two account for fourteen of them.

Nadi — 8 points, the heaviest factor

Each nakshatra belongs to one of three nadis: Adi (Vata), Madhya (Pitta), or Antya (Kapha). Different nadis score the full 8; the SAME nadi scores 0 and constitutes Nadi dosha, the most weighted objection in the entire system.

Why Nadi carries so much weight

Classical texts associate it with constitutional compatibility and progeny. Because it is 8 of 36, a Nadi dosha alone can drop an otherwise strong match below the conventional 18-point threshold.

Nadi dosha cancellations

Classically cancelled when both people share the same rashi but different nakshatras, when they share the same nakshatra but different padas, or when the rashi lords are the same or friendly. As with Bhakoot, these are frequently omitted from modern reports.

Gana — 6 points

Each nakshatra is Deva (divine), Manushya (human), or Rakshasa (fierce). Same gana scores full; Deva with Manushya scores partially; Deva with Rakshasa is the classically cautioned combination.

What gana actually describes

Temperamental register — the pace and intensity at which someone operates emotionally. "Rakshasa" is a technical category, not a character judgement, and reading it as one is a common and unfair misuse.

Yoni — 4 points, also nakshatra-native

Assigns each nakshatra one of fourteen animal symbols and scores the relationship between them. Read for physical and temperamental attraction; the full computation lives on the Kundli Matching page.

Computing Tara Koota in both directions

1. Person A's birth star is Rohini, the 4th nakshatra. Person B's is Anuradha, the 17th.
2. Count forward from A to B: from Rohini (4) to Anuradha (17) is 17 − 4 + 1 = 14 nakshatras. Divide by 9: 14 ÷ 9 leaves a remainder of 5. Tara 5 is Pratyari — one of the unfavourable positions.
3. Now the other direction, because the relationship is not symmetric. From Anuradha (17) forward to Rohini (4), wrapping past 27: 27 − 17 + 4 + 1 = 15 nakshatras. Divide by 9: remainder 6. Tara 6 is Sadhaka — favourable.
4. So this pair holds an asymmetric tara: B's star is obstructive to A, while A's is achieving for B. That asymmetry is real information, and it is invisible in any system that reports a single compatibility percentage.
5. The scoring convention: 3 points when both directions are favourable, 1.5 when one is, and 0 when neither is. This pair scores 1.5 out of 3.

Count, divide by nine, read the remainder — then do it again the other way. The two-directional asymmetry is the most distinctive feature of nakshatra matching and the thing a single score always hides.

What this tool can NOT tell you

• Nakshatra matching needs both birth times. The Moon crosses a nakshatra in roughly a day and a pada in about six hours, so an approximate time can put a person in the wrong star — and with 17 of 36 points depending on the nakshatra, a wrong star produces a wrong match, confidently presented.
• This page is a matching layer, not the complete pre-marriage reading. The full 36-point Ashtakoota, the Manglik check, the 7th house and the Navamsa all belong to Kundli Matching; nakshatra factors alone are a partial view.
• Nadi dosha and Bhakoot dosha are the two objections most often used to reject a match, and both have classical cancellation conditions that modern reports routinely omit. Before a family acts on either, ask specifically whether the cancellations were checked.
• Gana categories are technical, not moral. Rakshasa gana describes an intense temperamental register; it does not describe a bad person, and treating it that way has caused real harm to real people over a category label.
• No score should end or force a relationship. Guna Milan is a traditional decision aid built for a specific social context, and the qualities that actually determine whether a marriage works — kindness, honesty, whether two people want the same life — are not among the thirty-six points.

Computed with Swiss Ephemeris, Lahiri ayanamsa · Content reviewed 2026-08-08

Frequently asked questions

What is nakshatra compatibility?

It is compatibility matched at the level of the birth star rather than the Moon sign — 27 divisions of 13°20′ each instead of 12 signs of 30°. Three factors in the classical 36-point system are nakshatra-native: Nadi (8 points), Gana (6), and Tara (3), with Yoni (4) also derived from the star. Together they account for most of the total.

How is Tara Koota calculated?

Count the nakshatras from the first person's birth star to the second's, divide by nine, and read the remainder against the nine taras — Janma, Sampat, Vipat, Kshema, Pratyari, Sadhaka, Vadha, Mitra, Ati-Mitra. Then repeat counting the other way, because the relationship is asymmetric. Both directions favourable scores 3 points, one direction scores 1.5, neither scores 0.

What is Nadi dosha and can it be cancelled?

Nadi dosha occurs when both people's birth stars fall in the same nadi (Adi, Madhya, or Antya), scoring zero on the heaviest factor in the system. Classical texts list cancellations: the same rashi with different nakshatras, the same nakshatra with different padas, or rashi lords that are the same planet or natural friends. These are often left out of automated reports, so ask.