Beyond 36 Points: Other Factors Astrologers Check (7th House, Navamsa, Dasha)

Guna Milan compares only the two Moons. When an astrologer advises a family on a marriage, they usually look at much more: the seventh house of each chart and its ruler, the condition of Venus and Jupiter, the Navamsa chart, the planetary periods each person is running, and the placement of Mars from several reference points. In South India many astrologers also use a separate ten-factor system called Porutham. None of these are calculated on this site, but knowing what they are explains why a personal reading can reach a different conclusion from the score.

This guide gives a short, plain-language tour of each factor.

The seventh house and its ruler

Counting from the Ascendant, the seventh house is the house of marriage and partnership. An astrologer will look at which planets occupy it, which sign it falls in, where its ruling planet is placed, and which planets aspect it. A seventh house that is well supported is read as a good sign for married life; one that is heavily afflicted is read as needing care.

Because the houses are counted from the Ascendant, this part of the analysis depends on an accurate birth time, in the same way as the Manglik check described in Manglik Dosha explained.

Venus and Jupiter

Each area of life has a planet traditionally regarded as its significator, or karaka. For marriage and relationships the main karaka is Venus. In a woman's chart, Jupiter is also traditionally read as the significator of the husband. An astrologer will check whether these planets are strong or weak by sign, which planets they are joined with, and which houses they rule and occupy.

These judgements involve many interacting rules, which is one reason two experienced astrologers can describe the same chart in somewhat different terms.

The Navamsa chart

The Navamsa, or D9, is a divisional chart made by dividing each sign into nine equal parts of 3°20′. That is the same size as a nakshatra pada, and each of the 108 padas corresponds to one Navamsa position. The chart is traditionally considered the most important supplement to the birth chart for questions of marriage, and it is also used to judge how strong each planet really is.

Because a planet's Navamsa position can change within a few hours for the Moon, and within minutes for the Ascendant, this chart is especially sensitive to the birth time. How padas are found is shown in Moon sign and nakshatra: how they are calculated.

Dashas: the question of timing

Vedic astrology divides life into planetary periods called dashas. The most widely used scheme, Vimshottari, runs through nine periods totalling 120 years, and the starting period is set by the ruler of the Moon's nakshatra at birth.

When advising on a marriage, an astrologer often looks at which periods both people will be running in the years ahead, and whether those periods are considered supportive of married life. Timing of the wedding itself, the muhurta, is a further step.

Mars from more than one point, and papasamya

This site checks Mars only from the Ascendant. Many astrologers also check it from the Moon and from Venus, and give more weight to the dosha when it appears from more than one of these points. Some also compare the overall influence of the traditionally difficult planets, Mars, Saturn, the Sun, Rahu and Ketu, on the key houses of both charts, a practice called papasamya. The idea is that the two charts should carry a broadly similar load.

The South Indian Porutham system

In much of South India, matching is done with a set of ten factors, or poruthams, rather than the eight kootas. Several overlap with Ashtakoot, such as Gana, Yoni, Rasi and Vasya, while others are distinctive:

• Dinam and Mahendram, which count between the two birth stars in particular ways.
• Stree Deergham, which looks at the distance from the girl's star to the boy's.
• Rasi Adhipathi, which compares the rulers of the two Moon signs.
• Rajju, which groups the stars by parts of the body and is considered one of the most important checks.
• Vedha, which identifies particular pairs of stars regarded as obstructing each other.

Porutham results are usually reported as each factor being present or absent rather than as a points total, so they cannot be compared directly with a Guna Milan score.

How this site fits in

The calculator does two things: the eight-koota Guna Milan score, and a Manglik check from the Ascendant. Those are the parts of matching that can be computed consistently from fixed rules, and they are the parts most families ask about first. They are a sound starting point and a useful way to see which questions to raise, but they are not a complete marriage reading.

If the score raises a concern, or if the families want a fuller view, the next step is a personal consultation; what to do if your kundli does not match describes how to prepare for one. For a refresher on what the 36 points do cover, see the complete guide to Guna Milan.