Someone sent a rishta on WhatsApp: how to check the Kundali
It usually starts with a forwarded photo. A cousin, an aunt, a friend of the family. "Lovely boy, settled, good family. Have a look." A profile follows, sometimes a PDF, sometimes a screenshot. And then the question every Indian family asks before anything else: did you match the Kundalis? This is how to do that properly, what the number means, and how to do it in Bhava if your son or daughter is on it.
The check itself is quick. The harder parts are getting the right details and knowing what to do with the number afterwards.
What you need before you start
Three things for each person: date of birth, time of birth, and the town or city they were born in. That is all a Kundali match uses. Not the surname, not the gotra, not the photo.
For the person being proposed, ask the family who sent the rishta. This is a normal request. Most families expect it, and they will want the same from you. If they only know the time roughly, use the best guess they have. Most of the score comes from the Moon, which changes slowly through the day, so a rough time is usually fine.
For your own child, you probably know the date and place without looking. The time is the one that goes missing. Hospital discharge papers often have it. So does the janam patri, if your parents had one made. If nobody knows, use your best guess and say that it is a guess. We have written more about this in Where to find your birth time.
What the check actually looks at
The traditional check is Ashtakoota Milan: eight tests, 36 points. Every one of the eight looks at the two Moons. Four use the sign the Moon was in at birth, the Moon sign. Four use the nakshatra, the birth star the Moon sat in. Nothing else in the chart goes into the 36.
- Varna, 1 point: how you both approach work and life. The lightest check.
- Vashya, 2 points: who pulls whom, and whether the give and take is healthy.
- Tara, 3 points: luck as a pair, counted star to star.
- Yoni, 4 points: chemistry. Yes, that kind.
- Graha Maitri, 5 points: do your minds click? Whether your two ruling planets are friends.
- Gana, 6 points: temperament. Angel, human, or a little demon.
- Bhakoot, 7 points: will your two families get along?
- Nadi, 8 points: health and future children. The big one.
The bigger the number, the more weight tradition gives it. Nadi and Bhakoot carry 15 of the 36 between them, which is why they are the two everyone asks about.
The conventional minimum is 18. Under 18, most families do not take it forward. 18 to 23 is a good match. 24 to 31 is strong. 32 and above is rare. For the longer answer, read How many gunas should match for marriage? and the full guide to Ashtakoota Milan.
Read past the total
A high total can still carry a dosha, and this is where most WhatsApp checks go wrong. People see 26 and stop reading. Look at two lines underneath.
Nadi. If both people share the same Nadi, that test scores 0 of 8. That is Nadi dosha. Bhakoot. If the two Moon signs sit at one of the three awkward distances, called 2/12, 5/9 and 6/8, that test scores 0 of 7. That is Bhakoot dosha. A 26 with one of these is a different conversation from a 26 without it.
Then Manglik. It is not part of the 36, but most pandits ask, and if one person is Manglik and the other is not, families look closely.
Tradition has cancellation rules for both doshas. For Nadi, for example, when the two Moons share a sign but not a nakshatra, or a nakshatra but not a pada. For Bhakoot, when one planet rules both Moon signs. Some pandits apply them, some do not, and they do not all agree on which ones count. Bhava applies none of them. It flags every same-Nadi pair and every awkward Bhakoot pair, and leaves the question to your family and your pandit. We would rather tell you and let you decide than quietly make the problem disappear. The rules are written up, as tradition, in Nadi dosha: same Nadi and the cancellation rules and Bhakoot dosha explained.
Checking it in Bhava
If your son or daughter is on Bhava and has invited you as family, you have your own view of the app with three tabs: Matches, Check a rishta and Notes. Check a rishta is built for this moment. The screen opens with "Got a proposal on WhatsApp?" and asks for their birth details.
You type their name, pick the date they were born, set the time (the hint says "Not sure of the time? Use your best guess."), and type the town or city of birth. The app finds the place for you. Then you tick one box: "I have permission from this person (or their family) to use their birth details." Then "Check the match".
The chart is worked out on your phone and scored with the same eight tests as every match in the app, boy first, the traditional way. You get the total out of 36 with a word next to it, and one line that tells you the thing worth raising: "Nadi 0/8: worth a word with your pandit", or "Bhakoot 0/7: worth a word with your pandit", or "One of them is Manglik: worth a word with your pandit". When there is nothing to raise, it says so: "No Nadi or Bhakoot dosha · neither is Manglik".
Under the score are two buttons. "Suggest" sends the person to your child inside the app. They see it on their Drop screen as a suggestion from you, with your note, and two choices: Interested or Not for me. "Invite their family to Bhava" gives you a short message to send the other family, with a link to join. Nothing is saved until you tap Suggest, and even then only the person's name, age and the score go across, with a note that says "Ask me for the birth details." Bhava never saves their date, time or place of birth. We built it that way on purpose. Those details were shared with you for a rishta, not for a database.
Two things the check will refuse. If your child has not finished their own Kundali in the app yet, there is nothing to score against, and it says so. And Bhava is only for people 18 and over, so it will not score anyone younger.
If your child is not on Bhava, start with the Kundali matching calculator on our website.
Ask before you type someone's birth details
One more word on that permission box. A birth time and place are personal. Together with a name they are enough to draw a whole chart, and in some families enough to feel exposed. The family sent them to you so you could check a match. Check it, keep the result between you and your child, and do not forward the details on to the wider group. The app asks you to confirm you have permission for the same reason it never saves them.
What to do with the number
Do not send a verdict. Send the number and the one line under it, and talk.
A low score is not a bad person, and a high score is not a promise. No chart, no score and no app can promise forever. Two people still have to show up for each other every day. What the score does is tell you where to look. If Nadi or Bhakoot is flagged, that is a question for your pandit, with both full charts in front of them. It is not a reason to close the door over WhatsApp.
If the other family's pandit comes back with a number one or two points away from yours, that is normal. Some pandits count half points on Tara, and Varna depends on who is counted first. If the numbers are far apart, check that both sides used the same birth details.
Then do what families have always done. Sit with your son or daughter, put the score next to everything else you know about this person, and decide together. The parents' view exists so you can help with that. Being a parent on a matrimonial app covers the rest of the role.
Where to start
If you have a rishta in your hand right now, the calculator on our website is the place to begin. If your son or daughter is on Bhava, ask them to invite you from the app (You, then Family), and use Check a rishta, on iPhone or Android. Either way, "did you match the Kundalis?" gets a proper answer.
Bhava notes
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