How many gunas should match for marriage?
Ask any family that matches Kundalis and you will hear the same number: 18. Out of 36 gunas, 18 need to match before most families take a rishta forward. That is the short answer. The longer answer is what the number is made of, what a 25 or a 33 means, and why a high score can still need a conversation. Here it is in plain words.
The short answer: 18 of 36
Guna Milan, also called Ashtakoota, compares two birth charts on eight checks. Each check is worth a set number of points, from 1 to 8, and the eight add up to 36. In this system a guna is simply a point. When someone says "28 gunas matched", they mean 28 of 36.
18 is the traditional minimum. Below 18, most families do not proceed. At 18 or above, the match is considered worth taking forward, with the rest of both charts and the rest of life still to be weighed.
Bhava draws the same line. Nobody who scores under 18 with your chart is put in your Drop. Everyone you are introduced to has already crossed it.
Is 18 a good score?
Yes. 18 is a pass, not a prize. Think of it as the conversation-starting zone. A score from 18 to 24 is a good match: enough common ground to start getting to know each other properly.
Half the points is not half the checks. The eight checks are weighted. Nadi alone is worth 8, Bhakoot 7, Gana 6. Varna is worth 1. So two people can reach 18 by agreeing on the heavy checks and missing the light ones, or the other way round. The breakdown tells you more than the total.
If your score is 18 or 19, do not treat it as a near miss. Treat it as a start, and look at which checks gave the points.
What 25 and above means
From 25 to 32 the match is strong. Most families would happily take this forward. The arithmetic shows why: the six lighter checks add up to 21 at most, so any score of 25 or more means at least one of the two heavy checks, Nadi or Bhakoot, went fully your way.
33 to 36 is excellent. Almost everything lines up, and very few pairs get here. The arithmetic is stricter still: without Nadi the most a pair can score is 28, and without Bhakoot 29. So a score of 33 or more means both Nadi and Bhakoot scored full.
A 33 is worth a quiet smile. It is not a guarantee. No chart, no score and no app can promise forever. Two people still have to show up for each other, every single day.
The bands Bhava uses, in one place:
- Under 18: low. We skip. This pair never goes in your Drop.
- 18 to 24: good. A solid start.
- 25 to 32: strong.
- 33 to 36: excellent.
When a high score still needs a talk
The total can hide something. Two of the eight checks are heavy enough that scoring zero on them has its own name: a dosha.
Nadi, 8 points
Every birth star belongs to one of three Nadis: Aadi, Madhya or Antya. Think of it as your body's constitution. If you share a Nadi, Nadi scores 0 of 8. Tradition reads this as a caution for health and children. This is Nadi dosha.
Bhakoot, 7 points
Bhakoot looks at how far apart your two Moon signs sit in the zodiac. Three distances, 2/12, 5/9 and 6/8, score 0 of 7. It is read as harmony between the two families, and in money matters after marriage. This is Bhakoot dosha.
A pair can lose all 8 on Nadi and still total 28, because the other seven checks went well. On paper that is a strong match. Many families would still want a word with their pandit about the Nadi. That is why the breakdown matters more than the total, and why a 28 with a dosha and a 28 without one are not the same 28.
Manglik is separate. It is not one of the 36 points, so even a 34 can carry a Manglik mismatch. Families often look at this closely, and plenty of couples go ahead after a remedy. More in Manglik dosh explained.
Tradition also has cancellation rules for Nadi and Bhakoot dosha: the same nakshatra but a different pada, two Moon signs with the same ruling planet, and others. Bhava does not apply any of them. We flag every same-Nadi pair, every 2/12, 5/9 or 6/8 pair and every Manglik mismatch, and we leave the cancellations to your family and your pandit. We would rather tell you and let you decide than quietly clear it.
How Bhava shows it
Every card in your Drop carries that person's score with you: the number out of 36 and a word for it. The card also carries short tags, such as "Nadi 8/8 · no dosha" or "Bhakoot 7/7 · families get along". The profile has a "Worth knowing" line for a Nadi dosha, a Bhakoot dosha or a Manglik mismatch. Once you match, "You two, in depth" lays out all eight checks side by side, with the doshas in plain words.
If there is a dosha, the profile says so, and when none of the card's tags read well the card says it too: "Has a dosha: worth a look". We always tell you, even when the total looks great. No surprises at the family dinner.
Your parents, if you invite them, see each match's score out of 36 in their own view, with the one point worth raising spelled out: "Nadi 0/8: worth a word with your pandit". And if a rishta reaches your family on WhatsApp instead, a parent can enter the birth details in Check a rishta and see how that person scores against your chart. That number can be under 18. The app shows it anyway, and saves nothing unless the parent chooses to suggest the person to you, and then only the name, age and score.
One honest footnote. One of the eight checks, Varna, reads the pair in one direction, from the groom's chart to the bride's. In your Drop, Bhava works out the score with your chart first, so the number you see and the number they see can differ by a point. Swapping the pair moves the total by one point at most.
Where the number ends and the conversation begins
A score of 18 says the two charts have enough in common to talk. A score of 33 says they have a great deal in common. Neither tells you whether you laugh at the same things, want the same kind of life, or will be kind to each other at the end of a bad week. Those answers come from the conversations the number gives you permission to start.
If you have two sets of birth details in front of you, the Kundali calculator works out the score out of 36. Everyone Bhava introduces you to has already scored 18 or more with your chart, and the score is explained before you decide anything. For the full picture of the eight checks, read What is Ashtakoota Milan?
